As it so happens this thread looks
a little deserted. Read that as a "FORK!!! I haven't updated this story in 3,5 years?!?"
The car is still around and hasn't demanded more than routine maintenance to keep its happy face on. That was until I'd decided to take it to work one day in April 2016. This was the result:
Sad face.
The car conked out just as I left an uphill tunnel. Had it happened only a car length earlier I would have caused havoc in Düsseldorf's morning rush hour. Honestly I was unbelievably lucky that I could push the car off the road all by myself. A bit of investigation saw me staring at an empty fuel filter and even the manual override of the fuel pump didn't change a thing. As fuel was willingly flowing after I took the hose off I suspected that the pump had packed up. I've ordered a new one as I was waiting for the tow truck and installed it a couple of days later. All was well again, but remember this part of the story as you read on.
Then I got caught by the neglecting-bug. I'm sure some of you can relate: the car develops a small fault, you plan to fix it and before you come around to it more and more small problems start to appear. Then you focus on some other project and all of a sudden you'll find a dusty Spitfire in your garage with a coolant leak, a flat battery, an electrical gremlin with an overdue TÜV / MOT. All easy fixes, but the number of them makes you lose motivation.
Something had to be done. It broke my heart to see the car like this so yesterday I forced myself to get this thing back onto the winding roads of Germany.
Armed with a fresh tube of Hylomar I've fixed the coolant leak. Water was dripping from one of the water pump housing's bolts so I loosened it, applied a bit of the good stuff and all was well. What initially should have been just a temporary fix proved to work so well that I'll leave this alone for now. First problem solved.
I've installed a new battery to find out what's wrong with the electrics. The last time I wanted to start the car it was just completely dead. No lights on the dashboard, no hazard warning lights (which run a separate circuit), no nothing. As I was connecting the leads I've accidently found the culprit:
The disconnector switch had simply snapped. So my initial problem was indeed a bad earth: the car didn't have any earth at all! Second problem solved.
The last half hour or so was spent getting air into the flat tyre. As there's no socket in the depths of the parking garage I had to stick to the only alternative I had: a bicycle hand pump. But hey, it beat blowing it up with my mouth by miles. So: third problem solved.
I've wiped the most of the dust off and finally. Finally we were back in business:
Happy face!
Of course I took it gently at first and slowly reminded the Spitfire and myself of how good it feels to be out and about with the sun shining, a smile on your face and not a care in the world. Ah, this felt good.
I wish to have ended this update here, but sadly we broke down once again. I've stopped at a gas station for a bit of wiper fluid when the car decided again to not being able to start. No fuel visible in the filter.
Sad face once more.
I've examined the problem and this is what I know:
- the problem occurred after I had been driving around for about 30 miles. The idle was fine when I parked the car at the gas station.
- at no point was there less than 3/4 of a tank of fuel on board. I've filled it up with fresh 98 octane before I set off.
- I've noticed a very slight hiccup a mile or so before I'd arrived at the gas station. As it happened when I floored it off the line this must have been fuel starvation, I'd say.
- the hand-pump didn't do a thing. This is as the pump is full of air, I'd say.
- the line is free and the filter isn't blocked. As I was pulling the fuel hose that leads into the pump fuel immediately filled the filter and shot right out of the hose.
- after bleeding the pump fuel immediately spat everywhere.
- after getting the air out of the system the car immediately starts and runs fine.
- if you just wait for a few hours the almost empty filter fills up by itself. This to me points to ruling out fuel leak.
- I've safely made it back home without a problem, taking it gently. When I put the car back into the garage I've noticed the filter was almost empty though.
So this is where I stand. Now my theory is that the old fuel pump was indeed fine as the same problem occurred with the old and the new pump. This rules out an installation-error, too.
So I'd say the pump is pulling air, most likely from one of the fuel hoses or a slightly broken filter housing. As stated the fuel filter as well as the hoses aren't blocked. The filter is two years and about 500 miles old, the hoses are from 2008. I know that these can get porous with time and can leak without any visible signs...
My first plan of action would be to replace the filter and the hoses which is easy to do and it rules out what I think are the two most likely causes. Any opinions?But hey: I've fixes so many problems on that single Sunday afternoon that one new problem doesn't really kill my spirits. The mojo's back on this one.
Cheers, Felix