BRDM Driver Posted July 14, 2013 Share Posted July 14, 2013 My BRDM seems not to like the hot weather! I suffered what I think was a loss of fuel to the engine on Saturday while driving back along the A35 from Poole towards Wareham. After an hour or so cooling off, it started up again and ran fine. It didn't boil over but the water temp was pushing 100 C. (Many thanks to the Tank Museum lads who stopped to help, by the way!) Interested to hear if anyone else has had similar issues. Not sure if it was heat soak causing fuel pump problems or what. The symptom was loss of power followed by engine stopping and refusing to start. No fuel from tank with fuel in and fuel pump felt like it was sucking air when manually primed. Left for over an hour and then started fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Had similar problems with both Dodges yestrday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian L Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Same problem yesterday with the Austin :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 To bl**dy hot then! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Acording to Met Office latest, we are due this heat for a few eeks! Right through season. So anyone suggestions as to how to nullify heat problems? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stinkypete618 Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Not just bdrm's my uaz 452 and friends gaz66 hate starting once there hot. If we stop tomorrow on way to w&p we will have to tilt cabs to cool engines proberly. Its too hot for the poor old things give them ice and snow, and we can plow on. Might be worth checking lift pump and filters, we found lots of nasty rubber bits in fuel filter from the previous lift pumps disolving. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoltan Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Maybe has something to do with the amount of ethanol they've sneaked into pump fuel? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GPW Rookie Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 And I thought it was just me that had this problem! ( see Fordson WOT2H woes thread ) I think I may have finally solved the same problem I was having with the Fordson. A fellow owner told me that he puts 10 per cent Diesel in his fuel tank, I was sceptical at first but it seems that in talking to owners of other vehicles it's perfectly OK to do this, just keep it to 10 per cent! It's the modern rubbish petrol we're now forced to buy, it can't take the heat range that our engines run on, especially in this current weather. Oh for a jerrycan full of 4 Star! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRDM Driver Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 I was told to put some 2 stroke oil and paraffin in to drop the octane a bit and stop the fuel boiling off. I was a bit skeptical too, but maybe that is the answer. The fuel tanks on the BRDM are sat high up, basically in the rear wings so they cook nicely. Assuming the fuel was heated during the day to 50 degrees C, it then gets cooked some more when the engine is running as the rads sit right next to the fuel tank. The fuel the goes through filters and plumbing right past the exhaust manifold and eventually to the pump, which is bolted to the block and is therefore also too hot to touch. Front there it goes up onto the top of the engine in more copper pipes until it gets to the carb. I guess it could start to boil and then you get a vapor lock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcot1751 Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I too have had the same problem with my Ford GPW, like an earlier post I believe it is something to do with the modern fuel. I have been told to add a couple of pints of paraffin to a full tank which another jeep owner says cures the problem. My jeep runs fine on the fuel but maybe a little hotter which according to our local classic car garage is common on ethanol based petrol but if I switch off and try to restart when the engines still hot it suffers badly from fuel vaporisation. As yet I have not gone down the paraffin route but will give it a try when next I fill up and report back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeePig Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 It is also worth considering the electrical systems. Ultimately, the failure might not be a simple shortage of fuel arriving in the cylinders, it might be, or also be, a failure to ignite the fuel, or maintain the burning sufficiently for the flame to propagate across the cylinder. It may be that your plugs, leads or coil(s) are just pushing you over into a non-start situation. Years ago I had a persistent loss of power problem with my Honda C70 step-thru that felt like fuel. It was, but it wasn't just that, the condenser was mounted to the generator backplate, and on the other side of the backplate was the hot engine oil, and I was trying to ride the bike over Alpine passes. By mounting a replacement condenser on the frame of the bike, the problem went away because now it could fire whatever the state of the fuel in the chamber. trevor Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I intially thought electric. Checked everything, it was beeping , squacking and sparking as it should.I don't know if it just mine, but they are extremley touchy about choke when starting, first kick, engine catches , choke straight in and idle on a hand throttle cable. The only other time my WC51 have given me problems were the same sort in Belgium with even hotter temparatures. Running fine till stopped then wouldn't restart. I seem to remeber I poured a bucket of water over the carb, then she went again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arcot1751 Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 I intially thought electric. Checked everything, it was beeping , squacking and sparking as it should.I don't know if it just mine, but they are extremley touchy about choke when