Engine running but not well.
- Thread starter Zona
- Start date
Rotating the engine
My favorite: Car in top gear, e-brake off, jack the passenger-side rear wheel slightly off the ground. Now you can turn the motor with a socket on one of the lug bolts.
My favorite: Car in top gear, e-brake off, jack the passenger-side rear wheel slightly off the ground. Now you can turn the motor with a socket on one of the lug bolts.
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
I think I may have an even easier method...
I simply have a brick near the rear wheel... and on a flat surface, in gear, with the plugs pulled... just PUSH the car backwards or forwards...
Actually I just lean on it a bit and watch the cam as I do so... then kick the brick back in place or pull up the e-brake.
I simply have a brick near the rear wheel... and on a flat surface, in gear, with the plugs pulled... just PUSH the car backwards or forwards...
Actually I just lean on it a bit and watch the cam as I do so... then kick the brick back in place or pull up the e-brake.
I couldn't agree more with the other members about your ability to do these jobs on your car. Last fall I changed the plugs and wires and it was LITERALLY 3 days before the engine ran again. That's how hopeless I was. With the help from everyone here, it ran again. (I got the wires mixed up, and I still don't know how :wall
This spring I took a deep breath and changed my timing belt. Had some issues getting it going again, but advice from the forum was priceless. :clap: Now I know how to do these things and have learned a lot about my car. I'm not afraid of the engine any more! Do it yourself, I say! One bit of advice that I don't think I've seen here is to equip yourself with the Haynes manual for the X. I've seen them on Ebay for $25 and is very useful, though not comprehensive. Gives you something to look at while you are in the "study" too!
This spring I took a deep breath and changed my timing belt. Had some issues getting it going again, but advice from the forum was priceless. :clap: Now I know how to do these things and have learned a lot about my car. I'm not afraid of the engine any more! Do it yourself, I say! One bit of advice that I don't think I've seen here is to equip yourself with the Haynes manual for the X. I've seen them on Ebay for $25 and is very useful, though not comprehensive. Gives you something to look at while you are in the "study" too!
Careful about the backwards part
Pushing the car backwards while it's in a forward gear (or vice versa) will cause the engine to rotate backwards, which is bad for the timing belt.
Or so says the shop manual... I've never been interested in performing the experiment, but considering the geometry of the timing belt, it seems plausible.
Pushing the car backwards while it's in a forward gear (or vice versa) will cause the engine to rotate backwards, which is bad for the timing belt.
Or so says the shop manual... I've never been interested in performing the experiment, but considering the geometry of the timing belt, it seems plausible.
Manuals, mechanics, DIY
What year is your car?
Yeah, I should know, you've already told us, I'm just not up for looking back through the threads now. Asking because I have a few spare Haynes manuals hanging around, could photocopy some pages or drop one in the mail. But AFAIK, Haynes never did do a manual for the fuel-injected cars.
No matter how much "C'mon, do it yourself" flak you get from us, if paying a mechanic is the right thing for you, then that's what you should do. It really comes down to how you value the dollars you'd give a mechanic relative to the hours you'd spend working on the car yourself. Even if you want to do your own work eventually, there's something be said for starting with a well-sorted car so at least you can enjoy it while you're learning.
However, there is a catch... And that is finding a mechanic who is competent to work on these cars. There are some good guys out there, and there are some real clowns. If your noise is in fact valves (a good guess, but as Chris StL says, there's no way of knowing for sure over the internet) the hardest part of the repair is going to be finding the shims and shim tool - they're a dime-a-dozen among the folks here on xweb and mirafiori, but no idea if any shop near you will have them, or know that you can substitute Volvo or Ferrari 2v shims.
What year is your car?
Yeah, I should know, you've already told us, I'm just not up for looking back through the threads now. Asking because I have a few spare Haynes manuals hanging around, could photocopy some pages or drop one in the mail. But AFAIK, Haynes never did do a manual for the fuel-injected cars.
No matter how much "C'mon, do it yourself" flak you get from us, if paying a mechanic is the right thing for you, then that's what you should do. It really comes down to how you value the dollars you'd give a mechanic relative to the hours you'd spend working on the car yourself. Even if you want to do your own work eventually, there's something be said for starting with a well-sorted car so at least you can enjoy it while you're learning.
However, there is a catch... And that is finding a mechanic who is competent to work on these cars. There are some good guys out there, and there are some real clowns. If your noise is in fact valves (a good guess, but as Chris StL says, there's no way of knowing for sure over the internet) the hardest part of the repair is going to be finding the shims and shim tool - they're a dime-a-dozen among the folks here on xweb and mirafiori, but no idea if any shop near you will have them, or know that you can substitute Volvo or Ferrari 2v shims.
sdlsaginaw
Steven Lawson
I can't agree more
If you decide to use a mechanic, find one who has worked on Fiats. If you take it to a general shop, the job will get assigned to the new kid. I saw this happen with a front end alignment and headlight adjustment I had done. Had to fix the botched headlight alignment myself.
If you decide to use a mechanic, find one who has worked on Fiats. If you take it to a general shop, the job will get assigned to the new kid. I saw this happen with a front end alignment and headlight adjustment I had done. Had to fix the botched headlight alignment myself.
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
Jase... also look for a CLYMERS manual...
... as they are generally a bit more accurate than the Haynes.
