Fulvia issue

[lancialulu]

I said Solex PHH E3 etc which have ball race bearings. Those are the one that get damaged. Other PHH Solex have steel shafts which either run in the Mazak body or in brass bushes.

[GG]

Just a note of caution from a friend (not LMC member):
"You should be aware that overuse of ultrasonic cleaners can result in loosening prong set diamonds, and carburetor plugs, among other things. I’m not sure if a DCOE has any, like the DCZ/L does, but I’ve been warned, by I don’t remember who, perhaps Pierce Manifolds. The force of the bubbles seems to be stronger than one would think, but that’s physics for you/me."

[jus]

An update on this issue - which I think is now fixed.
The voltage at the pump was only around 9.5V. I traced the fuse on the feed and gave it and the holder a clean, and the voltage then went up to around 11.5V. The difference in the pump performance was dramatic (and obviously non-linear with input voltage). At 9.5V, if the hose was held horizontally, the fuel would just trickle and fall out of the end, but after the increase in voltage, fuel would then project out 4" or so before falling under gravity.

There was no obvious change in speed or tone, so a voltmeter was definitely needed in this case to confirm the low voltage.

I had checked two pumps in isolation - just pumping from, and back to a fuel can with nothing else in the line - powered from a bench power supply that could give 4A at 12V. Both pumps gave the same trickling result - so I'd assumed that these pumps just gave a slow rate, but had decent pressure (like a coffee machine pump). They both drew around 1.25A (+/-10%). I'm not sure why I didn't get the faster flow during the test, but the misleading result delayed the eventual fix. If I'd have run straight from the battery, then it would have been obvious much earlier on in the process.

The fuel filter that was dry, is now full of fuel and the car seemed to run much better during an initial test.

Thanks to all for the comments and suggestions.

Justin.

[Sebastien]

Congratulations on finding the culprit - not easy, but you did it!

You must be relieved - enjoy the car now!

[lancialulu]

U/s cleaning of carbs with shaft bearings (cf Solex PHHE3, Dellorto, Weber) ruins the bearings...

Also beware of losing various little brass plugs Solex put in curious places and go un noticed till the carb fails to perform...

I have just U/s cleaned a PHHE3 and it lost 4 little brass plugs. I thought only 3 as I found 3. Then another orifice presented itself.... No idea where the fourth one went. Luckliy you can remake out of brass shaft (shank of brass screw).