S2A Drives well for 10-15 min then struggles when warm

[mtripoli]

Hello everyone!
I just recently purchased a 1962 Land Rover Series 2A. When i make quick .5 miles rides to the store and back its fine BUT if i drive further distances (maybe a mile or 2) and it requires going into 3rd or 4th gear and starts to warm up thats where i start to have issues. After its warm, if Im going from a stand still the truck will loose power and barely get home. Today it got even worse. Drove for 5 min, pulled up to the garage, put it in 1st, engine cut off. Started it again, tried to go into first and died again. Reverse kind of worked, but eventually i put it into 4Low and got it to go forward.
Heres what ive done so far:
-Replaced fluids in transfercase
-Oil Change
-New Dynamo (charging light wouldn't turn off, now its turning off and the battery is charging)
-coolant topped off
I am in texas, so its hot. It has overheated in the past to the point whre coolant is coming out of the radiator cap so i think that may be the culprit, waiting on a new thermostat and will do a full coolant flush this weekend.

Anything else that could be causign this loss of power/inability to move in first after warming up?

 

[kermit_rr]

What engine is it? Will it rev in neutral? Any misfire?

 

[Wildefalcon]

Assuming it's petrol.

Could be evaporation of the fuel in the fuel lines.

Could be the fuel pick up pipe in the tank part blocked.

Or could be the coil breaking down.

 

[Anaconda]

Check all and replace the fuel system.
Check all and replace the coolant system.
Does it still have a fan and cowl on the engine?
Check all and replace the ignition system.
Chances are no one has looked after it properly for years, you don't really want to keep over heating it.

 

[kermit_rr]

Assuming it's petrol.

Then my first check would be to replace the condenser and check the points

 

[tottot]

After you have driven it and it has played up have a feel of the ignition coil. If hot likely as @Wildefalcon says above it is breaking down. Also as @kermit_rr post replace the points and condenser.
Do you have a Temperature gauge fitted?

 

[kermit_rr]

After you have driven it and it has played up have a feel of the ignition coil. If hot likely as @Wildefalcon says above it is breaking down. Also as @kermit_rr post replace the points and condenser.
Do you have a Temperature gauge fitted?

The coil will be warm, but not too hot to touch

 

[mtripoli]

What engine is it? Will it rev in neutral? Any misfire?

2.25 petrol. Yes it’ll rev in neutral. No misfires

 

[mtripoli]

Check all and replace the fuel system.
Check all and replace the coolant system.
Does it still have a fan and cowl on the engine?
Check all and replace the ignition system.
Chances are no one has looked after it properly for years, you don't really want to keep over heating it.

Yes still has a fan and cowl. I purchased it from Ike at pangolin 4x4 so I know it’s been driven/cared for but it has been sitting for the last year or two I believe.

I’ll start working down the list

 

[kermit_rr]

it has been sitting for the last year or two I believe.

Old petrol in the tank?

 

[mtripoli]

After you have driven it and it has played up have a feel of the ignition coil. If hot likely as @Wildefalcon says above it is breaking down. Also as @kermit_rr post replace the points and condenser.
Do you have a Temperature gauge fitted?

I do not, I’ll need to hit it

Old petrol in the tank?

Filled with fresh fuel before driving

 

[mtripoli]

Just to clarify, It idles fine when in neutral, even when warm it just seems to have a loss of power when going into gear after being warm

 

[scott3933]

Just throwing my 2c in since I have a 2.5 Petrol 110... I had had some issues with mine starting ok, sometimes running rough and shortly cutting out after a while, turned out it was the condenser! I replaced that and she was running ok again but with a misfire mid range, which then turned out to be me being an idiot and setting the points gap to 35 thou not 0.35mm.

Another thing mentioned above, I do possibly sometimes have fuel evaporation/vapour lock issues when the engine is hot and I leave it parked for say 20 mins. Still got the original vapour separator/swirl pot on mine but it still seems to happen sometimes. The same might apply here too if you have the original Weber carb on it! The issue could be more prominent if say have the fuel line piped straight to the carb without this, not totally sure but just throwing ideas out there.

 

[kermit_rr]

Yes idling/revving fine but dying under load is classic condenser failure. I'd be replacing this as a matter of course

It could also be a blocked jet in the carb - does it suddenly pick up again if you pull the choke out?

 

[mtripoli]

Yes idling/revving fine but dying under load is classic condenser failure. I'd be replacing this as a matter of course

It could also be a blocked jet in the carb - does it suddenly pick up again if you pull the choke out?

I was told a blocked jet in carb was one of the suspected culprits of its acceleration issues when I purchased it so will add that to my lousy of things to check this weekend.

 

[scott3933]

Yes idling/revving fine but dying under load is classic condenser failure. I'd be replacing this as a matter of course

It could also be a blocked jet in the carb - does it suddenly pick up again if you pull the choke out?

Realistically for the cost of the parts I'd just be doing the whole igition system... points, condenser, cap, leads, coil and plugs.

Also if you do have to dig into the carb I have some scans from a haynes manual for the Weber 32/34 DMTL somewhere if you want them. Helped me when I was digging into mine and cleaning it all... before coming to the conclusion above it was actually a condenser issue.

 

[scott3933]

Also another thing with the carb, as well as blocked jets, with these more complex Webers there's also the possibility of stuck solenoids. One is for the float chamber vent which has a rubber plunger bit on the end, which can come off the pin and get stuck closed. This one is right next to the fuel inlet. Then the other one cuts off the idle circuit in the carb to prevent run on.

I actually had issues with both of mine after opening it up, I'm not actually sure how it was running before!

 

[kermit_rr]

A condenser must only be $2-5 and quick and easy to replace. It's a service item so worth doing anyways. Keep the old one as a spare

 

[kermit_rr]

Also another thing with the carb, as well as blocked jets, with these more complex Webers there's also the possibility of stuck solenoids. One is for the float chamber vent which has a rubber plunger bit on the end, which can come off the pin and get stuck closed. This one is right next to the fuel inlet. Then the other one cuts off the idle circuit in the carb to prevent run on.

I actually had issues with both of mine after opening it up, I'm not actually sure how it was running before!

No solenoids on a 2A unless some kind of retrofit

 

[scott3933]

No solenoids on a 2A unless some kind of retrofit

He said 2.5 Petrol above so I was just assuming straight 17H out of an early 90/110 and kept in the same form. Although yeah more clarification needed, things could've changed, it could be a mistake and actually it's just a standard 2.25!