... as they are generally a bit more accurate than the Haynes.
jvandyke
True Classic
The best mechanic is free; you. You care more than any hired gun, you know the symptoms far better than they would. It might take you much more time but if you go slow and ask a lot of questions, you'll fix it correctly and save enough money to actually afford toys like this, I could never have them if I weren't my own mechanic. You've already shown the wisdom of asking for diagnostic help instead of tearing into it not knowing.
Now if you need the car up and running in a timely fashion, then you'd better have the $$ to hire someone or get a new hobby. Fixing is part of the fun to me.
jvandyke
True Classic
There's been times when I'd much prefer to hand it over to a "good" mechanic and pony up the $$ just to be done with a sticky problem. It's just too expensive to do that with a hobby car though. I wonder how accessible "good" mechanics are for old foreign jobs like these. I'd have no idea where to turn if I got desperate. Without this place and all it's helpful experts I'd be screwed. How did rookies survive before the internet?
Zona
Jase
I measured my clearances today and unfortunately none of them seem too far off, actually they were all a little tighter than the specs called for.
Starting from the passenger side and working towards the driver side.
1-.012"
2-.008"
3-.009
4-.013
5-.013
6-.008
7-.009
8-.012
One bit of information I left out (which is probably a crucial bit) is that when I test drove the car before purchasing it it did not make the noise in question. Since I bought it it has been up on jack stands while I fiddle with it (since June) . In that time I've cleaned/degreased the engine a few times (still not spotless), changed the plugs/wires, cap and rotor, accessory belt, and oil pan, as well as other things not relevant to the engine (brakes and such).
Starting from the passenger side and working towards the driver side.
1-.012"
2-.008"
3-.009
4-.013
5-.013
6-.008
7-.009
8-.012
One bit of information I left out (which is probably a crucial bit) is that when I test drove the car before purchasing it it did not make the noise in question. Since I bought it it has been up on jack stands while I fiddle with it (since June) . In that time I've cleaned/degreased the engine a few times (still not spotless), changed the plugs/wires, cap and rotor, accessory belt, and oil pan, as well as other things not relevant to the engine (brakes and such).
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
Hmmm....
Maybe consider running the engine with the valve cover off... and try FEELING which valve is the problem... or proving is a valve.
A long screwdriver resting on top of each or pressed against the spring migh cause the sound to alter PLUS you may even be able to feel the difference.
Kinda messy and ya gotta be careful... but I'm running outta ideas...
Maybe consider running the engine with the valve cover off... and try FEELING which valve is the problem... or proving is a valve.
A long screwdriver resting on top of each or pressed against the spring migh cause the sound to alter PLUS you may even be able to feel the difference.
Kinda messy and ya gotta be careful... but I'm running outta ideas...
Zona
Jase
That sounds dangerous...
One other thing, I don't know if it means anything but after cleaning the engine once I started the car to let it heat up and dry off and it was missing on one cylinder. I assumed it was because I got the distributor cap wet so I just turned it off and left it off until the day I made this thread.
One more thing... I have no idea how old the gas is in the tank, the P.O. could have filled it up before I bought it or it could have been sitting with the gas in it since 1998. However considering the tank is nearly full, she lives quite a ways from the nearest gas station and the car was not at all road worthy when I bought it I get the feeling that it's old since I doubt she would go through the effort of putting 3/4 of a tank in with gas cans. I also put some fuel filter cleaner in the tank shortly after parking it.
I'm just trying to disclose every bit of info I can that could possibly be relevant right now...
One other thing, I don't know if it means anything but after cleaning the engine once I started the car to let it heat up and dry off and it was missing on one cylinder. I assumed it was because I got the distributor cap wet so I just turned it off and left it off until the day I made this thread.
One more thing... I have no idea how old the gas is in the tank, the P.O. could have filled it up before I bought it or it could have been sitting with the gas in it since 1998. However considering the tank is nearly full, she lives quite a ways from the nearest gas station and the car was not at all road worthy when I bought it I get the feeling that it's old since I doubt she would go through the effort of putting 3/4 of a tank in with gas cans. I also put some fuel filter cleaner in the tank shortly after parking it.
I'm just trying to disclose every bit of info I can that could possibly be relevant right now...
Valve clearances
Tighter is not better.... Were those measurements cold?
Given that the ticking noise wasn't there when you bought the car, isn't as loud as it sounds in the video, doesn't get louder with revs, and you haven't done anything that could break anything, I'm inclined to think it's something minor. It's impossible to say without being there, but that's my guess today.
I'm about two hours from you, and I have a collection of shims and the shim tool, could probably drive up and help some weekend in the next few weeks.
Tighter is not better.... Were those measurements cold?
Given that the ticking noise wasn't there when you bought the car, isn't as loud as it sounds in the video, doesn't get louder with revs, and you haven't done anything that could break anything, I'm inclined to think it's something minor. It's impossible to say without being there, but that's my guess today.
I'm about two hours from you, and I have a collection of shims and the shim tool, could probably drive up and help some weekend in the next few weeks.
Black-Tooth
Tony Natoli
OK then... I'm outta ideas...
... but old gas would be an inconsistant miss, not a steady one on ONE cylinder.
You will need to take some risk to find the problem but I would not suggest you do something YOU are not comfortable with.
Probably time for you to get some help... professionally or from a local X head... which I would recommend the latter.
Start a new post with Beer and Pizza incentives...
... but old gas would be an inconsistant miss, not a steady one on ONE cylinder.
You will need to take some risk to find the problem but I would not suggest you do something YOU are not comfortable with.
Probably time for you to get some help... professionally or from a local X head... which I would recommend the latter.
Start a new post with Beer and Pizza incentives...