My Panda hasn't been getting the use it deserves and after driving it last week for the first time in a while I was reminded of few issues.

One of the problems is a bad hunting idle. Even when warm I can't put the choke fully in as it will hunt so badly it stalls. (not helped that the starter is prone to sticking!) If the starter doesn't stick it starts quickly again with chocke. I basically keep the choke half out so it ticks over at around 2,000 rpm.

I have a few ideas, but without steering opinion I was hoping for some suggestions/anecdotes of similar issues that others have resolved.

Thoughts?

Check for air leaks around the Carb seal, and fuel lines can crack and let air in.

Spray some WD40 around the carb (with airbox on), if the revs pick up then you'll have a air leak somewhere. Could be dirt in the carb too, I had a real issue with hunting few years ago, barely idled with choke in and would occasionally stall when I dipped the clutch, couldn't get to the bottom of it for about 2 weeks and then one day it was just perfectly fine again and remained that way for years, must've been dirt in the carb

As @Didge3 said check for dirt in the carb especially the jet.

Just another thought, check the vac advance pipe isnt split or the vac advance itself hasnt died (take the pipe off the carb end and suck, if you can draw air ok with little or no resistance then the vac advance has failed).

Check for my old favourite, perished fuel line downstream of the filter - drops little bits of rubber into the carb blocking up jets. Fuel lines don't seem to last 5 minutes these days - just gone to start up Grumbleweed after months of neglect a couple of weeks back and the fuel was seeping straight through the rubber hose all over the place.
Or as everyone says, vacuum leak and or vac advance problems.

firstcar-Y10 said:

Check for my old favourite, perished fuel line downstream of the filter - drops little bits of rubber into the carb blocking up jets. Fuel lines don't seem to last 5 minutes these days - just gone to start up Grumbleweed after months of neglect a couple of weeks back and the fuel was seeping straight through the rubber hose all over the place.
Or as everyone says, vacuum leak and or vac advance problems.

Click to expand...

Haha you and me both on the fuel lines, mine did this the other week dumped about half a litre onto the intake manifold be fore I realised! New fuel hose looks much better quality and much thicker walls these days!

Thanks all for taking the time to offer advice.

Ties in with what I was thinking. There's a secondary long standing problem in that it doesn't start well when left for a longer than a few days. Basically all the fuel will have drained back to the tank and evaporated out the carb so I have to crank until fuel is pumped to the carb. Once there is fuel it starts well.

I suspect an air leak somewhere, allowing fuel to drain back. I also suspect duff seals and or a blocked jet. My plan was to completely renew the fuel lines and to service the carb with new seals and jets. From what you say I'm hopefully on the right track.

i'd go with the vac advance acting up along with maybe a detuned carb. Talon was really bad but when it got tuned to put out a given amount of co2 the idle was more smooth than fuel injection!