MPG - Page 2 -

Post by **sven360** » 08 Dec 2006 12:49 am

classicswede wrote:If you need good dizzy caps I can get them at a decent price. They come as complete kit - cap, rotor and backing plate.

Avail for 2.0?
Got a price today for rotor arm 14quid +vat-but it's the stupid looking one not a normal rotor arm

Post by **sven360** » 08 Dec 2006 12:58 am

redline wrote: ( up to 120mph on M6)

That must have been the clock you were looking at-it was 12 Midday-silly old bugger sm75

Sure it wasn't you Mac spotted as mentioned in his -340 in its element thread?

Post by **classicswede** » 08 Dec 2006 07:26 pm

The cap and rotor kit does work out at £21 so I have ordered some today - unfortunatly a bit late for the meet.

Post by **fume** » 09 Dec 2006 09:40 am

I know its a cheek to ask but would you be able to post a kit to me when you get some, i'll see you right costs wise

Post by **classicswede** » 09 Dec 2006 10:00 pm

fume wrote:I know its a cheek to ask but would you be able to post a kit to me when you get some, i'll see you right costs wise

Sure I will. They should be in on Monday so I'll drop you a PM.

Post by **classicswede** » 09 Dec 2006 10:02 pm

sven360 wrote:
classicswede wrote:If you need good dizzy caps I can get them at a decent price. They come as complete kit - cap, rotor and backing plate.
Avail for 2.0?
Got a price today for rotor arm 14quid +vat-but it's the stupid looking one not a normal rotor arm

I'll have some for the Volvo 2ltr as well. I'll have a look on Monday morning for you. I missed this post some how?

Post by **mickt** » 21 Dec 2006 10:06 pm

Today for my B200 1989 carb I bought and fitted new dizzy cap and rotor arm (unfortunately the base plate I bought was of different design so I left the old one in) As I have covered 20k thought it was about time Immediate improvement --- higher revs are much smoother Will see soon if MPG is better

cheers mickt

Post by **fume** » 22 Dec 2006 02:27 pm

I have now been monitoring mpg for the last month heres what i have found
week 1 - 26 mpg nothing changed
week 2 - 24 mpg with new plugs
week 3 - 26 mpg
week 4 - 25 mpg with an oil change

I am hoping for more improvement with new cap and arm as nothing i have done so far has made much difference i'm thinking worn carb, although the car is a bit more lively and responsive.

Post by **jimf671** » 23 Dec 2006 10:12 pm

As posted elsewhere:
"In theory, the 1.7 is a good bet for economy. In reality, not so good. Partly, this is due to the unrealistic fuel economy tests and partly its the carburettor.

The 1.4 is the town car and the 360 (just bought one) is great for long motorway trips. Had two 1.7s and I do like them but they can be a pain.

Whats wrong with the carb? Well, its French. They make fantastic headlamps and strong core engine components but their carburation is almost always rubbish. This Solex is almost as bad as the one on the Hillman Imp was. Nothing seals on this system, mainly because of poor bolting.

The number one problem is the fix of the carb onto the manifold. The bolting is a bit weird and it comes loose. Check with a good torque wrench at every service. NEVER be tempted to overtighten: new manifold job.

Volvo garages and others usually know about the manifold bolts but they dont seem to know about the joint between the top and bottom sections of the carb. It is secured by 5 (?) x M5 screws and they ALWAYS come loose. NEVER use anything stronger than Loctite 222 to glue them in. Take extreme care if you are checking them for tightness. Check at every service. Helicoil them if you have access to a kit.

The heater block on the side of the lower flange comes loose. M5 screw again but it can be tapped M6 and you need never touch it again.

They are touchy about fuel. Volvo garage used to sell me a 'carb clean' at great expense on my first one but that was rubbish. They also usually have an inline fuel filter fitted by Volvo UK: rubbish. I removed the inline filter and always used the same fuel brand (BP) and occasionally ran Redex through it and with the bolting checks and mods it went far better than letting a Volvo dealer touch it.

I still have the Excel file of the fuel consumption of my second 1.7. Mixed use of town and highland A-roads was 35mpg. Maybe 30 in town. 39mpg seen on long runs. Probably 40/41 somewhere flat. I use fuel consumption monitoring as a general diagnostic tool. It would sometimes lose 5mpg and that meant something wrong in the cooling system or the carb was loose."

I totally agree with the advice above about distributor caps and rotor arms for the 1.7. The cheap ones are not worth the paper the receipt is printed on. If you buy the cheap ones you must change them at every service.

Post by **pettaw** » 23 Dec 2006 11:39 pm

yeah, I kinda agree, apart from one or two things. Firstly, Solex make great carbs, its just this one they made a mess of. The carb base is too thin, the gasket between the manifold and the carb is too thin and the distance between the 4 mounting studs on the base is too long. causing the joint to warp, and the carb base and the manifold both warp, causing air leaks.

The carb base warps more and stops the engine running properly, so that's the one people normally sort, which gets them going again, but they fail to fix the one on the manifold. You can do it with careful filing to make it flat, or I suppose, taking it to a machine shop, otherwise its new manifold time.

If you get the engine in good tune, ignition and carb in good order, it definitely is the most economical of all three engine options.

Post by **fume** » 24 Dec 2006 04:34 pm

Thank you for the help and advice, i think it really needs a good going over, by someone who really knows and is at least interested. At the moment i am trying to find someone who isn't gonna charge me £30 an hour for guessing. It was booked in with a bloke i have used before but he wasn't really interested and in the end told me his analyser had blown up!. I will find someone, i have basic knowledge but i can't afford for it to be off the road if i cock it up!.

Post by **Chris_C** » 24 Dec 2006 06:21 pm

If you are keen at some point, I've recently done my 1.7, it's not too bad, so I can offer some pointers, else come along to a meet and we (i.e. the people more knowledgable than me

) can have a look at it for you, and that way you pick up some experience too!

Post by **fume** » 28 Dec 2006 12:04 pm

Thanks for the offer, i am going to try and come to a meet, given more time i would definitely get you to look at it for me, thats a lame excuse i know! but true. Does anyone know of anyone who lives in the Norfolk/Suffolk area?

Post by **fume** » 17 Jan 2007 09:54 am

Everything that can be changed has been done cap, rotor arm, oil, plugs, air filter and the best mpg i have got is 27.5 and that was with some serious naff pedestrian driving, the car has run the best it has ever done being driven slowly!. Next step is i think i have found someone decent to look at it so it will looking at the carb.

Post by **fume** » 26 Jan 2007 09:45 am

I have been using shell v power petrol for the last three weeks and the car did 28.5 mpg the best i have got. Have also checked the carb, 5 screws that hold top and bottom are tight, the main mounting bolts are tight, i have reset the throttle butterfly gap also and the air cleaner is secure onto the carb body. I have noticed that the car seems to have stopped running on. It was my first chance this morning to test the changes i have made and on choke it ran awful!. Could just be it has stood for a couple of days and it was really cold last night.