RE: [alfa] Spider hood dents - sad engine mounts?

["Jeff Greenfield" <alfaguy@xxxxxxxxxx>]

Karl -

Some thoughts ...

1) Tired engine mounts will cause the engine to sag, thereby reducing the
clearance between the sump and the road. New mounts wouldn't hurt.

2) A properly installed (unbent) sump guard, will help. Yes it will reduce
the ground clearance, but you will hit the sump guard before the sump,
preventing the engine from moving up into the hood (unless hit really hard).
Unfortunately, after a few good hits, you will have to either replace the
sump guard, or remove it and straighten it out. They make an awful
vibration/noise when they are bent and hitting the sump.

3) Make sure that all the hose clamps on the top of the engine, especially
around the throttle body are turned to provide as much clearance as possible
between them and the underside of the hood. IOW, they should be positioned
with the screw either underneath or on the side, not the top.

4) I'd guess that your car is new enough to not be suffering from sagging
springs. The car should sit pretty level front to rear when un-laden.
Compare the ride height to other cars of a similar vintage to be sure.

5) If all else fails, get the name of a good paintless dent guy, they can
work wonders as long as the paint is not broken.

HTH, YMMV ...

Jeff

-----Original Message-----
From: owner-alfa@domain.elided [mailto:owner-alfa@domain.elided] On Behalf Of Karl
Robrock
Sent: Thursday, September 04, 2003 10:36 AM
To: alfa@domain.elided
Subject: [alfa] Spider hood dents - sad engine mounts?

Hi all,
I just had my spider completely repainted (not just a paint job but an
entire
body restoration). I am now determined to prevent my engine from bumping
into
the hood when I bottom out. I have done it about three times since I bought
the car and never want to do it again. It happens surprisingly often on
crappy
country roads around here.
Are the engine mounts the culprit? Possibly the springs shot? I do have a
sumpguard which has saved the oil pan, but also provides less ground
clearance, causing this issue. I have almost 100K miles.Any advice is
appreciated!

Karl
'91 164L
'95 164LS
'94 164Q4
'91 Spider Veloce
http://alfalover.dhs.org
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