Greetings all

[Mak]

Just to say hello to everyone on here.  A Suzuki Supercarry and Vauxhall Rascal owner

[duncanamps]

Hi, welcome to the group 

[>>CHOP<<]

welcome..what took you so long...

[Mak]

Thank you very much.  

It appears I am not the only one who is suffering with a potential carburetter problem.  My 1997 R Reg Suzuki Supercarry which I bought from a Friend who had it sitting around on his driveway for 3 years has I believed developed a problem.

She ran well for the first few months then suddenly noticed one day after taking it for a motorway drive the engine when idling was running too low on the RPM’s which caused it to stall.  It also started to puff out exhaust fumes at the back when driving.  I tried adjusting the idling screw and made things worse as the engine kept over revving.  I took it into my local garage where they sorted out the idle speed, replaced the rotor arm, distributor cap as it was cracked, but they couldn’t work out what was wrong with the rough idle.  Engine sounds fine, its just the exhaust end sounds rough and also noticeable was black soot that was being emitted and has stained the driveway where I left the engine running to warm up.  The problem got progressively worse.  I noticed one of the HT leads was very loose so I replaced it with a new set.  Still no improvement.  The van started to kangaroo jump when accelerating having lack of power at very erratic moments, though it was fine when revving.  I took it to another garage and they replaced the fuel filer and checked over the obvious but nothing could be spotted.  They informed me it was most likely a carb problem.

When driving it home, the engine started to back fire and had loss of power a few times when pulling away from traffic lights (much to my embarrassment!)  I managed to get it home finally and tried playing around with it with no luck. I then remembered i had a tin of carb cleaner that I used to use on my ford XR3i.  So I sprayed the inlet (having removed the air filter) and wiped clean everything after then gave it a drive and gradually after say driving it for 10 miles, it got better.  I have since used it a few times and the kangaroo problem has almost gone, though I am stuck with the problem of exhaust fumes coming out from the exhaust with a noisy sound.  It sounds better than it was, but not as it should sound! I have today put some STP carb injector cleaner into the fuel tank and filled it up with Super-unleaded in the hope that it might improve as I drive it a few more miles.    The fuel consumption was extremely bad having only done 120 miles on one full tank which cost me £44 to fill!

In your opinion would you think the carb will need stripping down and cleaned properly – if so, would you by chance know where i can purchase a rebuild kit for it?   Suzuki quoted me £771 for a brand new genuine Carb which I think is a little steep! It would have to be specially ordered from Japan as there are no stocks available in the UK.  Upon my poor attempt at trying to track down a carb for this van, one shop I contacted was helpful in saying that the problem could have been due to the van sitting around for ages and unleaded fuel has a tendency to separate when left which can cause corrosion.  

I would appreciate any thoughts anyone may have.


Many thanks in advance

[Mak]

to >>CHOP<< I have no idea why I never registered before.  I guess my Vauxhall Rascal was such a reliable vehicle to me over the last 10 years that I never had to seek out any advice!  Glad to be apart of this enthusiasts club at long last!

[Mak]

This is my beloved Vauxhall Rascal which is sadly SORN due to her failing her MOT due to rust.  Owned her for 10 years.  Previously, the vehicle lived in Saltdean

[TITCH]

Hi Mak,

as a thought, what about Ultra Sonic cleaning for the carburettor???
A pal of mine has a tank & the equipment for this, we've done tractor petrol/tvo carbs in it, Suzuki two stroke triple bike carbs and a few car carbs......

All I will say is though, there could be no guarantee of it being back to 'as new', but I do know we have had no problems on earlier maybe less complex carbs???

Just a thought...would be about £30.00 plus postage and take about a week?

Titch

[Mak]

Hi Titch,


This was a suggestion made also by one of the companies I contacted who repair motorbikes as a good option to consider.

Would this involve just removing the carb itself - would there be a need have it stripped down for sonic cleaning?

Many thanks,

[Pirate]

The black smoke & heavy fuel consumption all point to running very rich, i would strip the carb & give it a thorough clean, being a later van, you may have problems with all the emission gubbins, you need to get it sorted as it may kill of the cat.
Good luck with it

[TITCH]

Hi Mak,

there's no need to strip the carb no, the 'sonic' agitating of molecules etc will get in anywhere in the crevices etc.

All I will say is that I'm unsure of the 'gubbins' inside the later Rascal carbs, but I wouldn't expect any issues.
We've put an o;d tractor carb, good old British quality cast aluminium, heavy & thick, in the tank at the same time as a Rascal one, the tractor carb came out like new, not shiny or anything like that, but visually, just like it was when it was new...the Rascal one, although nothing wrong with it, the finish was a bit...scruffy?? Different quality castings etc, but internally, Everything is cleaned, cleaner that any other process you will get.

However, as stated, yours sounds as though it's running rich..have you re newed the rubber pipes & hoses that go to the carb, all of them, like JJ007's troubles..under the seat etc??? It may just simply be a pipe with a minute hole that expands when being used?

Weigh up all the options, yes?

Regards,

Titch

[Mak]

Thanks Pirate for your support. 

Titch, I will check the hoses, but I think the sonic cleaning of the carb sounds like the best option.  I will be seeing my mechanic friend this weekend, so I will ask if he could remove it for me.  I have a window after the 21st Jan where I could be without the use of the van.

Let me contact you next week if thats ok to arrange it.

Many thanks to you all for your support.  I dont feel so lonely now on my quest to get this problem fixed hopefully!

[Mak]

Hi titch,

Have read JJ007 post and this might be a stupid question, but does electronic ignition remove the hassle of getting the timing correct and stop it from running fuel rich or poor?

[TITCH]

Timing coud make a small difference, only in that when the cylinders fire...i.e. too much fuel in the combustion chambers etc, but not too noticeable I wouldn't think. If it's pure totally electronic & set up it should run flawlessly.

I still think it's a fuel mixture problem though, probably to do with the pipes etc, although if deemed OK to do, a carb in the sonic tank will 100% clean it internally, so must be a good option as well??
Correct me here anyone if it's not a good idea with the later carbs???

But then,Formula racing cars etc all do this??

Titch

[Dell Boy]

If you can get it to Dartford I could go through it.
Also if you still have the Rascal we can do any welding required for the m.o.t. test & more.
What blocks the carb is "furring" reducing the various jet orifices or blocking them.
I find that this has to be physically removed by poking soft wire through the jets to clear them.
I doubt timing is the issue. All symptoms point to the fuel/air ratio not being correctly controlled.

Derek.

[J J 007]

where are you based mak,check all your vacumm pipes are connected on the carb