Wolseley WD2 Engine Timing Magneto Wico Impulse

Aug 22, 2006 17 Replies

Chaps, My WD engine is noisy. I will adjusts the tappets but it did occur to me it may be timed incorrectly. The 'text' book says time to TDC and having examined the magneto it is firing exactly at TDC. Someone told me I should advance it a little in a manner similar to a Lister D. Unfortunately I don't know how to fiddle with the magneto to do this



- can anyone advise please? Or should I leave it alone? I can't help but think something is wrong as every other Wolseley I come across is quieter than mine. Another thing that's happening is black smoke keeps coming out of the exhaust - I will clean the carb up and check the jet this week. Thanks, Ian.



Hi Ian Are you talking about a WD fitted with an impulse type magneto? In which case it should be adjusted so that the impulse trips at TDC when you are cranking the engine over.As the engine speeds up and the impulse coupling disengages the timing is automatically advanced. Black smoke would definitley suggest an over rich mixture, is this happening even with the choke control fully open? It certainly shouldn't be mechanically noisy when running, they are normally very quiet in operation.

Regards

Philip T-E

Thanks Philip - yes it is impulse and I have noited your comments about how it advances with engine speed so I will leave it alone as it fires exactly at TDC. The choke is fully open so I suspect a blockage somewhere. I will clean the jet and see what happens. My engine has always been noisy than the ones I've seen at shows and never understood why? Perhaps fuel? Perhaps tappets?

If the choke is fully open and you are still getting black smoke it doesn't sound like a blockage in the jet to me, in fact quite the opposite. Of course, if the jet has been reamed out with various blunt instruments over the decades, the tiny little hole in the middle could now be far larger than its makers intended.......

Check for wear on the faces of the tappet adjusters. the bit that actually contacts the valve stem can wear appreciably, so though the gap as measured by feeler blade is correct, the effective gap is far larger.

Regards

Philip T-E

If the engine runs too slowly the impulse will start to kick in again, check that this isn't happening as the WD's are one of the quietest engines around.

Peter

-- Peter A Forbes Prepair Ltd, Luton, UK snipped-for-privacy@easynet.co.uk

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I've known wolesley engines to do that with no problems maybe speed it up a little, the springs on your governor maybe be tired so are letting the engine hunt a little.

It does sound like your governor is sticking a little, firing for a few revs, then overcompensating and idling.

If you state dia, length of spring without loops,coil wire size and how many you require I have a feeling that somebody may find you some on the group, wont we chaps. By the way which part of uk are you.

Mart>> >>

If it is like the WD8 spring it a rather strange tapered thing. I wasn't paying attention and fitted mine the wrong way round and spent the next half hour wondering why the governor flap wasn't fully open when the engine was stopped.

I doubt if the spring would cause the problem that Ian has though. A weak spring would just allow the engine to run too slowly or stop when fully screwed out. Screwing it in to raise the speed would overcome this. If the spring IS too short then you could just stretch it a little.

Alan

I solved the problem. It's a little unusual but if you readft Nigel McBurney's WD2 restoration part 14, Stationary Engine Magazine November

2005, page 19 under the heading "Jet cleaning and reassembly", 2nd paragraph all is revealed. The paper gasket referred to in the article must have a hole larger than the casting hole where the fuel/air mixture flows into the engine. Mine didn't, it was irregular in shape and constricted the flow. A simple trim with a knife cured the problem.

Ian wrote:

Ian,

I've just spent seven days there displaying did you say hello :-((

Martin P

Sorry, this top-posting does make a nonesnes of these threads. I can't actually work out where you have spent seven days and who was supposed to say hello.

Alan

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