carb/ airbox/ engine 1.0L

[SuperNovaTyler]

hi guys, pretty new to this, so bare with me......


so ive had my nova 2 weeks now and its my daily driver....
and ive noticed its started to be a bit 'boggy'...?!?!?

so i decided to check the air filter and carb, when undoing the bolts of the standard airbox, i noticed that there was oil around the bottom of the bolts and thought thats a bit strange

and i took the air box off and took it apart, there is oil inside the airbox and also in and around all the nooks and crannies of the carb and its been mixed with water as it goes that funky white slodgy stuff right?

so i gave the airbox a good wash out and dried and put back together as i didnt want to get into it to much without knowing what im doing or resolving, and there alot of oil around the head, so im thinking head gasket, but then i was baffled to realise that there is a pipe directly from the airbox to the rocker cover? any one know why that is?

obviously being my daily i wanna keep this in tippy top shape :)

can anyone shed some light, when i get a chance i am gonna go about new head gasket and giving the carb and manifold a good clean out?

but any other possible issues as to why this is?

cheers
tyler

[mowgli]

its from a device called the breather. this is fitted to make sure your engine doesn't blow up when it warms the oil up.

all engines breathe. your engine will be a bit worn and breathe a lot, due to it being over 20 years old & a 1.0, which has a design from the 60's. the rocker cover will be leaking cos they all do on old engines.

unless it is using water, don't bother with changing the head gasket.

you could build a catch tank from the breather & bung the hole in the filter, but it will not make much difference to the running of the engine.

[torquey]

Its a breather pipe that goes from rocker cover to the airbox give the pipe a clean out and see.

[marc69]

if the engine is a bit boggy, get it seviced, new filters/ oil, new points, plugs and if necessary (due to oil everywhere) carb cleaned. It makes a massive difference to these engines, once the points wear they become quite sluggish.

To check incase it's the head gasket and not just the breather, remove the oil cap (when the car is cold and sat for at least a few hours. Look for signs of white, similarily check the dipstick. Also check the water, take the cap off and look at it (with a torch), is there oil in it? If none of these then the chances are it is just the breather that needs cleaning.

The rocker cover gasket is easy to do, it is just the four small bolts, clean it all of the head and cover, new gasket on, whilst the rocker cover is off, clean the inside of it as it could be full of old sludgey oil which is stopping the engine from breathing, also a good opportunty to clean out the pipe itself. When refitting the cover, if you don't have a torque wrench, fit the four bolts tightly but do not use too much force as they are small and can snap.

The 1.0 is a great engine if it is maintained well, the wee weber 32 is a great carb, lots of folk moan it is slow, rememebrer it is a 1.0! However, I have found that mine (Ihave owend three) will take the 1.2is (Ihave also owned three) anyday but they have to be serviced properly each year and ignition timing and carb settings are crucial for getting every ounce out of it. Almost every 1.0 that someoone else has owned that I have driven has usually not been maintained properly and therefore asthmatic.
For an everyday easy engine they are still up to the job, this is coming from a guy who has had almost everynova engine including xe.

[SuperNovaTyler]

cheers guys, yeah i think ill give it a good service and clean out, because it is a great little engine, runs good and starts every day without fail, is worth changing the airbox to a cone filter, or just get a upgraded panel filter to go in the airbox?

cheers

tyler

[jimbob-mcgrew]

your best off sticking with regular parts. you wont see any gains on the 1 litre engine.

a good old service is the best thing you can do for it.

new air filter
new fuel filter
new oil + filter
check spark plug gaps
contact breaker points + condenser
and a can of carburettor clean spray

it'll probably cost you around £60-ish for those parts, depending on where you buy.
youll need a feeler gauge to check the spark plug gaps and set the c.b points up.
and get yourself a Haynes manual on ebay for a couple quid too, well worth it. :thumb:

if you still get issues after you've freshened everything up, you might want to do a compression test on the cylinders, to check the head gasket is ok

[SuperNovaTyler]

I will do, thanks for your help because even though I've had it such a short time, its fantastic it makes me smile everyday :) and I want to preserve it. I love little old cars, I've already had 2 classic mini's :)

[marc69]

I love my wee 1.0 Nova, it feels evry similar to a mini (real one)