Why the hell???

[saabfast]

Easiest way to check the needles is to remove the air cleaner, put your finger in the carb choke and lift the piston. Remove the damper piston from the dashpot first (black knob on top) and it should drop back easily.
If it binds, remove the damper and the dashpot (3 small bolts) and large spring, lift out the piston and check it is clean and the needle is straight. Depending on the age and type of SU there are other checks such as centralising the jet but it is best to have a manual for this (Haynes or maybe the one you can download from jclay's site).

Alan
Saab 9000 Stg 1
'81 TR7 DHC

[jclay (RIP 2018)]

[url="http://homepage.mac.com/WebObjects/FileSharing.woa/72/wo/xWgizikj8J1Pt4FN.1/0.2.1.2.26.31.97.1.35.0.1.1.1?user=jclaythompson&fpath=Triumph_Articals&templatefn=FileSharing4.html"]Triumph_Articals Download page[/url]

[UKPhilTR7]

<b><font color="green">Guys, thanks for that (Alan that is what I needed, step by step instructions). I will have a look at them tonight and see what the state of play is. For some reason I have the feeling that the one near the fron screen will be the issue, just a hunch. Will post the outcome later today.
Fingers crossed that it sorts out the issue!</b></font id="green">

[Philip]

Clicking from the engine sounds like a bad solenoid or a poor battery connection so the solenoid engages but the starter doesnt have enough juice to turn. My car has 40DCOE's so I cant help with the carbs.

Still standing !

[UKPhilTR7]

<b><font color="blue">Well well what do we have here then???
I took of the air filters and then removed damper piston from the dashpot and the pistons moved up nice and smooth and then down as smooth on their own.
I then took the removed the two black cables from the battery clip (1 thick & 1 thin). I cleaned them up with a wire brush and then put them both back in nice and neat, tightened the 2 screw clips up and looked at the neat job I had just done.
Then I noticed that the other end of the thick black wire that was going to the top of the engine/gearbox area by the bulkhead was not connected to anything and the 2 inch bolt connected to the end of the wire was still in the wire clip.
I am not too sure where this bold should be connected and if this is the problem, but I am sure that it is not helping my girl. What do you guys think?</b></font id="blue">

[saabfast]

Sorry, don't have my car here to check exactly where the connections go. Should normally be one to the body (normally near the battery) and ther will be an earth from the engine/gearbox, either as a strap to the body or a cable to your -ve connection. Connections for the TR7 will need confirmation from someone with a car to hand (or I will look at the w/e).

Alan
Saab 9000 Stg 1
'81 TR7 DHC

[ngtf]

Sounds like you have a bolt from the engine to gearbox bell-housing complete with engine earth lead attached. Trace it back, if it goes straight to the negative pole of the battery or car body then it should be connected to the engine as an earth lead.

Gary

Eeyore rides again !!

EOR14W - Persian Aqua 2L Dhc, Now rebuilt and looking lovely - Sprint engine being prepared!

[Wayne S]

My thicker earth lead bolts to the bell housing in the top most bolt underneath the nearest edge of the cylinder head if you are looking at it from the passenger side. The thinner lead splices off the main earth and runs to a self tapping screw point on the metal bulhead next to the wiper motor mount.

Hope that helps.

Wayne

Purple 2.0 Litre DHC Grinnal

[UKPhilTR7]

<b><font color="green">I will be haveing a look for the hole tonight, when I have more light, so that I can fit it in. Hopefully, it will not be too hard to get to.
Do you think this may be the cause of my starting & running problems or is that just wishfull thinking on my part? Or do you think it will stop my car from clicking when she starts (as described) earlier?</b></font id="green">

[saabfast]

A good engine earth is normally essential to running properly so it should help. If the clicking is the solenoid pulling in but the starter is not turning you are probably only getting a fortuitous earth that cannot carry the atarter load. Similarly, an earth is required for a decent spark etc as the return path is through the engine block to the body/battery.

Alan
Saab 9000 Stg 1
'81 TR7 DHC

[UKPhilTR7]

I sure do hope this will help the issue, but not too sure if it will sort out the choke one, (where it feels like I do not have one when I pull it out). I will have a late night tonight working on her as the battery is flat from all the starting of her, so will have to wait for that to charge.

[Hasbeen]

Phil, the choke on our SUs simply pulls the main jet, down in the
jet tube. This is easy enough to see under the body of the carby.

The jet is the bit that the tube from the float chamber goes to.
Look under the carby, with the air filter box removed if necessary,
& have someone pull the choke on & off. If nothing moves up & down,
the choke is not working.

Hasbeen

[UKPhilTR7]

<font color="green"><b>HAsbeen, cheers for this, I will check it tonight when I get home if the rain here stops. I personally think that this will be OK though as I have checked the choke cable and it looks fine, all connected. Also the carb pistons are moving up and down all OK. So at the moment I am putting all my hopes on the black battery cable not connected.</b></font id="green">

[UKPhilTR7]

<b><font color="green">Well Well Well would you believe it???
Had a look at the choke today as Hasbeen suggested and all was OK, but when she started she was a rough as a badgers @ss again. I bolted the black cable from the battery back into the engine body, So took out the spark plugs one by one to clean them up. They were black and they really smelt of petrol. Cleaned them up and put them back in and tried to start her. Also Guess what???? She started like a dream even better than she did a few weeks ago.
Not too sure if this is a bigger problem with the spark plugs. Does anyone know why the plugs would be black like this? The only thing I can think of is that the timing is out. This would be due to the face that I recently changed the fuel pump and the timing was done before this, set up for a failing old pump and when I put the new one on it was not set up for it. Could this possibly be the case?</b></font id="green">

[Hasbeen]

Phil, tou should always give ALL the info when asking for problem
diagnosis. When you have made a recent change, it often causes the
new problem.

Many of us have had carby flooding problems, after fitting new fuel
pumps. Depending on the replacement pump, & the instillation, they
can give far too high fuel pressure, & make the SUs flood. This
makes the mixture far too rich, & the plugs black, wirh rough running.

It has been discussed a few times. There are a number of different
ways of curing the problem.

Do a search under fuel pump, & or flooding, & you should find all
the details. If you can't find them, just ask again.

Hasbeen