trogdor
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:17 AM |
|
|
Could do with some opinons
Hey,
i am suffering from a problem with my nissan micra, me and my giflfriend love it to bits and have forgiven it for breaking down and have spent quite
abit of money on it but it has let us down three times this past weekend!
we were travelling from southampton to runcorn on fri, however the car cuts out on the A34 just above newbury, which was fun slowing down i can tell
you, its bloody freezing and our batt dies from trying to start the car and we wait an hour and half for a guy to turn up, jump start the car and get
eletrocuted by the coil, we manage to get home after this through some awful snow and think thats it for now, we think the coil and ht leads got
damp.
next day after getting home the car won't start, after ht leads fall apart in our hands i get a new decent set and a new distubuter cap and
rotor arm, no joy however once we put some fuel in it ran fine. and the irritating misfire its always had was gone! thinking its a result we head home
yesterday, as we are about to leave my dad notices there is a slight leak in the exhaust join between it and the manifold. was going to get it sorted
today
but as we slowed down at the end of the A34 and the start of the M3 the car starts juddering really bad and a few miles down the M3 its conks out
again, i was convinced that the fault was the leak getting really bad
but when the guy came out to fix us he tightened the joint, said it was fine then spent 30mins playing with the disturbutor and reving the car, now
there is a clicking noise from the disturbutor and the car never started and ran properly. After arguing with the breakdown company on the phone after
trying to make us pay to get towed, cheeky sods we got home last night and pushed our car into a vacant space.
sorry for subjecting you all to that, but what i wanted to know was what should i do with this car? people may remember i have had it awhile and have
spent about £400 on it with it costing £100 to start with but its really only worth £200 at best if it was running well. my girlfriend loves it to
pieces but we both agree its getting abit much and can't afford to throw more money at it.
i guess we will prob sorn it and leave it there until we move. unless a better option surfaces.
on the plus side i am now properly engaged to get married next year on feb 29th.
[Edited on 13/2/07 by trogdor]
|
|
|
|
|
graememk
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:28 AM |
|
|
burn it
|
|
|
balidey
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:36 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by graememk
burn it
Then wee on it .
Seriously, if you like it so much, keep it. There is nothing worse than getting rid of a car you love then regretting it later. Which would you prefer
a car you hate needing no work, or one you love needing a bit of TLC?
Can you find cheaper suppliers of parts? Scrap yard? Motor factors? Owners club? Or, as the cars are soo cheap now, a second complete car, accident
damaged, MOT failure that you can use for spares?
I've just had a look on e-bay, search for Micra's on completed listings, see how many went for around £100. with all the spares you could
possibly want
[Edited on 13/2/07 by balidey]
|
|
|
macnab
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:43 AM |
|
|
oh oh 
Right I have to admit my older Bluebird (the 110k one) got a right kicking last week for breaking down in the middle of the rush hour traffic. Turns
out that the carb has to be spotless for the auto choke to work properly and I had drenched it in WD40 for the winter. First thing I did was get some
cleaner and give the whole engine a good clean. I recommended you do the same, then once dry pop the cover on the air filter, have a look inside and
you’ll see a black plastic thing, which underneath has two hoses going to it. That is the air temperature control device that controls a flap in the
filter box to switch between the hot air from the exhaust duct and the cold air from outside. Get the bird’s hairdryer and with the engine started and
idling heat up the device with the hair dryer. You should after 10 seconds or so see the flap inside the filter box rise. If not check the small
hoses, as at that age the ends will have perished letting the vacuum escape. This is important as the carb will quickly freeze up and cause the engine
to conk out. Next run the engine till it is up to temp and have a look at the choke butterfly, is it totally open? If not check that the mechanism is
free, as it doesn’t take much to jam it, also it hates oil. The coil inside is pretty robust and should not fail a good clean will do the carb a world
off good.
As for the distributor the clicking noise might be a loose weight, I think that if you take off the rotor arm and the dust cover you should be able to
see far enough down to check. There very simple things really and can be dismantled and rebuilt for practically nothing. Also check that the rotors
not hitting something, have a look inside the cap for signs.
Hopefully some of that helps, if not let us know.
|
|
|
trogdor
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:43 AM |
|
|
yeah i would keep it if it was anywhere near home, have been idly thinking i could winch out the 150,000 mile engine and fit a later one that will be
fuel injected and have 5 gears. really fancy! but being in a block of flats makes that difficult.
|
|
|
smart51
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:46 AM |
|
|
Forget what you've already spent on it. It is irrelavant. Ask yourself what it will cost to keep running and what it is worth to you
(it's sale value plus sentimental value). It you don't want to spend the money, sell it. If you don't want the hassle of it
breaking down, sell it. If you like it that much, keep fixing it. You have to decide whether it is worth it.
|
|
|
trogdor
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:47 AM |
|
|
it only started clicking when the recovery man started playing with it, it may be bad luck with that but i am tempted to play with it. can sorn it and
keep it here until we move in june/july.
the hairdryer idea is good but will need to borrow something to provide the electricity, as living on the second floor makes it hard to run an
extension cable!
|
|
|
iank
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:50 AM |
|
|
I believe it needs to be off the road (i.e. on private land) to get SORN.
