Hi All,

I have I bit of a dangerous problem with my 1989 mini 30. Its pumping fuel
out all over the floor appearing to be coming from the expansion pipe from
the float chamber.

My questions are...

1. float chamber or carb settings to blame?

2. Fuel pump? could this cause this effect or does the carb purely control
this.

3. Haynes manual tells me that a faulty fuel pump will place fuel in the
oil, if so how can I tell? and would that cause the above problem?

I'm really unsure what to do with this, I am usually hands on with this car
and I do all my own repairs/maintenance but this time I am stuck

Any ideas will greatly be appreciated.

Dick Jones

First it reviews if the needle of the floater is working well, this is, if
it cuts the fuel flow.
It replaces the packing of the deposit of the carburettor.
You can lower the fuel level in the deposit to avoid over level, adding a
spacer in the base of the needle.

Good Luck and greetings from Santiago de Chile

(sorry by me poor english)

--
SonoMan
Austin Mini Blanco 81'


"DJ" <william_stanier (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> escribió en el mensaje
news:gTCfg.110$W6.60 (AT) newsfe5-win (DOT) ntli.net...

In message <gTCfg.110$W6.60 (AT) newsfe5-win (DOT) ntli.net>, DJ
<william_stanier (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> writes
If you're using a standard fuel pump (not a high pressure one), then the
fault is almost certainly going to be the fuel cut-off needle valve in
the float chamber. I guess a 1989 Mini uses an HIF carb with the float
chamber below the jet, in which case you have to take the carb off the
car to replace the needle valve. If it's an HS carb with the float
chamber to the side, you simply undo the three screws holding the float
chamber top on, carefully pull out the pin to release the float, and
remove the needle valve and replace with a 'Viton-tipped' one.

Re-assembly, as Haynes used to say, is the reverse process.
--
Chris Morriss

Is this running a HIF or HS4 carb?
Sounds to me as though the needle valve in the float is sticking open. just
remove the fuel pipes and remove the top of the chamber. clean any dirt etc
and refit and retry. it may be worth buying a new needle valve. DSN
classics were the cheapest for me a month ago

RS

"DJ" <william_stanier (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

"RS" <l400ras (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

All the advice you have been sent, I totally agree with,
one of the questions you asked was, you have been told that a faulty fuel
pump can dump fuel in to the engine oil,
this is quite right,
the fuel pump consists of 2 chambers, the lower chamber vents to atmosphere
and houses the bottom part of a diaphragm, the upper chamber deals with the
fuel, if the diaphragm splits, then the fuel can leak through to the lower
chamber, and out of the vent hole, and can also sneak past the actuator arm
and in to the crank case and mix with the oil,
HTH
Fitzy

Yes so you can sometimes tell if there's fuel in the oil by sniffing
the dip-stick and from the consistency of the oil too I should imagine.

Definitely something to sort as it's not a good idea to have fuel in
your engine.

Taffy

In fact as somebody else said on a Mini forum:-

If your dipstick smells of fuel and the oil is thin and gritty, DO NOT
START THE CAR. A sump full of fuel/oil mix and vapour is a very
effective bomb.

Taffy

Great response by all, Thank you.

One further question though....

If I have a faulty fuel pump, would it deliver fuel to the carb at all or
can the result vary?

Cheers again.



"DJ" <william_stanier (AT) hotmail (DOT) com> wrote

Taffy wrote:

Bloody terrorist!

A faulty fuel pump would still pump fuel to the carb, but may be leaking
into the engine as well. The fuel pump has nothing to do with your over
filling float chamber though,

cheers
RS