ferny Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Stay with me on this, it will make sense in the end...I've had terrible trouble with weather proofing the Acclaim distributor. Any time I went through a puddle the car would either run like crap for a few miles or die for half an hour before being able to start and drive again. Damp start either worked for a bit, or made nor difference. After I'd use it it was fine, but I also made a point of missing all puddles so it may have just been coincidence. A few weeks down the line the problem would come back. My solution was to use a marigold (tried a condom, far too small...) with a lead coming out of each finger. After this I never had a problem. In fact I think one glove lasted two years before having to be replaced.Fast forward to yesterday. I'd never been able to get the rocker cover to seal, even with a new gasket, so yesterday I took it off and put some sealant on it. To help me spot leaks to see whether or not it worked I washed down the engine and after I'd put everything away noticed the other side was even worse! Whilst washing it down it obviously got wet and ended up running like a bag of fertiliser. Below 3k rpm it simply wouldn't run then eventually got worse. I'd had the vacuum pipes off (there are three branching to four) so was aware I could have got them in the wrong order when putting them back or no one was split so I left it and this morning it was fine.Today I washed the other half of the engine and with it running tested to see where water was causing problems. So I poured some over each part and all the electrics to see when it'd go tits up. It wasn't until I poured some over the back that it died (distributor is on the side). I left it for a few hours, then it'd run, then die, then run and eventually was fully dead. Lots of back firing out of the carbs and I got a red herring of easy start getting it to run fine until I put the air box on and it completely dying again. Cleaned all the plugs to no benefit and eventually took the distributor cap off for inspection to find it soaked. This is despite it having damp start, a rubber glove over it and water not apparently going in it. But, if all the signs are there then that's the problem. Anyway, it's all gravy now and is running better than ever. Actually quite brisk!So now I'm thinking... I've got to reseal it tomorrow but, what about adding two vent holes to it? Some of the moisture might not be from water ingress (some obviously is) but could be from condensation. If I drill one small hole to allow air in and another which would be piped to the air box before the filter it would allow any moisture to be pulled out. I'm not worried about the cap getting full of water and the engine sucking it in as the holes would be small and if it were to reach that stage then the whole car would be in a lake and I'd have other things on my mind!Thoughts? I did some looking and it seems some V8's have vented caps so someone far smarter then me has already designed an engine to work this way. What could go wrong other then buggering up a cap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedTaylor Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Just as a matter of interest when you sprayed the cap did you just do the outside or give the inside a big blast as well and pour out the residue of the silicon spray that you used?Experience with rallying, off road cars, and living near the River Severn and in the Forest of Dean shows that this usually does the trick for extended periods. Just a thoughtMUT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 Inside, outside, entire hand and neighbours cat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Jones Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Poor cat - that'll taste NASTY when it's time for a wash ;DAny scope for drilling drain/vent holes in the metal part of the dizzy body rather than the cap? Though I'm rather in the camp that thinks it's better to stop the water going in in the first place.Nick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TedTaylor Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Not the dog then .........Nick's idea of venting the body is one that I have heard done. The problem could simply be condensation accumulating in the dizzy for some reason and I have heard of holes being drilled in the body and a length of small diameter tube (e.g. washer tubing) being pushed into the tube and led downwards to allow moisture to vent off.MUT Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 It was fine. I threw a bottle of cataclean over it.I much prefer the idea of stopping water getting in. However, these engines seem worse for condensation that the A Series. A couple of times a year I take the rocker cover off, drop some chips in it and offer it up to the local Dutch couple as a treat. This car does a lot of short journeys and once the mayonnaise appears even a 200 mile drive won't touch it. Although it's a different microclimate I wonder if by quirk of design you have to make a choice of risking nature creeping in or sealing it so well the air inside condensates. Not too keen on drilling the body as it makes reversal another job. It'll be tight but I think I'll give venting the cap a go. An outlet at the top feeding to the air box and a small hole allowing air to enter or water to drain. If it goes wrong or makes no difference in can just replace the cap. Water seems to stay in the cap as well and not over the other components. Makes me wonder what washing the engine did as even the inside of the rubber glove was nice and dry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steve_1360 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 When was the last time the cap, leads and rotor were changed? Are they good quality leads? Does the distributor have a splash shield? Is it electronic ignition, could it be that? I have heard of people putting vents into the dizzy then into the cab but never had that many issues with the V8 Land Rover I use to race through lots of water so I left mine alone just had good leads on it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 All the electrics are fine and working well, when they're dry... I've broken it enough to know they aren't like Triumph engines. When something isn't quite right they either just about run like a bag of shit or not at all. Then you have the fun of finding out what's up as not many people know a lot about these engines and the workshop manuals are often wrong! It's a bit like working on a car guided by satnav and Chinese whispers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 Well, it's been done anyway! Not really how I wanted to go about it but space was limited. The camera makes it look like there is more than in reality. There's a small hole underneath to allow air to enter with the theory being that the small negative pressure in the air box will draw it through. I'm working with the idea that condensation is the problem so it'll work, make no difference or it'll be worse. For the price of a new cap it's worth the experiment. I shall report back in a few weeks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toledo Man Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Somebody using WD40 for it's intended purpose (water dispersal). I had a similar problem with Becky II. If I drove through a puddle or in heavy rain the car would run badly and would cut out if I let it. The problem was fixed by fitting new ignition parts. Beware of poor quality parts. I had a brand new rotor arm fail and the car had passed the MoT earlier on the same day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepy Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 We have been doing this for years with the off roaders, some of them drilled the caps, with a vent tube, others drilled the dizzy body at the base, but also check around your dizzy itself, perhaps the water is entering somewhere like the vac advance unit and running down into the cap. We could run v8's totally submerged with no problem once all was sealed and vented.Most were fed to a breather tube, but your idea looks better as its pulling air through, but my only concern would be from "icing" on a really cold day? (That's why some carb manifolds are water cooled/heated) and the internal engine bay heat won't alter that. My truck carb can ice up even in warm weather, if held at a steady rpm, the air flow forms droplets that ice up, then she starts popping, give her a boot full and its clears. (It was a known problem in the military with this engine). Anyway back on thread, there are many standard original "vented" distributor caps out there, so it has been a known issue for years. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepy Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Just had another thought, dust the inside of the cap with talc powder, then re fit.Wash the area as usual, let the excess run off, dry around the outside of the cap before removing, then take it off, and you will see the water tell tale mark where it has entered! That will let you know if it's running in from the body itself! And with the left over talc, you can rub it on your body and smell like a little baby! ;) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferny Posted January 19, 2015 Author Share Posted January 19, 2015 So, report back time as it's been almost three weeks with a hole in it.The car has been doing its normal short journeys so the oil filler cap looks like something branded by Mr Whippy. We've had snow, hot sun days, damp air and plenty of rain. Just took the cap off and it's bone dry inside. The car also normally starts with no cranking and fires the second the starter turns. So, result! It's either working or made no difference but the important thing is that is hasn't caused any negatives. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheepy Posted January 19, 2015 Share Posted January 19, 2015 And what will you do now with all that extra baby talc? :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.thumb.jpeg.b15b81ef10abeea1c3039ae03c4a9f3a.jpeg)
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.