Re: Spider exhaust

["Greg McNair" <gmcnair@domain.elided>]

Joe and others who emailed me,
    The car is an 84, it has the older version Ansa twin-tipped exhaust, and
I replaced all the gaskets in the exhaust system a week ago, no leaks.  I
have replaced 2 of the 3 shift boots, and as near as I can tell, there are
no leaks to the interior besides this gaping opening above my head and all
around me.  It has the hard-shell Veloce rear spoiler, and the tips do not
face up or down...straight out with tapered ends.  It does have driveline
and engine oil leaks.  Isn't it supposed to be like a Harley, always
dripping blood to let you know it's still alive:  :>)

Greg



----- Original Message -----
From: "Joe Martin Cantrell" <agiyo@domain.elided>
To: <alfa-digest@domain.elided>
Cc: <gmcnair@domain.elided>
Sent: Saturday, October 05, 2002 11:47 AM
Subject: Spider exhaust


> Date: Sat, 5 Oct 2002 09:00:38 -0500
> From: "Greg McNair" <gmcnair@domain.elided>
> Subject: Spider driving experiences (and smelling like exhaust)
> Is it just me, or after a day's worth of driving do you other spider
owners
> also smell like car exhaust? Is there a way to direct airflow from the
rear
> of this car so that it doesn't push the exhaust back into the cabin?
> Obviously, good straight fast driving should be the cure, but
unfortunately
> there are people ahead who insist on using brakes on the interstate.
>
> Greg,
> What model is your Spider?
> What sort of exhaust outlet does it have, up turned, or down?
> Are there any exhaust leaks?
> Does it have any oil leaks, from the engine or driveline, which may be
> putting oil on the header pipe?  Are all the grommets in place and tight
in
> your firewall?
> Are your shift lever boots in place?
> Emergency brake boot intact?
> Is the trunk seal in good shape?
> Does the car smoke?
>
> I'd guess you probably have a Kamm tail Spider; the slipstream eddies
> behind the car are widely suspected to suck fumes back toward the
> cockpit.  This was addressed by the factory's fitting the donkey d*ck
> exhaust tips which directed gases down toward the pavement.  They also
drag
> the ground more than others, and don't look very good to most people.  I
> don't know of any after market rear mufflers which have downturned
> pipes.  The popular replacement pipes are almost all too short, and
> discharge gas right into the square tail's eddy, but they look good and
> don't drag as much.
>
> I'm not sure when Alfa went to the neater looking upswept exhaust tips,
but
> I wonder if the rubber ducky tails of the '80s cars might not be at least
> partly to disperse and block exhaust gas dumped there by the upswept tips.
>
> I have procrastinated for years about putting wind tunnel style tufts
> around the tails of several Alfas and photographing them at speed, to get
a
> better idea of exactly where that air is going.  Might be time to do it.
>
> You imply, though, that you smell the exhaust more when you slow down,
> which might indicate you are getting oil smoke from a point further
> forward, perhaps from one or more of the other sources I listed
> above.  I've seen exhaust in the cockpit from all of them, and believe the
> Kamm tail's been blamed for more problems than it caused.  A slight oil
> leak from the cam cover, working its way onto the header pipes, or a head
> gasket O-ring leaking onto the 2 into 1 collector, can make very stinky
> smoke which will work its way into the cockpit through any of the orifices
> I mentioned, and doubtless several others.  Likewise, the common small
> cracks where the exhaust pipe joins the mufflers can cause obnoxious---or
> noxious---smells.
>
> I'd check the header side of the engine and look around under the car, to
> see if there may be oil getting onto your exhaust.
>
> Cheers,
> Joe
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