European Cars

[chrisdarmanin]

my girlfriend has one of those cars, and recently it started to work very rough just like when there is dirt in the carburetor. she took it to her mechanic and he thought it was the carburetor too so he took it out and cleaned it, and after it started working fine

two days after it got the same symptoms again, like its fuel deprived.. but i dont think its the carb again... any suggestions guys and maybe something i can do myself?

[Weerwolf]

Have you checked the fuel filter ?

[Kris]

As mentioned fuel filter is an obvious bet. Another less obvious option is perishing fuel lines. As the internal walls breakdown and every now and then release little bits of rubber into the flow that can then clog up the carb, though often temporarily as the blockage is held in place by the flow, so if you park for an hour or so and then it works fine for a brief period afterwards it might be worth doing the fuel lines. In fact if its not been done for a while its cheap enough that you may as well do it along with the fuel filter.

[chrisdarmanin]

i'll give the fuel filter a look

yesterday a friend suggested the sparking plugs, but they were changed about 5000 miles before, and malta is not a very dusty place

my dad suggested the distributor cap but what should i look for in the distributor cap?

[Weerwolf]

my dad suggested the distributor cap but what should i look for in the distributor cap?

If you plan on upening up the distributor , it would be best to check the spark plugs first. If any of them is black , than that one isn't firing. Thas would indicate a distributor or spark plug lead problem. It could also be that it isn't getting the advance angle it needs , in witch case , I would check the vacuum lines.

[Kris]

the distributor depends on what sort it is, but the points may be pitted or else the contacts on the distributor cap.

[Chris Longhurst]

I'd add a vote for clogged fuel lines or fuel filter....

[chrisdarmanin]

fixed! it was the distributor