Get that exhaust leak fixed if it's before the cat (or it doesn't have one) I've had CO poisoning from exhaust fumes getting in the
cabin. Not nice and sneaks up on you.
Sounds like the distributor is borked, take it apart and check the bob weights, get another one from the scrapyard if you can, if it runs badly the
engine is hopefully ok.
The idea for getting a parts car is a good one. Shouldn't be more than £50 to get a MOT fail runner
p.s. congratulations on the engagement
--
Never argue with an idiot. They drag you down to their level, then beat you with experience.
Anonymous
|
|
|
macnab
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 09:56 AM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by trogdor
it only started clicking when the recovery man started playing with it, it may be bad luck with that but i am tempted to play with it. can sorn it and
keep it here until we move in june/july.
the hairdryer idea is good but will need to borrow something to provide the electricity, as living on the second floor makes it hard to run an
extension cable!
Check the hoses anyway as both my nissans ones were perished.
|
|
|
James
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 11:02 AM |
|
|
After mine conked out (unlike you I was luckiily half mile from home) I got a 'new' dizzy from the scrappy from an identical Golf. It had
about half the mileage of mine and was the Bosch one as opposed to the dreadful French Ducellier one fitted to my car.
Absoloutely transformed the car! When you've had a car for years you don't notice a slow decrease in performance.... the new dizzy was
like having a new engine!
Cheers,
James
[Edited on 13/2/07 by James]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The fight is won or lost far away from witnesses, behind the lines, in the gym and out there on the road, long before I dance under those lights."
- Muhammad Ali
|
|
|
BenB
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 11:11 AM |
|
|
If it's got carbs I'm assuming its a K10 (box shape) Micra. You can put a K11 engine in but its a big job as in
1) drivers side mounting needs to be altered
2) need to invert and fabricate aggsisting gearbox mount to fit k10 mounting (so passenger mount needs sorting)
3) the under support bar needs to ba added (k10 doesnt have one) this would require bolting and sheet metal a panel so the bopolts didnt pull straight
through the floor plan!
4) you would require an electric pump (powerfull enough to mount sumwere near the tank to pull from th tank but also pump through to the engine
(landrover style)
5) you would require to run wiring from all the ionjectors systems (k10=carb, k11 = injectors) so in theory would be better to fit the WHOLE k11
wirringin loom and then splicw connectors for lights etc!
6) driveshafts need altering. (gearnbox ends are different)
7) you need to alter the drive system to a k11
8) you may also requirte to dish the drivers side leg (sits to high, and power steering pulley clashes)
9) also need to deviate away from the brake servo (alloy, easily brakeable) as it will sit to close, any jump in the engine will snapo this (casuing
brake failure)
(nicked from http://www.micra.org.uk/archive/index.php/t-1478.html)
putting a MA12 engine (MA12 1.2 L engine with 60 PS (44 kW/59 hp)) from the last K10s is apparantly a reasonably straight swap.... if you want some
extra power (well it's all relative!!!).... Micra.org suggests its possible in a weekend (8 hours quoted)
Personally I'd try and sort out the distributor. It sounds like that may be the root cause of the problems. Then again what do I know- its all
voodoo magic to me (give me an ECU any day)...
Only bells it rings with me was when my brothers Xflow engine had a knackered distributor. The metal gearing at the bottom of dizzi had virtually worn
away (the Xflow having drunk all the oil on frequent occasions), resulting in various strange behaviour. Replacing the dizzy cap, condensor, dizzy arm
etc, adjusting the points etc etc made no difference... Whipping out the dizzy totally showed distinctly worn teeth...
If the bottom bit of the distributor is okay but its the top end that's causing the problems I'd be tempted to get rid of the clockwork
stuff and go optical!!! Wouldn't be that expensive (compared to spending hours mucking around with points) and should sort it....
Good luck!
|
|
|
trogdor
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 12:37 PM |
|
|
wow wouldn't of thought the engine swap would be so complex the cars look pretty similar, oh well will stick with this engine and play with the
disturbutor i think the mechanic has messed it up and will need resetting, is it standard practise for a mechanic to adjust the dizzy clamp while
reving the engine? i wouldn't of thought that would work, car certainly ran badly!
will deffo check the hoses, will check them all as they all prob need replacing! am tempted with optical ignition, just can't justify it yet,
have to save up for my wedding!
|
|
|
macnab
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 12:49 PM |
|
|
yeah you can move it when its running, just setting the timing by ear. I prefer a strobe or a lightbulb myself as that's safer. Mechanics do
that to check the timing quickly.
the car ran for quite some time on the standard ignition system, just clean it up and it will last for many years yet.
