Re: italian-cars-digest V7 #35

[einarp@domain.elided (Einar privat)]

<dsholt@domain.elided> wrote:

>The car will cruise around a parking lot, but I'm afraid to drive the
>car much because it appears to have been sitting a while, and I don't
>want to bust anything like the timing belt.
 
Just put in a new one ASAP. Belt costs appx $25. If it goes, it may
cost (a lot) more than you paid for the car.

>that if the turbos are blown, then the car will smoke when
>started, or when blipping the throttle, which my car does not do.

After a hard run like a 0-240km/h roller road run, watch the exhaust.
Or rather you don't need to. If the turbos are leaking oil, it will
then belch oil smoke in huge quantities. Same kind of test can of
course be done at the road provided you have a drivers lisence that
covers the speed levels involved.

>The turbo boost gauge does move around in the yellow.  Does this
>mean that the turbos are OK?

No, it means they works to some extent. Better though, this seems to
indicate the MABC is working and acknowledge the engine can receive
full boost. Good, because not many knows how it works and what to do
if it doesn't.

>There's some whitish goo floating at the top of the coolant reservoir,
>however, the engine oil looks good.  Is this a bad sign?

Maybe, maybe not. It could be oil, although I don't think "whitish goo"
is a good description of how oil on water looks. Take a bucket of water
and drip *one* drop of oil on it's surface, and you'll know how that
looks. It could be oil and water emulgated by violent swirl (water
pump), but usually it looks just like oil on water. In the instances
I have seen or heard of, oil in water on a Biturbo is also accompanied
by water in oil (mayonnaise) and/or water in exhaust.

>There's no fluid in the power steering fluid reservoir.  If the rack
>needs re-building, how expensive is it?

Depends on where you get it. Swap to non-servo, cheaper and no problems.
Stan Panis (HEY! still here Stan?) did this, and gave a positive report
afterwards.

>The car starts fine when cold and revs freely, but it stalls readily
>at idle and will idle erratically at 1-2k rpm.  It has trouble starting 
>when barely warm.  (The engine has a carburetor).  Are those
>bad signs?

Not enough to cause red alert.

Check the diaphragm of the WOT valve. It's located under the cover
with 3 screws on the forward facing side of the carb. Take care not
to loose parts when removing the cover, there is a spring underneath
it that will eject parts if not careful. Hold a rag around it when
taking it off. The diaphragm perishes fast from the high heat of the
air from turbos. It's a standard Weber part. If it's bad, it will give
a rich idle and allow some fuel to seep down into engine after it's
turned off.

When you have the pressure box off, also check the small vacuum pot
at the rear of the carb. It may have a perished membrane too, allowing
false air past the carb. This will also give erratic (lean) idle.

BiTurbos will behave erratic if not in good tune. Have an ignition and
carb check/tuneup done. A bad state of tune will also loose more HP in
this engine than in most. The valve clearance is easy and quick to
check, but a lot of work to correct. But it stays good for very long
unless something prompted it to go wrong, like for example a bent valve.


einarp@domain.elided  ( Maserati Biturbo Spyder )