Listers,
Some of you may recall that a while ago I had a problem with an overheating
engine due to a failed thermostat. At the time I thought I had escaped
without a blown headgasket - this however, was not the case. The headgasket
was "slightly" blown - the car continued to run well - actually, very well
(perhaps it was acting like water injection!)the only sign of a problem was
a gradually increasing appetite for coolant (the car, not me). Anyway, the
other day I decided to bite the bullet and replace the headgasket. The
replacement was quite straightforward - the only problem being that there
was some corrosion in the head so I replaced it with one of my spares. I
took the opportunity to replace some hoses, the points and plugs, etc. Put
everything back together, engine ran well, no sign of water loss, even the
oil was staying inside! Next day I drove to work - 40 miles - car seemed to
be running well except for some pinging on the flat stretches. (The drive to
work is mostly downhill.) When it came to go home, I popped the bonnet
(hood) and adjusted the vernier on the distributor in an effort to reduce
the pinging, started up and backed out of my parking space and noticed a
small pool of liquid where the car had been. I left the engine running,
popped the bonnet again to discover fuel pouring out of every orifice of
BOTH of the Stromberg carbs. Switched off the engine, gave the float bowls a
number of taps in case the valves were stuck - no difference - left it for a
few minutes, started up - no leaking fuel. The journey home was
nerve-racking to say the least, as just the front carb started leaking
again. I even resorted to clamping the fuel line letting the bowls empty as
I drove, unclamping until I could smell fuel, etc.
Any of you have any ideas what would cause both CD 150s to start leaking in
such a way so suddenly? I am just about fed up with Stromberg carbs! (By the
way, they were NOT leaking from the o-rings.)
Rick Harrison
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