[Edited on 13/2/07 by macnab]
|
|
|
NS Dev
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 01:23 PM |
|
|
1) check the dizzy, find the click and sort it (probably easier to get a dizzy from the scrappy, or put a wanted ad on here, lots of people use that
engine)
http://pub40.bravenet.com/forum/show.php?usernum=3392982795&cpv=1
2) rig up a hot air feed from the exhaust manifold area into the air intake on the carb. In this weather there is no need for fancy valves, just rig
it up to feed in hot air all the time, and pull it off in April. Your breakdowns were almost certainly carb icing, usual in damp cold weather, and
shows up as a gradual loss of power followed by cutting out all together.
Retro RWD is the way forward...........automotive fabrication, car restoration, sheetmetal work, engine conversion
retro car restoration and tuning
|
|
|
trogdor
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 01:38 PM |
|
|
i had a suspcion it might be carb icing, but i wasn't sure, i though it was the amount of water coming in as it was snowing really badly which
was making the coil arc.
there is a low milage micra in the local scrappy if its still there i might try salvaging the dizzy from it.
|
|
|
macnab
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 03:19 PM |
|
|
the carbs can freeze well above 0 degs as the petrol cools the air, that's why I said check the flap in the filter box
|
|
|
trogdor
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 04:15 PM |
|
|
am deffo gonna do what you say, the engine needs a good clean. we have cleaned the coil and have new ht leads and dizzy cap and rotor arm.
will check the thing in the air filter, just need something that produces heat. as extension lead wont reach car, or i could run it until the thing
should open? how long would that take?
|
|
|
britishtrident
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 05:18 PM |
|
|
Well known problem with these is the hotwire MAF first sign of failure is cutting out pulling away from junctions --- very expensive to fix as
dealers don't want to take the risk even if the MAF is Ok so most older Micras get put to auction.
|
|
|
martyn_16v
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 05:38 PM |
|
|
quote:
Originally posted by britishtrident
Well known problem with these is the hotwire MAF
On a carbed engine?
|
|
|
wilkingj
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 05:53 PM |
|
|
Read up or do a google search for Micra faults. We had one 1.0L carb job, cracking car. They are prone to Carb faults and also the HT leads were an
issue. untill we fitted nice new ones.
Ours often needed a squirt of WD40 on the leads.. probably condensation / damp
Look up the common faults it will start you in the right area, and get you to look at the knownw faults first.
Have fun, ours was 18 years old and did 90k miles, but the body went first. near the rear lower seatbelt mountings, common rust place, water gets
sprayed up there.
There is a very good 1.0l engine and box in our local scrap yard!!
Downside is the parts are expensive.
eg £34 for a washer bottle pump
Try the scrappys first.
OR...
Visit http://www.magigspnner.co.uk and follow the links to his V8 Micra... its a good option. (and his V8 mini, and the Pievan) - Spag is a Land Rover
type!! That says it all
1. The point of a journey is not to arrive.
2. Never take life seriously. Nobody gets out alive anyway.
Best Regards
Geoff
http://www.v8viento.co.uk
|
|
|
Catpuss
|
| posted on 13/2/07 at 06:14 PM |
|
|
Sounds like a money pit slowly developing.
The old Micras are OK. The round ones look like noddy cars and the newest ones (in black) look like hursts for midgets.
|
|
|
trogdor
|
| posted on 14/2/07 at 08:54 AM |
|
|
i haven't found parts to be that expensive, a new clutch kit was £46 inc vat and the brake discs and pads were about £35 altogether too.
i needed a new washer bottle but got that from a scrappie, along with the headlights and parcel shelf.
a new engine might be worth while in the future, it has done 150,000 miles after all. but am gonna try and not spend any money on it, am pretty sure
its just a simple fault.
|
|
|
trogdor
|
| posted on 20/3/07 at 01:59 PM |
|
|
just an update on my micra, still not running!!!
but think we have cracked it, my dad spent a day on it. I had though it would be easy as i had got it to start when i put my old saab 96 coil on, then
it proceeded to only occasionaly start.
we timed the engine and dad found i had overfilled the engine with oil, (why do i always do that?) so that didn't help as the plugs were getting
sooted up.
now the engine is timed properly and has the correct level of oil in it, it should run but going to a scrap yard and getting another coil has lead
nowhere since there is still a shite spark, so have ordered a new coil, only £15 should of done that to start with, thought they would of been more
like £30. anyways it should be here tomorrow and will hopefully have our micra back! need to fix the wing now as broke the filler that was holding it
together so if anyone sees a decent early micra in a scrapyard in hampshire i would like to know! cheers!
|
|
|