starting, first kick, engine catches , choke straight in and idle on a hand throttle cable. The only other time my WC51 have given me problems were the same sort in Belgium with even hotter temparatures. Running fine till stopped then wouldn't restart. I seem to remeber I poured a bucket of water over the carb, then she went again. That's a classic sign of fuel vapourising due to engine heat, on some classic cars people have made a metal heat shield/deflector to deflect heat from the manifold heating the fuel in the carb causing the problem. Cooling the carb down with the bucket of water does the same job. Be careful though I once made the mistake of opening my Lightweight's bonnet which was covered with snow at the time, a lump of snow slid off straight onto the hot exhaust manifold, there was a ping and the manifold cracked like a mirror :mad: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 18, 2013 Share Posted July 18, 2013 Once had an old MG belonging to a friend that had been out in a cold winter and wouldn't start. So as she was a very attractive blonde, I offred to tow it back to the yard and get it started. Got the MG back and pushed into a shed, with the Land Rover behind it. I got the thing started but it was running a bit rough. So I decided to let it warm up. I was leaning on the Land Rover bonnet when there was a hell of a bang from the MG. Something went whirring past me and smashed the Landy windscren. A lump of ice had come out the exhaust pipe! Last winters cold snap it was start the Dodge, first time every time, then go round jump starting the neighbours. Definitley cold weather machines. On a more posiyive note. I've seen stuf fyou paint onto the mainfold to keep it cool. Wonder if a layer of this might help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRDM Driver Posted July 18, 2013 Author Share Posted July 18, 2013 Looks like a combination of measures are required! I favor an electric pump with a return feed from the carb to the tank. Backed up with 10% paraffin in the tank and an electric fan aimed at the carb. Having said all that, as long as the ambient is less than 30 then I don't get any problems... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 I'm going to try some Octane Booster this weekend,. Don't want to start on expensive changes for what is a very rare situation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 19, 2013 Share Posted July 19, 2013 Been up to see the Dodges this afternoon. Turned switch pushed lever and normal service resumed. I've put some Forte fuel sytem cleaner in, because I can really, and will get some fresh fuel from another garage. So hopefully at least one out to play over the weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
texas pete Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 I ran my BRDM down to War and Peace from Oxford local during the heat of the day on the Saturday (around 30 C in places) and had no end of engine overheating problems. First I was trying to run in a convoy of other MVs which was doing around 40 mph (which as it turns out the BRDM really does not like, its too fast to run 3rd gear for long and too slow for for the cooling fans to be effective in 4th gear - seeing that the cooling fans are direct drive. Second, I went for some cheap supermarket fuel. As we drove down at first it was fine, but as things got hotter, the BRDM began to loose power - almost like it was being starved of fuel. We toyed with the fuel mixture on the engine to increase the fuel going into the engine and this seemed to make the eninge run better, but we had to drive with all the engine hatches open to ensure a good air flow ( we even had the interior hatches open which turned the crew compartment into a wind tunnel) and drive a bit faster (having broken off from the convoy). However, on the way back (and following the advice of some of the other forum members) we drove at night when it was cooler (still around 20 C tho) and added Redex lead fuel addivitive to the engine. After that the engine ran great back with no problems, I only had to pull over when I noticed the transfer case and gear box getting too hot and I needed sleep (my co-driver was already asleep by this point). But definitely adding something to the fuel to reduce it vaporising helps, I'm not so sure on using parafin (was even recommended by a guy selling some at War Peace Revival that adding parafin may not be the best idea), but that lead additive certainly did the trick Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfy Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Both our Jeeps and the Morris had vapor lock problems on the way down and at the show. Talking to other owners of older cars there were literally dozens of old vehicles having the problem. One lightweight broke down by our tents with it. Each time we fixed the problem by squirting fuel into the lines with a plant sprayer which will now stay in my Jeep permanently until I find a fix. Carleton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry275 Posted July 24, 2013 Share Posted July 24, 2013 Both our Jeeps and the Morris had vapor lock problems on the way down and at the show. Talking to other owners of older cars there were literally dozens of old vehicles having the problem. One lightweight broke down by our tents with it. Each time we fixed the problem by squirting fuel into the lines with a plant sprayer which will now stay in my Jeep permanently until I find a fix. Carleton Thurs Eve around W&P the jeep felt rough, so was concerned about this yet without any changes on Sat for the jeep record attempt she ran great and started every time on the button ( It was cooler) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted July 25, 2013 Share Posted July 25, 2013 Fuel system cleaned, added super unleaded fuel from another scource. Away both went! I think I'll keep some octane booster in the kit in future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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