yet more tropical Micra problems

[straggler]

Hello all (again),

A whole list of questions for you!

I'm living in Kampala, Uganda and have a 1990/91 Nissan March/Micra 1L 4 speed. It has the carb with auto choke and the box of electronic tricks under the passenger seat. It also has power steering and aircon (which I never use).

The first problem is the fuel consumption - 34mpg maximum, even when driving like a granny. I've disconnected the autochoke and wired locked it open, checked the air filter etc. Not sure if there's a problem related to the box of tricks under the seat but, if so, is it possible to retro fit an older carb and do away with the electronics? Or is there a way of simply testing the electronics (not many facilities over here.....)?

The second problem is the driveshatfs/CV joints. It currently has a pair of modified/bodged Sunny driveshafts due to the non-availability of Micra parts over here. They are now grinding away merrily on tight bends. So my question is are Micra/March driveshafts the same? I'm coming back to the UK in March (the month not the car) and could pick some up there. Anyone got any going spare?

Lastly, can I fit 13in wheels to replace the current 12inchers? Would Sunny wheels be any good? Would like to gear it up and get a bit of extra ground clearance.

Thanks for looking,

Rich

PS I manage a backpacker hotel/campsite in Kampala. I'd be happy to talk about a deal with anyone who can help with parts etc!

 

[Makrakin08]

cant help you with the electrics but yes you can fit the sunny wheels you could use 15" wheels if you liked, and only k10 march drive shafts and k10 micra drive shafts work, im sure someone on here could get you drive shafts at the cost of postage, if i go to the scrappys on monday ill see if i can pick you a set of shafts up.

 

[frank]

rich, your high fuel consumption may be a lack of power problem (burnt valve seats, worn/stretched cambelt, late ignition timing etc) and i think the box under the seat is just for the idle control valve.
and the pre98 1.0 k11 use the same cv joints (where abouts in the uk, btw)

 

[straggler]

I'll be in London, Hereford, Gloucester, Bristol, Leamington and places in between.

Do you think I can just disconnect the gubbins under the seat? The tickover's very high anyway.....

 

[SammoHung]

the gubbins under tthe seat just opens a solenoid in teh car when teh electrical load from accessories reaches a certsain level....SLIGHTLY more fuel is then added in teh carb to compensate...if you havent allready...you can check this is working fine by idling..after its warm and choke off....turn all electrix off and listenturn the sidelights and the dippedheadlights ON...the engine rpm should raise SLIGHTLY...is the box and solenoid are fine you will hear this

if you KNOW this is significant, (eg may be a stuck open solenoid) then I would disconnect teh solenoid connector at teh carb rather than unplug teh box...(incase the box forms part of another circuit)...but to be honest, even if teh solenoiid was stuck..I dont think it would wreck your MPG completely...only a subtle decrease in MPG would be noticved IMO.

the other thing to consider is that the fuel guages change their behaviour with age..so does the float 'sender' in the fuel tank...so it is quite easy to get errors in MPG calculations if tthe fuel guage is used as a measurement instrument


as frank said its more likely to be some fault the is causing you a small loss in efficiency but you are suffering this small loss 10 to 100 times every second depending on RPM.

personally I would first

inspect & smell your coolant & oil and be sure neither are contaminates with the other

then compression test the cylinders and see if youre sealing properly and evenly

if thats all ok, then check the timing is set right and that the vacuum advance is working smoothly & repeatable...

then if thats all OK I would treat it to a full service of your consumables (new cap and rotor arm, inspect and clean teh HT leads, all ignition connections, new plugs if due all filters & new oil)....

only then would I consider teh carb to be a problem

keep us posted

 

[straggler]

Hi,

Thanks for all that.

Interesting about the tickover. The normal tickover is very fast and drops when the lights are turned on. Maybe a fault with the solenoid? Like you said, though, unlikely to be the main cause of the high fuel consumption.

I calculated the fuel consumption by filling the tank, clocking miles, filling again etc several times so 34mpg is pretty accurate. Unfortunately.

There is a problem over here with poor quality fuel but I haven't noticed any pinking so I don't think that's a big factor.

Generally, the car runs very well, has what seems like normal power and acceleration, no misfires, no problems starting when hot or cold......

I have new plugs, yet to be fitted, and will gather other bits when in the UK plus get the ignition timing etc checked.

Cheers.

 

[straggler]

Another question - I've been looking on ebay and seen some brand new driveshafts for sale but these are marked as being for 1993 onwards Micras. Would these fit mine?