1975 Renault 6TL

[Zelandeth]

Need to get one of them for the Lada, that thing has made a pastime out of belting me when I go to open or close the door.

[daviemck2006]

I used to have two static strips and had to have red running lights on them which lit up as soon as the engine was started. Also had white running lights on the front. This was in 1981, long before drls. I was safety concious back then [emoji12] [emoji4] [emoji23]

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[ekjdm14]

That wouldn't happen to have been on a Red Volvo 265DL, per chance would it ?

[vulgalour]

Not been able to do as much as I've wanted as I've been shot down with flu for the past week or so. Here's a little report on the carb. The replacement air jet I got turned out to be brass plated, which I had not expected at all given that I didn't go for the cheapest option, so silver soldering didn't work, it just tried to melt the end of the jet that connects to the emulsion tube. That means I couldn't get the two parts stuck together and I was pretty fed up about it, my only other option was going to be a new carburettor at £100+ until I realised after a bit of research that Chemical Metal should be suitable for glueing the emulsion tube and corrector jet together since it's tolerant to 120C and fuel resistant. I've also learned that Solex can be an absolute nightmare to get parts for, they just don't seem to have the support of things like Weber or SU. If someone hadn't pulled out the original emulsion tube and broken it (long before I got hold of the car) before jamming in the wrong kind of air corrector, then we wouldn't be having this problem.

The radiator is also a cause of frustration. The promising source has gone suspiciously quiet so I imagine that's going to be another let down. In frustration I scoured the internet again and started watching some videos of Spanish R6s. Couldn't understand a word as I'm terrible at Spanish, but I could compare the radiators in some of the cars with replacements I'd considered using. It looks like some owners are making use of early R5 radiators and I've managed to find listings for both new and second hand ones. The R5 radiator is not a direct replacement but the dimensions are similar enough that I should be able to get one to fit. Here's an early R5 engine bay to illustrate.


Most importantly I have been able to find both new and used early R5 radiators listed and they range in price from about £30 (plus postage) for used ones to around the £60 (plus postage) mark for brand new ones. The mounting points are different between the 5 and 6 but other than that, it's close enough and at this point, the only sensible way out of this particular issue.

My job list stands as follows (as far as I can remember):
> source and fit new radiator
> fit backbox
> repair front light connectors
> sort out battery clamp (original is too short for new battery)
> repair emulsion tube so carb can be refitted
> refit throttle cable spring
> get front calipers working properly

[CitroJim]

No chance of getting your old rad economically rebuilt I take it?

[vulgalour]

Repair of the old rad runs into the £200-300 range which I really can't justify with the cost of a new rad. It's been so annoying just hitting so many dead or incorrect listings.

[CitroJim]

Repair of the old rad runs into the £200-300 range which I really can't justify with the cost of a new rad. It's been so annoying just hitting so many dead or incorrect listings.

Yes, that is a lot of money and I know the frustration of travelling so many dead-ends in search of the correct one...

In that case there is nothing for it but to get an R5 rad and do the modifications necessary to make it fit... I'm sure you can do it in such a way as to make it look as if it belongs there

What about an R4 rad?

[vulgalour]

I've ordered an early R5 rad, it should be here next week. None of the R4 rads are compatible with my late model R6, unfortunately.

---

Today I did some work on the Renault and failed to tick off any jobs on my list. Oh well. I wanted to try and get it running since the new radiator arrives next week and I'd got the emulsion tube/air corrector repaired and the carburettor all rebuilt. So, plonked the carburettor on the car, reconnected the battery, stuck the key in the ignition and.... dead. Flat battery. So I had to get the big red booster pack out.



Which worked quite well. Key back in the ignition and we have life. Also, strangely, the headlights came on main beam once the jump leads were connected even though I'm sure the lights hadn't been left on, it's the sort of thing you would notice and you can't put main beam on by accident. Very odd, anyway, got the lights turned off and let the car charge up for a little bit.


Tried again. I'd rebuilt some of the vacuum/breather system, you can't get the original Renault T piece and my old one was so fragile it broke even more when repair was attempted. Therefore, I've used a modern T-piece and various lengths of pipe to mimic what was originally there. I'm missing the one that runs from the T-piece to the rocker cover because I didn't have a suitable diameter piece of pipe but since I wasn't sure that it was enough to stop the car running, I tried it anyway. You can also see here where the float drain bolt had leaked onto the manifold, I did tighten the bolt up after the photograph was taken, it just needed a quick tweak. If nothing else, it provides proof that fuel is indeed reaching the float chamber.


As a last ditch attempt we put a short squirt of Easy Start into the carb which rewarded us with a big bang and a little bit of fire at the carburettor and nothing more. So, from my limited experience, I'd say the ignition timing and/or plug leads are in the wrong order. Also, I suspect the pipework around the carburettor and the restriction of the T-piece are inadequate at present to make it work as it should, I understand that it provides some sort of pressure to allow fuel to be drawn through the carburettor correctly. I know a couple of the pipes connect to the cooling system too, presumably to prevent heat soak what with the carb sitting right on top of the manifold and not having a heat shield.

I'm trying not to be frustrated now because I know it's something really simple holding things up, I'm just beyond my own experience with whatever the problem is. Tomorrow, providing I'm feeling well enough, I'll go through the ignition timing side of things to make sure that's all as it should be. I know I'm getting a spark, I know I have fuel, I know I have decent oil pressure and I know I have good compression. I also know the static timing is correct so there's no need to pull the engine out to recheck that.

[demag]

I assume firing order is 1 3 4 2? Just in case the leads are wrong.

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[demag]

Just noticed in your pic is the tee piece end open? Try blanking it off.

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[ekjdm14]

Ahh, so close... This provides a nice antidote to coming in from finding my new toy's engine completely locked up solid with a suspected dropped valve

Does sound to me like either firing order or ignition timing is way advanced... Valve clearances were good weren't they?

[vulgalour]

On the Y U NO? checklist:
plug leads - as per the book
valve clearances - done when the engine was put in most recently
Timing chain - done and triple checked when the engine was out of the car most recently
T-piece - did try blanking it with a thumb, no difference, didn't have anything else to blank it with
Distributor orientation - haven't checked that since refitting the engine, though it was checked and the points gapped accordingly, we do have sparks
Carburettor - need to recheck adjustment to factory settings just to make sure I've not missed one

Other than that, I have no idea. It has been suggested that the pipework is quite important and that it can prevent the car from running if it's not all connected properly so that could be as simple as the problem is. I'll know tomorrow if the weather stays nice and I'm still feeling okay. I have to work outdoors so I'm rather at the mercy of the weather and my health at the moment.

[xantia_v6]

On some engines it is easy to get confused and fit the distributor (or drive dog) 180 degrees out (360 crank degrees). If you can see some rockers through the oil filler, turn the engine over till you see the exhaust/inlet changeover on a cylinder (TDC exhaust stroke), the distributor rotor should then be pointing exactly AWAY from the spark lead to that cylinder.

[mickeymoon]

As Xantia V6 says. I know from experience it's possible to do this on an 1108cc Renault 4 engine...

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[ekjdm14]

And on a VW Caddy/Golf 1.6 'EW' engine too, *blush