BMC starting / heater plugs / bitch wont fire up!

[fisherman]

Blow torch down the air inlet will do it, a boat I was on had a 3 cyl Baudouin, we had to burn old echo meter paper under the inlets to start it.
I sold a Leyland truck with a 1.5 in it, always had trouble starting, if we missed first go after the heater plugs it was bump off on a hill. The guy I sold it to, an engineer, said we were just not spinning it fast enough and pointed to the huge battery he had fitted.

 

[Jim@sea]

As I said earlier. Get a bigger battery.

 

[scottie]

Drilling out the carbon means you can heat the air in he cyl and not loose all the heat directly to the carbon

 

[PCUK]

Haven't read the whole thread so this may have already been covered. Someone suggested fitting a Thermostart (the inlet heater). I fitted one on my 1.5 and it worked perfectly well. I finally bit the bullet and took the head off to replace the broken heater plugs although there was really no need.

 

[essexboy]

My money is on the Glowplug holes blocked, I used to have a tool for doing this job, but long gone. It was if I recall a 3.5 mm drill brazes onto a 3mm rod about 150mm long with a tee handle, you coated the drill in grease cleared the holes, and Robert was your mums brother.

 

[MANXPEDRO]

Hi fellas. I found a small drill bit on the boat (left my good drills at home!) that was about thye size of the glow plug element. I managed to scrape out quite a bit of ****, enough to quite easily loose the drill bit down the hole if I wasnt careful!

I've done a bit of reading since last night, and there's a reamer (a round wire brush the Americans were calling it (like a babies bottle cleaner shape!!)) but I think it might clog up quite quickly. I was thinking of making a tool like a no12 (or thinner?) gauge welding rod (flux removed) with a 90' angle on the end, so it's just wide enough to enter the heater plug hole, but the angled bit might actually scrape more carbon off the inside of the chamber??? ?But the drill bit welded onto a t bar is also a good idea.

I've orded a thermostart, but not sure now whether to fit it now the heater plugs fired her up after a 10 second burst of heat? Its on its way, so probably wont do any harm fitting it.

 

[OAF]

But the drill bit welded onto a t bar is good idea.

From memory we used a 3.2mm drill bit with a small nut welded to the end of it, then we used one of them flexible screw driver handles with a 1/4" socket of the right size for the nut on the end of the flexi drive, it worked great to get around the injection pipes without the need to remove them!

 

[alb40]

I've orded a thermostart, but not sure now whether to fit it now the heater plugs fired her up after a 10 second burst of heat? Its on its way, so probably wont do any harm fitting it.

I'd save you're money return it, not bother fitting it. Glowplugs last years when you only need 15 secs heat. Keeping them on for ages cause they are gummed up is what burns them out. Just remove and clean the carbon each time you do a service and you'll have no issues. No point complicating matters!

 

[MANXPEDRO]

yeah, good idea about the nut and flexi driver....i have one on the boat.

Your right, i think i'll send it back...ehy complicate things!

Thanks for all your good advice!