[alfa] Re: A Few Questions for the New Year

[C2slayman@xxxxxxx]

Gabriel,
Date: Wed, 24 Dec 2003 11:13:29 -0500
From: Forza <headroom@domain.elided>
Subject: [alfa] A few questions for the New Year

My spider has had much work $$ and now after a few years of lite driving
(5-7k year) a couple of things are beginning to manifest..Please advise

1.      The car doesnt smoke, but does expel a nasty exhaust after being
driven hard during deceleration It has gotten to the point that I cannot
drive her with the top up and the windows openBTW: she burns about one
quart evry 1500 miles.. I use valoline blend 20-50
A quart every 1500mi is not bad for the 2000cc engine.  I think that's what
my '89 Spider consumed when new off the showroom floor!  It's probably
your valve stem seals.  But it is a little strange that you can't drive with
the top up and the windows down.  I've found that running too rich is the
cause of exhaust fumes in the passenger compartment.  Once the mixture
is right, I don't have that problem.

2.      Im beginning to hear and feel a banging when releasing the clutch
at low speed, coming from the rear Can the rear be adjusted, shimmed or
does it need repair?
Yes.   The ring and pinion should be maintained at the correct lash.  Take it
to an Alfa pro who knows how to do the job.  But check your guibo, center
driveshaft bearing and u-joints too.  They can cause clanging on acceleration
also.

3.      The car has always been more than willing to violently brake its
tail loose when making strong deep moves such as wide U turns  Ive owned
a 64 Sprint that didnt do this and all my British cars just skid and
easily recover..What up with that?    My front end is all new, I haven't
replace any of the rear end rubber..The Tech said it was fine when I did
the front endIt did it when I had 205x60x14 Yoko AVIs and still now with
less aggressing sumimotos of the same size
Check your trunion bushing.  The one on the differential.  That tends to break
or dissintegrate (sp?) before any of the other rear end bushings.  But check 
all
the other bushings too (trailing arms, swaybar and trunion to body mounts) by 
pushing the axle from side to side while freely suspended.  It should be rock
solid with no give.

4.      I have an air/fuel mixture meter installed and made the mistake of
using it to adjust the spring-loaded gear inside the airflow sensor box..
Ive gotten it to run smoother and at storch, but I cannot get it to go
full rich at WOT..Which direction should I be adjusting the gear to make
the mixture richer?
Hmmmm...... Can't help you with the airflow meter adjustment.  But for WOT,
I thought that the throttle switch was supposed to over-ride the signals from 
the airflow meter and O2 sensor.  Is your throttle switch properly adusted so
that it shorts (or opens, I forget which) when the throttle is wide open?

5.      LastI always liked carbs Maybe Im wrong, but I like the
simplicity of an all mechanical system  When I get the engine rebuilt..18
months from now, Im wanting to rebuild it as a euro 2000cc carbed
engineWhen enquiring about more power the L-Jet system seemed to be the
big road block.  Any comments would be appreciated


I've always  been fascinated by the mileage we get out of the FI vs carb dis-
cussions.  I know the Mercedes and BMW owners would have killed to 
have an FI unit the equivalent of the Spica.  The Bosch L-Jet and Motronic
aren't as sexy (but certainly competent and excellent in their own right.)
Carbs are simpler (and often a greater knowledge base in tuning.)  But
if the fuel system is delivering enough airflow (ie big throats) and the
right mixture, I don't see how carbs or FI make a difference.  I think you
will get more bang for your buck with high performance cams (see discussions
elsewhere on list), a free-flow exhaust (I prefer a catalytic convertor and a 
single muffler w/o a resonator), and a properly curved high energy ignition 
(ie
make sure the spark advance is tuned to where you want the power band and
matches the cams).  I think the latter mod gets ignored too often in the 
2000cc
engine.  We all know how much Alfa has learned about the importance of
combustion dynamics in this head with the addition of the twin spark design.

Many Thanks
Merry Christmas,
Charlie
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