well, yes its me, back with another something to winge about nothing changes much! anyways, she seems to pink, alot! shes not happy once she gets warm! i've set the timing up statically, i've set it up dynamically and at full advance, markings lining up perfectly etc etc, but nomatter how perfect the timing is, she gets too hot and starts pinking! one or two things crossed my mind, which we're oil circulation? how do i know if the oil is being pushed round quick enough? and the valve clearances, we set the valve clearances as noted by ken, 20 and 25, could the higher valve clearances be causing her to get too hot? or is it something else? she drives fine, accelerates well, but once she gets hot, she starts pinking, uphill, under load, i believe everything is set up as it should be, but i cant understand why she's getting so hot!

Might be a daft one, but are you driving it with the muff on still?
Mine certainly doesn't like it on unless we're in the low single figures deg c..

nope, havent had that on since the last time we had snow! one morning was abit warmer and havent had it on since then, just 1 thought, its not possible that it could be something todo with my mixture being too lean? causing the engine to run hotter than normal? i find it odd... when i set up the timing statically, she actually ran better than she did when i did it dynamically with the strobe! but yet, she still pinks, which would normally be a sign off the timing being too advanced.... retard it... still pinking... retard some more? still pinking... back to the start! maybe getting electronic next month could be my answer to whether its the timing or not?

Well i would have thought the higher valve clearances would help it run cooler .. the 123 isnt a cure all as they say but if youre getting one anyway then yes i suppose if you set it up as per the instructions it might take away a timing issue you have been having by not setting it properly with the points box.. not everyone rates them highly but i certainly havent had any grief with one (and any known timing or pinking issues) since i fitted them .
But yes lean mixture would be a problem too,also have you tried a cooler running grade plug (NGK B7HS or even 8 as opposed to the standard B6HS) and have you tried super unleaded , i find some of my machines run cooler and happier on the higher octane fuel , i dont know if it affects the standard compression 2cv motor i have as much but i use it anyway

Also ,is your oil cooler clear, may need a blast with compressed air . And are your fan blades all intact , even one or two missing could cause problems.

mixture... i'll be checking! expensive petrol.... i'll be getting that when i can afford it! and fan blades! my fan is always perfect! the last one cracked from the middle down, so i replaced it straight away! and its got 9.0-1 pistons and barrels, they arent that old either!

isn't that the higher comp set up (9-1) -surely that would run better on higher octane fuel (its only a few pee more )
What about your oil cooler, if it's clagged up it will run hot since the oil is also part of the cooling system and wont be getting cooled!
Plus, in an every little helps way ,it's worth trying cooler grade plugs imo. Again, not sure if thats ott on a 2cv but its certainly crucial on some of my other aircooled engined stuff .

im pretty sure the oil cooler has been gently brushed and blasted with the compressor already, but its another thing worth checking! no time off till next monday now, shes fine on the steady drive to work and back each day through and around town! and i dont think i'll be doing any long/hot runs anytime soon either!

Joe

have you made sure there are no leaks in the inlet side of things
how many teeth did you count round to set the max advance for the strobe?
its quite all right to set the timing and then retard it if it pinks BUT usually only needs the equivalent of a tooth or so(3*)

the valves if set as you said wont cause pinking and will let the engine run cooler
9:1 will run hapily on the cheap unleaded
as long as you have plenty oil there shouldnt be a problem

it is pinking not some other sound your hearing..pinking sounds like some crackly loose washers on the front of the engine, most obvious when you open the throttle and the engine is under load(trying to accelerate from 40 in top gear)

Sean

Joe,
Sean's covered about everything, all I can add is that for 9.0:1 pistons, you will need less total ignition advance than with 8.5:1 pistons.
33/34 degrees now seems to be accepted as OK for the lower CR and in my experience, 'around' 30 degrees works OK with the higher CR and 95 octane fuel.

Poor quality video of checking full advance here, but that's all my camera will manage...
< http://www.flickr.com/photos/30132857@N06/4498470220/ >

Btw, if you're getting better results with static timing than dynamic timing, you just ain't doing the dynamic timing right.

ken

Sean and Ken, thankyou for both of your responses, it's definately pinking, i've also been told to retorque the cylinder head i replaced (thankyou spanners) but its got to come off again as the oil seals need replacing!

i'll have to check then, because i've still been doing it at 34 degrees, mark 1 tooth, then count 7 back! i may do it statically, start from complete scratch, and see if theres somewhere im going wrong!

also, me and dad set up the valves, according to haynes, with your clearances, but she seems to be quite... very... tappy now! but im sure we did the valve clearances right, by the book, double checked everything!

(edit - spelling - for some reason... cant type properly on my pc...)