A while back I took my 83 Mini out for a long drive and after driving well for about 45 minutes at highway speeds (50 - 60 MPH) it started hesitating and chugging. I stopped a couple of times to check the coil connection thinking that might be the issue, but to no avail. On the way home, I decided to take some roads with a lower speed limit and found the car ran much better and the chugging seemed to go away at speeds under 40 MPH. Eventually, I had to get back on to a highway and the car seemed to still run better at 50+ MPH. A former mechanic I know, told me his instinct is to suspect the spark plug wires, not the coil, since coils rarely fail in his experience (he's not a Mini mechanic). I replace the wires and found the car chugging right away when driving it. I have since replaced the distributor cap and rotor as well, but haven't had a chance to drive it since. So not sure if the problem is still there.
In the meantime, I have started wondering if engine timing might be the issue, which leads to the questions of whether I can take the car to anyone to do the timing provided I give them the specs from my Haynes guide, and how do I figure out exactly which engine I have since there seem to be so many variations with different specs in the Haynes guide?
So my questions to the group:
1- Am I on the right path with the wires/distro cap & rotor replacement? (Should I put in new plugs as well?)
2- Is this an issue related to timing? Not sure what the symptoms of bad timing would be.
3- Figuring out my engine type. All I can say is that it is a 1275 A+ engine with a block (12HE) made for unleaded gas. It isn't an SPI/MPI engine. The 1275 GT was for Clubman, I thought, so that doesn't seem to be it. Was there a 1275 Mini Metro? I've heard that before, but don't know what it was. The distributor is the 65DM electronic distributor, but not sure if that is relevant.
Since I live out on the Oly Pen., I am a long way from easily taking somewhere where there is Mini mechanic experience. If anyone is coming out to the Port Townsend area and is able & willing to help, let me know.
Thanks.
Tim
In the meantime, I have started wondering if engine timing might be the issue, which leads to the questions of whether I can take the car to anyone to do the timing provided I give them the specs from my Haynes guide, and how do I figure out exactly which engine I have since there seem to be so many variations with different specs in the Haynes guide?
So my questions to the group:
1- Am I on the right path with the wires/distro cap & rotor replacement? (Should I put in new plugs as well?)
2- Is this an issue related to timing? Not sure what the symptoms of bad timing would be.
3- Figuring out my engine type. All I can say is that it is a 1275 A+ engine with a block (12HE) made for unleaded gas. It isn't an SPI/MPI engine. The 1275 GT was for Clubman, I thought, so that doesn't seem to be it. Was there a 1275 Mini Metro? I've heard that before, but don't know what it was. The distributor is the 65DM electronic distributor, but not sure if that is relevant.
Since I live out on the Oly Pen., I am a long way from easily taking somewhere where there is Mini mechanic experience. If anyone is coming out to the Port Townsend area and is able & willing to help, let me know.
Thanks.
Tim
Comment