MK1 Storm Passes MOT.. but....

[hermmy]

So picked up my MK1 Storm last Wednesday after it being garaged for 4 years. Managed to get her started on Thursday after some fiddling though stunk of old fuel, has been starting no problem over the weekend and have been taking it around the estate just to burn off the old fuel before todays MOT. Well the great news is she passed (somewhat surprised) with three advisories;

1) rear wheel bearing has slight play
2) brake pipe slightly corroded rear
3) nearside front outer sill slightly corroded.

So went down all happy to pick her up and got there to see he was having trouble starting it again, it had been running idle and then cut out. Haven't had time to look into the problem so had to tow it home, must be the only car that's passed an MOT and had to have been towed home!

Anyway I'm happy it's passed and hopefully soon I'll have it running and back on the road enjoying it. Needs plenty of work to get it where I want though I'll post progress of how I get on.

Thanks
Tom

[Dr. Dub]

Looking forward to seeing progress with this. It could be the age old problem of crud in the fuel system causing you problems if the car has been stood. Result with the MOT though. Nice one.

[hermmy]

Thanks Dr.Dub I think you might be right. Thought we had it sorted but obviously not lol,hoping this weekend to pull it out and clean it all out so it'll run fine. Just want to drive it now and give it a good run out!

[steve bain]

Try some carb cleaner into the intake. This can help fire it up and just getting it to fire can make it work after. Especially with old fuel and sparks etc.

What was it that made it struggle to start?

[mark1gls]

Good news it's got an MOT, the rear wheel bearing may just need a little nip up on the nut as its a fine point between being to lose and to tight and either way will kill the bearing in no time.
Starting problem is properly rust/dirt in the fuel tank and it may be blocked the pick up in the tank, have you looked in the fuel tank yet?

[mr.brown]

I'm pretty sure that it says in the MOT manual that EVERY Scirocco must fail on rear wheel bearing play at least once

[bengould]

All 3 cars I've owned have all had play in rear bearing as an advisory on every mot. Never had even a slight hum from a bearing though.

I think a lot of testers are so paranoid about loosing certification they just have to put something in in case of a spot check. Had "excessive use of underseal" on the girlfriends '69 beetle once.

Ben.

[hermmy]

Try some carb cleaner into the intake. This can help fire it up and just getting it to fire can make it work after. Especially with old fuel and sparks etc.

What was it that made it struggle to start?

Hi Steve, I'll try this just to get it going so I can burn off the old fuel got to admit it did stink though hoping once it's going and given a good drive it might be a lot better!

The original owner did comment the tank might be contaminated and may have to come out, this is something I'll look at doing over the weekend.

[hermmy]

Good news it's got an MOT, the rear wheel bearing may just need a little nip up on the nut as its a fine point between being to lose and to tight and either way will kill the bearing in no time.
Starting problem is properly rust/dirt in the fuel tank and it may be blocked the pick up in the tank, have you looked in the fuel tank yet?

I think you might be right here, as in my previous message the person I bought it off did mention this. We had it running fine and well for a day and thought it might not be this issue, but after hearing it conk out like it run out of fuel I think it might be something to do with the fuel tank.

I'll update everyone once I've had the chance to look. Can't believe it passed the MOT first time and I had to tow it home lol, did make me laugh if annoying I can't drive it at the moment

[go-for-it1]

Old fuel is a no no also. Unleaded, if left for long periods, loses its volatility. I have a mate who services petrol lawn mowers, every spring people bring them in saying "it won't start but was working fine when I put it away for the winter" he says he makes £60 servicing charge just by putting fresh fuel in and cleaning the plug. Most start first time then. I would syphon the old fuel out, clean all filters, disconnect fuel pipework and blow through with air from front to back then put a gallon of fresh fuel in to give it a fighting chance.

[hermmy]

Thanks go-for-it, having another problem at the moment as it's not firing up I think the distributor ignition needs replacing as well.

[hermmy]

This girl is playing hard to get! Spent to last couple of days trying to get her running again and narrowed it down to the rotor arm inside the dizzy. Quick trip to the local scrap yard managed to pick one up and replaced it. Finally put it all back together again after taking half the car apart to find the fault the fuel pump wouldn't work!!!

It was working perfectly fine before we took the fuel pump relay out, soon as we put the relay back in it decided not too!! Have tested the pump and that it all working and a few other bits, so it has to be the relay giving me problems. Oh and to add more insult to my misery after looking inside the tank there is shit inside that I'll have to deal with. Anyone else experienced this? Think the tank will have to come out and all be cleaned/replaced.

[jimmy h]

Hi hermy, STOP. First things first, if you've found dirt in the fuel tank, don't do another thing until you've eliminated it. If any crap gets into the fine tolerances of the injection system - it's toast. This is probably the problem giving you issues with the fuel pump. And if it was me, I'd be changing the fuel filter now (after) making sure the tank is clean - as a precaution. The pump maybe sucking in crap, or pushing against a filter that is also clogged. Have you checked the state of your fuel filler neck/pipe? A common area (if badly corroded) to lead to crap in the tank.

[the edmundator]

Wise words.

[hermmy]

Hi hermy, STOP. First things first, if you've found dirt in the fuel tank, don't do another thing until you've eliminated it. If any crap gets into the fine tolerances of the injection system - it's toast. This is probably the problem giving you issues with the fuel pump. And if it was me, I'd be changing the fuel filter now (after) making sure the tank is clean - as a precaution. The pump maybe sucking in crap, or pushing against a filter that is also clogged. Have you checked the state of your fuel filler neck/pipe? A common area (if badly corroded) to lead to crap in the tank.

Hi Jimmy,
Thanks for the advice, you are right this has to be sorted, my eagerness to get it running should be put on hold until the tank is clean. It's hard not to get impatient as I want to do is drive it as this has been very limited (less than a mile) to the MOT place.