Sportrak ELXI 1996

Forum: 

Having serviced the car and fitted a K&N filter the car struggles up a long hill and I am having to work the gearbox and rev the nuts off the old boy to get it up above 30 mph, as this is my first Sporty can anyone advise if this is just the way things are, also if the CAT was removed how would this effect the running.

You have a problem.

Removal of cat increases power and mpg by about 10%. In UK cat can legally be removed if car is built before August of the 'J' reg plate.
Uphill Sporty should easily accelerate well beyond 30mph.
Did you set the contacts to 1mm gap?
Did you set the correct engine timing?

same problem

hi i have the same problem with my sporty it seems to loose power when going up hill just wonder what are the CONTACTS? and how do you adjust them.
Also how do you set the engine timing
many thanks john

You need ..........

Contact = contact breaker in the distributor. Gap 1mm at correct degrees before tdc using a timing light or 12v bulb.
Engine timing is by twisting the distributor whilst the fly wheel is set to correct number of degrees before tdc on the compression stroke.

You should buy a copy of the CD workshop guide/manual. Message me or buy CD elsewhere - about £15 + p&p. It is invaluable if you diy your Sporty.
I have full w/s manual includes servicing, repairs, wiring diagrams etc .... everything needed!

Sportrak ELXI 1996

Firstly the 1996 never had contacts as it was electronic ignition. However it has a rota arm within the dissy cap.

I would suggest you look at the condition of the following

Plugs, Rota Arm and Dissy cap Plus the leads. If the leads have not been changed for some time they can cause the problems described by too much resistance preventing a strong spark at the plug. Equally the plugs are often ignored as they sit way down in the engine. If the electrodes are worn or the incorrect set used this again can produce poor performance. Ajust to the specified gap. The rota arm can be cleaned at it's tip using the tyre wall only, not a file as this increases the gap between the tip and the contacts within the cap. Whilst looking at the cap check the condition of the contact including the centre contact. The cap and rota tend to show up with poor starting whilst the others may show up more when hot or under load. Another point to check is the coil but this is more difficult but likewise can cause the problems.
in my opinion your problem seems to be a weak spark. When you have the plugs out look at the colour of the deposits, black indicates advanced timing, white retarded and brown correct. If back and oily then oil is being burnt within the chamber.

To adjust the timing mark the appropriate timing marks on the front cover of the engine and the notch in the pully with white . Using a strobe align these indicators by loosening the distriboutor lower bolt and rotating it clockwise or anti clockwise to align the marks. If the mark appear to be jumping about then the distributor is worn. If they are fluttering about get thenm to them so the marks are at the centre of their flutter. You will need to use a timing light to do this connected to no1 cylinder. Modern strobes have an induced connector which are the best to use as getting to the modern plugs to connect an in line strobe is difficult. I see you have fittedd a K& N, was the problem there prior to it being fitted? Have you made sure all the pipes connected to the box on top of the engine have remained in place?

The K&N filters tend to increase induction noise and make very little difference to perfomance or fuel ecnomy but they do give better access to the engine. In thery as long as they are directed away from the heat of the exhasts they should give a faster and colder flow of air to the engine that is denser and should give increased combustion. So make sure it is getting a good cold air flow over it. However don't expect a massive change in performance. If the problem waasn't there before then check that all packing has been removed from the filter, may sound silly but can cause that type of problem by restricting air, more noticable under load.

I hope this is of help

M J Young