Reborn in 1982: I Became the Richest Man by Repairing Cars

Chapter 149 The Santana, the Divine Car, Must Be Repaired by Everyone

After cleaning the measuring orifice, Jiang Hui checked the accelerator pump.

"The function of the accelerator pump is to supply extra fuel when you press the accelerator, so as to ensure powerful acceleration."

"If the accelerator pump diaphragm is worn out or damaged, or if the push rod is stuck, it will cause weak acceleration and a sluggish feeling when pressing the accelerator. This is also a point of failure for this car."

As Jiang Hui spoke, he lubricated the push rod with machine oil. "You see, although this leather cup is not installed perfectly, it still works. We don't need to replace it for now. Let's lubricate it and see if it can return to normal."

"If the leather cup is damaged, it needs to be replaced. These leather cups are very cheap, only a few cents each, and can be bought everywhere. You can also make a temporary replacement yourself using oil-resistant rubber."

These are all lessons learned from repairing cars.

Newcomers have absolutely no idea.

Jiang Hui didn't hide anything and spoke directly.

Next, Jiang Hui inspected the auxiliary air valve, a key component for solving the problem of difficulty starting a cold engine.

He tried to move the valve core of the auxiliary air valve by hand and found that the valve core was stuck very badly and could not move flexibly at all.

"Look, this auxiliary air valve is stuck. When the engine is cold, it cannot open properly and cannot supplement the intake air volume, resulting in an overly rich air-fuel mixture, which makes it difficult to start when the engine is cold."

"When the engine is warm, it cannot shut off properly, resulting in excessive air intake and an overly lean air-fuel mixture, which makes it easy for the engine to stall."

"This is the core reason why this car is difficult to start when cold and easy to stall when warm."

He took out the engine oil and carefully applied it to the valve core and connecting rod of the attached air valve. Then he repeatedly turned the valve core by hand until it could move freely.

"To deal with this kind of stuck auxiliary air valve, first apply engine oil for lubrication, and then repeatedly move it to see if it can return to normal."

"If it still gets stuck, we'll have to replace it, but there are no imported auxiliary air valves available in China right now, so we'll have to contact a car manufacturer in Shanghai to coordinate."

"It will take at least half a month, so repair it if possible and don't replace parts easily. This will save costs and get the car repaired as soon as possible."

After inspecting and cleaning all the parts of the carburetor, Jiang Hui began to assemble it.

"When assembling a carburetor, the order must be the reverse of the disassembly. First, install the small internal parts, then install the external components. Each part must be installed properly without any looseness."

As he assembled the equipment, he gave instructions, "Especially the metering orifices, make sure they are installed in the correct positions. The main metering orifice and the idle metering orifice are different, and you can't mix them up, otherwise it will cause abnormal fuel supply."

"In addition, during assembly, pay attention to sealing. The float chamber cover must be sealed tightly to prevent oil leakage, otherwise it will cause 'flooding' and lead to further malfunctions."

Fan Weimin helped hand over the parts, occasionally reminding Jiang Hui to show that he had been listening attentively.

"Master, this bolt is installed here, and this washer needs to be placed correctly—"

Lin Yuanwu then checked the assembly sequence against his own disassembly notes to ensure that no step was missed.

After assembling the carburetor, Jiang Hui did not immediately put it back into the engine compartment, but instead conducted some simple adjustments first.

"After assembly, you must test it first to ensure that the carburetor can work properly. Otherwise, if you find problems after reinstalling it in the engine compartment, you will have to disassemble it again, which will waste time and effort."

He pressed the accelerator pump with his hand to observe the fuel injection, and then adjusted the idle screw and the air-fuel mixture screw.

"Turn the idle speed screw clockwise to make it richer and counterclockwise to make it leaner; turn the air-fuel mixture screw counterclockwise to make it leaner. Let's first set the idle speed to 800—"

1000 RPM ensures smooth idling and seamless acceleration.

After the debugging was completed, Jiang Hui installed the carburetor back into the engine compartment, tightened the fixing bolts, and then began to check the ignition system.

"Once the carburetor is repaired, the ignition system also needs to be checked. Otherwise, even if the carburetor is fine, if the ignition is faulty, the car will not start properly or may stall."

He removed the spark plug, wiped the surface oil off with a cloth, and then polished the electrode with fine sandpaper.

"You see, the electrode gap of this spark plug is too large, which will lead to insufficient ignition energy and an inability to stably ignite the air-fuel mixture. This is also one of the reasons why it is difficult to start when the engine is cold and why the idling speed is unstable."

He adjusted the spark plug gap with a feeler gauge, saying as he did so, "The standard spark plug gap for a Santana is 0.8-1.1 millimeters."

"If you don't have a feeler gauge, use your fingernail to judge the thickness of the nail. You can remember this technique; it might come in handy in an emergency."

"After adjusting the gap, put the spark plug back in. When tightening it, the force should be moderate. It should not be too loose or too tight. If it is too loose, it will leak air, and if it is too tight, it will damage the spark plug and cylinder head."

Unwittingly, Jiang Hui threw out another little trick.

This is also the key reason why everyone in the store admires him so much.

They really have a lot of knowledge inside them.

