1972 Fiat 850, motor very difficult to turn over, or starter is shot.

H

Hallbuzz

Low Mileage
In another thread I explained how I replaced the distributor on my Fiat 850 Spider. Yesterday I got it running and while making adjustments it stopped. I tried to restart it and it cranked slower and when it fired it ran rough and would not rev or continue. I messed with the plug wires because I thought that it was simply missing. After several attempts it got slower and slower so I figured the battery was dead. I put it on a charger overnight.

Today, it would hardly crank over. Rotating the motor by hand also seemed much more difficult. So, I pulled all of the spark plugs and it's still difficult to turn by hand (it seems) and the starter won't turn the motor over. I can rotate the main pully by hand, but it seems like it has more difficult positions than others (like it's compressing a cylinder, but the plugs are out). I've never turned it by hand without plugs before, so I have nothing to compare it to. The dipstick shows plenty of oil.

So, does this sound like a ceasing motor, or a bad starter, or ???
 
How easy does it roll? Battery new? If you get it turning over with the starter, get a compression tester before you put the plugs back in. You can borrow them from autozone/o-reilly.
 
Yes, the starter (which could actually be from 1972!) could be working poorly. Last year I had some trouble with idle speed, and had to use the starter a bunch, and it got slower and slower over about a week, but the battery charge was fine. After a visit to the local starter rebuild guy, it spins nice and fast these days.
 
Since you recently replaced the distributor, could it be a problem with the distributor itself? I usually try to trace my steps backward.
 
When you get it up and running look into what we call "belly pans." There should be a sheet metal pan on each side of the motor attached to the body that seals off air flow from below. Proper air flow is from the top slotted vent holes to the fan and then through the radiator and out the bottom. There's a reverse scoop exits the hot air out toward the rear bumper. Without at least the water pump side pan hot air forms a closed loop and you end up overheating. One can be fabricated easily from sheet aluminum. I have a pic from below on my phone but without a kid here I can't post it.
 

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Frank L. Di Gioia said:
When you get it up and running look into what we call "belly pans." There should be a sheet metal pan on each side of the motor attached to the body that seals off air flow from below. Proper air flow is from the top slotted vent holes to the fan and then through the radiator and out the bottom. There's a reverse scoop exits the hot air out toward the rear bumper. Without at least the water pump side pan hot air forms a closed loop and you end up overheating. One can be fabricated easily from sheet aluminum. I have a pic from below on my phone but without a kid here I can't post it.
Click to expand...
nice oil filter and crankcase vent system on this red/orange hot rod. Check the engine to chassis ground. I read somewhere that the stock positive cable from the battery to the starter was undersized. I replaced mine with a larger one and used the same gauge wire for a new engine ground strap.
 
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