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MG MGA - Choke sticking

I have only run my car on very short trips through the winter.
The plugs are definitely on the sooty side and I had put that down to those short trips. But I just noticed that the choke on the front carb doesn't completely disengage. After applying the choke and then releasing it, I can always push it up a tiny bit further by hand from underneath.
I renewed the bushes a couple of years ago, using viton seals. With lockdown etc, I have driven very few miles since.

I am wondering if I need to renew the seals again, or whether it is likely to need the jet centralised, or if the spring is just not strong enough.
I will check to see how the piston drops to check if its centred, and I guess I can switch the springs over to eliminate that.
But if that doesnt work, is there anything else I have missed before I strip down the carbs yet again?

Thanks


Graham V

silicone lube is my new friend , pull the choke right on and give the jet tubes a spray, work them up and down a couple of times and magic happens
William Revit

Or GT85 with PTFE which is also a good penetrating releasing fluid, better than WD-40 Multi-Use and a longer lasting lubricant (unfortunately though it used to be British when it started GT85 is now yet another WD-40 Company product). - https://gt85.co.uk/gt85-original/

I had the same problem a few years back (as Willy will well remember) it was intermittent, despite having the carb off I think 3 times for clean and lubing, I think it went away with just use of the car. Usual answer then. 😀
Nigel Atkins

Nigel

I've always understood that WD-40 is not a lubricant but a penetrating oil/release agent. After releasing the subject item it should then be lubricated with another oil such as the one you mentioned. Or has the composition of WD-40 been changed?

Steve
Steve Gyles

I swapped to a new Burlen design jet and seal (matched items) and the choke is very smooth now.

The replaced cork seals weaped and the viton o rings made it too tight.

Steve,
You are correct, WD seeps in, but then gums up over time.

Regards
Colin
Colin Manley

I swapped to a new Burlen design jet and seal (matched items) and the choke is very smooth now.

The replaced cork seals weaped and the viton o rings made it too tight.

Regards
Colin
Colin Manley

Graham - sounds similar to the issue I raised just recently. I've dismantled my front carb and replaced the jet & seals and finished off re-assembling this morning. Also cleaned & lubed all the choke linkages. Seems to be sorted with front carb returning/dis-engaging as it should. Tim
Tim Prime

Colin. Greetings from the Isle of Wight! Long time!
I have avoided sorting the weeping issue which you appear to have fixed with the latest Burlen designs. Before I now follow suit, can you confirm it’s a straightforward job on standard H6’s and still working well? Also, presumably it’s ethanol proof too?
Best
Bruce.
Bruce Mayo

Hi Bruce,
Yes, a while now. I often go to Southsea beach and look across to the IoW.

it’s the same strip & rebuild process, but you must use both new designs of jet and seal arrangements together. Ethanol resistant and dry after two years with a very smooth cable operation. I did transpose the black choke support bracket (where the choke outer cable fastens) to achieve a smoother ‘angle of attack’. I wrote this up in Safety Fast years ago (I think that the parts list is drawn with the bracket incorrectly oriented.

Regards
Colin
Colin Manley

Thanks for the feedback everyone.
The silicant lube treatment that Willy suggests sounds much simpler than stripping the carb again, so I thought it must be worth a go.
But we have family arriving tomorrow from Melbourne who we haven’t seen since before lockdown, so “she who must be obeyed” has been keeping me busy preparing for their visit. I suggested my sticking choke was more important, but for some reason that wasn’t received all that well!

I have some silicone lubricant (coincidentally made by WD40) and have just escaped into the garage for 5 minutes unnoticed (please don’t tell anyone!). It really does seem to have made a difference already, so thanks very much for the help, much appreciated.
Great advice!
Graham V

Steve,
yes WD-40 is a penetrating/releasing fluid and will lubricant short term, GT85 is a penetrating/releasing fluid and lubricant with PTFE and last longer as a lubricant so why have two cans, at least two cans in the same place.

WD-40 Company still claim WD-40 Multi-Use as a lubricant - "dries quickly and leaves a thin, clear coating when you want to protect or lubricate a surface." - https://wd40.co.uk/products/wd-40-multi-use-product/

Like all 'great' American corporations WD-40 have swamped other lands with their companies products, often keeping the brand names of those they take over and selling many of their brands of the same product side by side giving the illusion of choice, like Coca Cola, Mars and others.

A very small can of WD-40 is handy to carry in the glovebox or boot as a handy jack-of-all-trades but only because they don't do very small cans of GT85 (well not that I've seen)

For a penetrating/releasing fluid I used to use Rapideeze but sadly long gone, so on to PlusGas but that got took over by another company and I'm not sure if it's as good as it used to be or that all where always somewhere about as good as each other anyway.

GT85 used to be a British company, part of WD-40 Company for a long time now and IIRC PlusGas was British and no longer, same as most of our water, we'll really regret that in the future.
Nigel Atkins

This thread was discussed between 05/04/2022 and 07/04/2022

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