zed

Thankyou Hainz and Daniel, it makes sense

Greetings gentlemen, Can someone possibly explain this: I've got a Ford pick-up, slowly losing battery charge; ammeter shows the draw with ignition OFF is about 180 milliamps. It has spotlights, wired through a 30 amp relay (Hella). With ignition OFF, I can hear the relay 'clicking' when I connect the battery terminals - even though the headlights and spotlights are OFF. The spotlights are spliced/triggered by the "High Beam" headlight wire. The spotlights and headlights work fine. But, just in case, I changed the 'signal' and 'earth' connectors (think it is '85' and '86') on the relay pins around. Now the 'click' is gone, and the 'off' current draw is down to about 30 milliamps... does this make sense? These spotlights were installed by an auto-electrical workshop. Any opinions would be appreciated, thanks

thanks Daniel

Greetings gentlemen, The recommended oil filter for my Ford Rocam motor is GUD Z167. Can I use a GUD Z95 instead? I've checked the threads and the gasket on both filters - they look identical and the non-spec filter seems to seal. I live in a village - no auto shops here - but I've got many Z95 filters in stock for my L18. The Z95 is much bigger than the Z167, and doesn't have a non-return valve, but it faces up on the motor, so the oil doesn't drain out when the motor's off. Would appreciate any advice - thanks

thankyou for all this advice. I took the air cleaner off, looked down the carb: with the engine idling, there is fuel flowing in one 'throat' - as it should be. When I open the throttle wide, fuel only flows in the second 'throat' for a few seconds, then stops. Note - This is not the accelerator pump - the accelerator pump tube runs into the first (primary?) 'throat' - it's working fine as far as I can see. With the throttle wide open, should there be a constant flow of fuel in the second 'throat'? The fuel level stays constant in the sight glass even when I rev the motor and 'choke' it with my hand over the intake - so fuel flow seems ok? I've re-set the points, put yet another new condensor on, removed and cleaned, gapped the plugs, checked valve clearances, cleaned inside the dizzy cap, checked plug wires with ohm meter - all good. Vac advance is working. Am going to try again...

I have an L18 with Nikki carb. Can I get some suggestions please - I have to travel a long distance tomorrow, with a trailer, and I can't find the problem. My diagnostic skills are weak - although I did re-build this motor myself. Symptoms: engine starts & idles perfectly. It will also rev perfectly in neutral (no load). As soon as I accelerate on the road, it jerks/hesitates, then surges - can't even do 50mph on a level, uphill it's worse. It started quite suddenly while I was travelling on the highway on my last trip a few days ago. I've changed the fuel filters - run two of them. Changed the plugs, points and condensor. The carb fuel level is right on the line in the sight glass - so I'm assuming fuel is not the problem? Any advice would be much appreciated - thanks

What I do is get the motor as clean as possible - with paraffin/engine cleaner/hp washer etc. Then start the motor and lie under it with a strong light

I'm no expert, but wondering how you know if the oil clearance - the gap between the rod bearing and the crank - is right? As an amateur, I always use locktite on rod bolts, main cap bolts..

I put an oil cooler on my high-compression L18 - but I've run the truck without it, never gets hotter than 170F/80C even here in South Africa...

call me a redneck, but that L28 sounds damn nice...

I have a fixed fan on my Landcruiser 4x4, driven off the crank pulley. Every mechanic who looks at it says I should replace it with an electric fan to save fuel.

Daniel C is correct - rust 'converters' are a waste of money. The right way to do this is to use abrasives and chemicals - sanding discs, flap wheels, grinder discs etc, until you have bright metal. Sand blasting would be ideal. Naval jelly - phosphoric acid - will take out rust in the metal pores without removing metal. Then clean it all with thinners. Weld in patches or use GRP matting. Prime with a zinc-rich primer or epoxy. I did this on my old Landcruiser and its still good 18 years on..

I'm no expert, but I have a high compression L18 which sometimes pings on hot days here. I just stop and retard the timing a bit. I fitted an oil cooler which helps some I think. You could try an octane booster.. Honsowetz says to avoid sharp edges in the combustion chamber..

don't take the chance and try to run it with bad oil clearances. I did that with a Mazda motor and lived to regret it...

I'm no expert, but I've done about 50k miles with my Hardbody's exhaust manifold wrapped - no problems so far. I also wrapped the coated header tubes on my Landcruiser truck - dramatically reduced the temp in the engine bay. Also no problems so far..