Next, Jiang Hui checked the ignition coil.

He touched the ignition coil with his hand and found no obvious signs of overheating or leakage. He then used a multimeter to measure the resistance of the high-voltage wire and confirmed that the resistance was within the normal range.

"You'll find out later that ignition coil thermal decay is a common problem with the Santana."

"Especially when the engine is warm, the temperature rises, and the ignition coil is prone to failure, leading to unstable ignition and stalling."

""

"We've checked the ignition coil now, and it seems fine. But we also need to be careful. After the repairs are done, we should test drive the car to see if there are any abnormalities when it warms up."

"This is something everyone should keep in mind when repairing Santana vehicles in the future."

Jiang Hui brought his apprentices to repair the Santana today because he knew how important this car would be in the future.

So he naturally took this opportunity to teach him properly.

After inspecting the ignition system, Jiang Hui replaced the gasket on the intake manifold and sealed it with sealant to ensure there would be no leaks.

Then, he checked the fuel pump, pressed the diaphragm, and found that the diaphragm was intact, without aging or damage, and the fuel supply was normal.

"Aging of the fuel pump diaphragm is also a common problem in Santana cars, which can lead to insufficient fuel supply, especially when the engine is warm. When the engine is warm, the diaphragm expands due to heat, its sealing performance decreases, and the fuel supply becomes even worse, which can cause the engine to stall."

"The fuel pump diaphragm on this car is fine and doesn't need to be replaced for now, but when repairing a Santana in the future, this part must be thoroughly checked."

After all the repair work was completed, Jiang Hui wiped the oil off his hands.

"Now, let's start the test drive and see how the repairs go."

"During the test drive, pay attention to the engine's idling speed and acceleration, and also test the cold start and warm-up operation to ensure that all faults have been resolved."

He got into the driver's seat, inserted the key, and turned it gently. The engine started with a "hum," without the previous stuttering and difficulty, and the idle speed was smooth.

Jiang Hui let the engine idle for a few minutes and observed the tachometer. The speed was stable at around 900 rpm, and everything was normal.

"You see, the idle speed is very smooth, which means the carburetor is well tuned and the ignition system is also fine."

As he spoke, he stepped on the gas pedal, and the engine speed instantly increased without any "putt-putt" sound, and the acceleration was very smooth.

Then, Jiang Hui opened the car door, let Fan Weimin get into the driver's seat, and said, "Weimin, go take a test drive. Start by driving it when it's cold, and then drive it for a while."

"Let the car warm up and test its condition. Check if it stalls or accelerates weakly. Carefully listen to the vibration of the steering wheel and the sound of the engine. If there is anything unusual, stop immediately and tell me."

At the end of last year, Jiang Hui began planning to take his driver's license test.

Fan Weimin, who had connections, was naturally also instructed by him to get a driver's license.

Now they have both successfully obtained their driver's licenses.

Then some of the test drive work can naturally be handed over to Fan Weimin.

After listening to Jiang Hui's words, Fan Weimin nodded, got into the driver's seat, skillfully started the vehicle, and slowly drove out of the repair shop.

A few minutes later, Fan Weimin returned in his Santana.

"Master, the car runs smoothly, accelerates powerfully, idles steadily, and hasn't stalled. It works perfectly both when cold and warm, and the problem is completely gone!"

Jiang Hui breathed a sigh of relief and a smile appeared on his face.

He stepped forward, opened the engine compartment, and checked the temperature and sealing of each component to confirm that there were no abnormalities such as oil leaks.

Then he said to the waiting cadre, "Sir, the car is fixed."

The staff from the Ministry of Machinery Industry, who were standing nearby, smiled with satisfaction when they saw that the car had been repaired.

"Master Jiang, you really live up to your reputation! I didn't expect you to fix it so quickly, and your skills are so good."

"From now on, the maintenance of imported vehicles for our Ministry of Machinery Industry will depend entirely on you!"

Jiang Hui smiled and said, "You're too kind, sir. It's what we should do. If you need any repairs in the future, please contact us anytime, and we will do our best to handle it."

After seeing off the Santana from the Ministry of Machinery Industry, Jiang Hui turned around.

"Have you all remembered the repair process and precautions for this Santana today?"

"The Santana is a project jointly undertaken by a Shanghai-based automaker and Volkswagen of Germany. It is likely to be mass-produced in the future and replace the SH760 as the main official vehicle in China."

"Therefore, everyone must learn how to repair this car."

"Actually, each step is not that difficult. The key is to be careful and patient. You can't be impatient or use brute force. You have to follow the standards for each step and check each part carefully."

"We don't have that many sophisticated diagnostic instruments, so we rely entirely on experience and intuition. Therefore, we must practice more, observe more, and summarize more."

"Memorize the cause and repair method of each fault, so that you can calmly deal with any Santana fault you encounter in the future."

To ensure everyone fully understands the importance of repairing the Santana, Jiang Hui emphasized it once again.

Now, both Lin Yuanwu and Fan Weimin understood the importance of the matter.

Just then, the phone rang in the store.

"Master, the person looking for you seems to be Director Ma from the auto parts department of Haidian Comprehensive Repair Shop."