Gas runs like poo off a trowel

**MacMan** · 1st October 2005, 03:13 PM

Ok. Findings to date. It doesn't really matter whether the motor is hot or cold, it just doesn't want to run on LPG well. Drove it for 45 mins today, left it idling for about 20 mins too. There were times when it was nearly ok and others when it was terrible. Checked the wires and all seems ok there. The converter is getting nice and warm - tracked the plumbing back an the pipes feel nice and firm once it's running with the thermostat open. Consulted father inlaw and he has an old Holden V8 on LPG and has had to put a new service kit in the converter every 50,000km or so for the last 5 years. Previously it was never giving trouble, but the converters started to foul up with a wax like substance and the rubber components were stuffed. He has spoken to a heap of cabbies and 10 years ago they could do 400,000km with no problem, but now they can't do more than a few months without wax buildup. Sounds like this could be the culprit.

Also worth adding - the Premium I bought from the Safeway place to get me home is **** too! Quite breathless at higher revs, but still pretty smooth.

I am going to pull the converter and have a look.

**Disco300Tdi** · 1st October 2005, 04:23 PM

When idling on gas, does it surge in the revs?

It only needs the slightest air leak and it will
run like a one-legged whore.

**MacMan** · 1st October 2005, 05:28 PM

Nah, revs sit at usual 800rpm.

Just had the converter off. The treacle like spooge inside was disgusting! There was about a quarter of a cup in there. The diaphragm was ok and still supple, but I couldn't split all of the sections and didn't want to force it. The main objective is to get it to run so I can get rid of the gas in the tank and THEN look at throwing a set of seals and gaskets at the converter. I just got it all back together and it seems to run a little better so far... Going to drive it tonight to see how it goes.

Thanks all for the input, and stay tuned for more!

**MacMan** · 2nd October 2005, 11:56 AM

Been driving it today and still have poo and trowel problem.

Runs OK on LPG for a while then starts spluttering, swap to ULP and it's fine, swap back to LPG for a bit and it takes a while to sputter again. I have checked the converter and it is too hot to touch all the time so I can't imagine it's freezing. Going to take it for a long drive today and burn off some of the LPG and then I'll take the converter off again later in the week to see how much more **** I'v collected.

All wiring is OK as far as I can trace. Also want to pull the plugs to see what condition they are in. The 4500km of sustained highway running might also have worn them a bit, but I have some new ones to throw at it if they need a clean.

Ross · 4th October 2005, 07:57 AM

I have a s1 disco that i had gas fitted to in August. mine started with a very similar sounding problem on saturday. mainly it cuts out when you come to a stop or try to pull away, it also sometimes coughs and splutters at 100kph. runs okay on petrol. idle is a bit rough though. i rang the gas converters and they will look at it no problem but of course they aren't open saturdays and close before i can get there from work during the week, so i'll have to ask for time off

**loanrangie** · 4th October 2005, 11:34 AM

Ross, sounds like i'm the same sort of problem, mine stalls when the revs drop and its hard to start, runs **** on petrol too so its not limited to the lpg. I will at the dizzy first as i have a feeling that is where the problem is, sometimes i have to crank it over for 10- 20 secs before it will fire up.

**MacMan** · 4th October 2005, 11:39 AM

Been trying to run all the gas out. Only another 150km to go...

It has, however, started to run a little poorly on ULP, which makes me think I am dealing with a spark problem either as the sole cause, or a contributing factor.

Going to try:

- new coil
- new leads
- clean contacts everywhere
- swap back to old rotor and distributor cap
- check air gap

Done some reading, and a number of more reasonable sources suggest that any ignition problem will display more severe symptoms on LPG than with ULP.

Ain't life fun!

**abaddonxi** · 4th October 2005, 12:15 PM

Umm, bad earth on non-oem rotor like in this post?

http://www.aulro.com/modules.php?name=Foru...highlight=rotor

Cheers

Simon

**MacMan** · 4th October 2005, 07:24 PM

Hmmm. Might try putting the old rotor and cap back in. The current one came from British4x4 and went in 5000 (6 weeks) ago.

Just put new leads and coil in, same problem straight away. All low tension terminals were cleaned and looked OK.

Back to the shed!

**Michael2** · 4th October 2005, 08:15 PM

pull out a spark plug as see what color it is. The color can tell you how the motor is running. It may yield a clue and save on some costs.

Use good quality ignition parts. I replaced the rotor cap on my RR when I bought it 190,000km ago and the only ignition items I've replaced since are spark plugs. Good quality leads sure pay for themselves. A friend with a disco found it ran remarkably better as soon as he replaced the leads.

I hope it all works out well, let us know what you find.

Thread: Gas runs like poo off a trowel

Thread Tools

Bookmarks

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions