Got a 1990 Uno Fire 999cc carbed...

...also I've got a 'pink' in the motor- nothing carstoppingly bad, just a pink that is noticeable mainly when idling....

...I'm running on higher octane unleaded to try and keep it the 'pinking' to a minimum...have new plugs, recently changed the distributer for a reconditioned one (which could be the source of the problem..), have cleaned the carb in last 3 months...

Any ideas?

Cheers
Dave

Did you ever get the timing set, Dave?

The other thing is, if the timing is significantly over-advanced I'd expect pinking under heavy load: foot to floor at 30-odd in 4th gear, for instance.
Rather than when idling.

BTW does the high octane fuel help at all??

You can get all sorts of funny cyclic noises when idling, with any number of causes... but I'm not sure an alphabetic list would help.
Perhaps a good trained ear is the answer

My Panda has a habit of pinking when she's in a different part of the country, because of the land height above sea level. As a result, she's set-up great in Cornwall, but won't behave in Worcestershire.

To help things, I use lead-replacement petrol where possible, but sometimes give her a tank of 95 RON unleaded. I also use Redex petrol additive, and Redex 4-Star replacement stuff at each filling, and this keeps her running well, lubricates the valve seats, and keeps the emissions low.

Hi John

I did get the timing done, it was the mechanic who warned of the pinking and suggested a higher octane fuel...which hasn't cured it but has made it less noticeable.

He also suggested that it could be the distributer....but like these things...I wouldn't know till I replaced it (£120 quid worth of 'what if'!)[:0]

I figure that its not that bad and maybe its down to age (ie lots of things contributing)...as the motor has done 80k miles in heavy london traffic....(didn't think of that when I bought it!)

Thanks for the tip Paul, I haven't thought of using Redex but maybe a tank with that added could sweeten things up!

Cheers gents

Dave

Originally posted by lashlondon
Hi John

I did get the timing done, it was the mechanic who warned of the pinking and suggested a higher octane fuel...which hasn't cured it but has made it less noticeable.

He also suggested that it could be the distributer....but like these things...I wouldn't know till I replaced it (£120 quid worth of 'what if'!)[:0]

Click to expand...

Odd he should suggest the distributor*, when he's (supposed to have) just set the timing.

You're maybe in the realms of living with the noise(s), as long it's doing no serious mischief.

Regards


John H


*Which you'd just replaced to fix the "cutting out when hot", ISTR.

Never heard of pinking when at idle....check for loos fittings in engine bay and around exhaust suggest it may be a loose ot worn clip....Uno (fire engine ) pink under load when set at the correct timing figure when using modern or unleaded fuel so retard the ignition a little from factory setting best done by road testing...