Re: well.. sigh, one case of bad engine NOT? !!!

["Todd Schinell" <alfatodd@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Well that wouldn't exactly be bursting my bubble, that would be very good
news.  I thought the compression was supposed to be around 170-175, I
figured the 135-140 figures I was getting on two cylinders and inconsistency
with the other two was a bad thing...  It's excellent to hear that it's O.K.
The oil leaking wasn't too much of a concern, I just figured it was another
reason to give it some attention...  The visible smoking is definitely
pretty bad, especially the deccel/accel test.  I too was thinking valve
guide seals but after the compression test I assumed the worst.  The SPICA
will be getting a tune-up, however first it needs to be installed on the car
;)  Right now it's apparently rich running webers.  The black splatters,
well... perhaps I was being hypercritical after doing the compression test,
I had just never noticed them before (The garage floor is pretty clean back
there and I start and drive the car all the time)  What it isn't doing is
puffing out steam and blue smoke constantly.  What it IS doing is letting
out some pretty big blue clouds every other time I leave a stop light and
when I'm driving... "enthusiastically".  It certainly doesn't have anywhere
NEAR the feel of the other spiders I've driven, the car doesn't rev like it
should, the other cars didn't leave such volumes of air pollution around
either.  Hopefully it is just all in the tuning, that would be great... I
was just worried about throwing a bunch of money into tuning an engine which
I thought was compromised to begin with.  Thanks for your response, you
saved me alot of money and stress, I was losing sleep over it.
Meanwhile, the slave cylinder was an excellent excuse for me to buy some
snap-ring pliers :)
___
 /<>/>/>
77 spider

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <C2slayman@domain.elided>
To: <alfa@domain.elided>
Sent: Saturday, May 17, 2003 3:08 AM
Subject: Re: well.. sigh, one case of bad engine


> Todd,
>        I hate to burst your bubble, but I think your engine's OK.  But
then
> again, half the fun of owning an Alfa is doing all the neat mechanical
> stuff.....  ;-)
>
> > Date: Fri, 16 May 2003 19:52:01 -0400
> > From: "Todd Schinell" <alfatodd@domain.elided>
> > Subject: well.. sigh, one case of bad engine..
> >
> > Well I wasn't able to get up to don erminas' place to have him drive my
car
> > and diagnose the engine due to a slave cyllinder failure. (that's
another
> > story)   I was, however, able to do a compression test on the car with
the
> > engine warmed up and throttle wide open, here's what I got:
> >
> > CYL 1: try 1: 158  "ok.. a little low.."
> >             try 2: 155
> > CYL 2: try 1: 138  "whoa... alot low, damn"
> >             try 2: 141
> >             add oil: 231
> > CYL 3 try 1: 140
> >             try 2: 135  "DAMN!!"
> >             add oil: 202
> > CYL 4: try 1: 165  "actually approching normal, sigh.."
> >             try 2: 168
> >
>
> Let's see......... average is ~150.  All cylinders are within +/-10%.  Not
> too bad.....  Besides, absolute cylinder pressure measurements aren't
exact
> science.  There are too many variables.  So relative pressure comparison
is
> all you can really go by.  If it were 100 +/-10% you'd still be OK.
>
> > So, yes, it appears it needs a rebuild, which I can't manage just yet :(
> >
> I wouldn't worry about it.
>
>  >I also noticed my plugs were black and sooty as well, must be running
> pretty
> > rich because the plugs were new about a week ago.  I ALSO noticed some
> >
> OK.  That I would worry about.  But it sounds more like a SPICA tune-up
> issue.
>
>  >excessive steam coming from the tailpipe and black splatters during warm
up
> on
> > a pretty dry hot day so I'm suspecting the head gasket as well.  All
this
> >
> Hell!  My '89 Spider has been doing that for years and I plan to pass the
> 200Kmi mark later this year.  Steam from the tailpipe is often the
byproduct
> of combustion through a cold tailpipe.  If it goes away after running for
a
> few minutes, fuggedaboutit!  The black splatters are probably from carbon
> desposits picked up by the steam and water particles.
>
>   besides the fact that the engine both leaks and burns oil upon
> decelleration>
> >
> Burns oil?  It's an Alfa right?  So what?  My Spider burns ~1qt/1000mi
since
> new.  Not much change over time either.  If it's smoking visibly, then in
the
> interest of the environment, you should probably consider fixing it.  But
my
> first guess would be valve guides and seals, not the pistons and rings.
>
> But leaks?  What kind of leaks and where?  I'd worry about water leaks
more
> than oil leaks.  But anything from the head gasket area can be a cause for
> concern.
>
>   >makes me say I've had enough with it until I have the time and space to
> tear
> > it down.  So, I'll need an engine afterall, or I'll have to look for
another
> > car... :(
> >
> I'd tune the SPICA and drive the car!  That's what Alfas were built
for.....
> and rebuilt for!  ;-)  Get the slave cylinder fixed and drive it to Don's
to
> see what he says.
>
>   >/<>/>/>
> >
> > 77 spider gone ill
>
> Cheers,
> Charlie
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