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Well, I believe my engine is shot

8K views 48 replies 15 participants last post by  John533i 
#1 ·
:crying2:

So yesterday I drove for 40mins to see a friend and to check if changing out the cold start valve changed anything; I've been suspecting that it was the cause of an overly rich condition and and when I got to my destination 45 mins away, the idle was really bad. On the way back home I saw smoke in the rear view and could smell oil burning. Not good! I also saw my oil pressure dip.

I made it home and found the dipstick had popped up, and oil all over that side of the engine and on the hood. I researched this on the BB and found that sometimes the OVS can be the problem. I just pulled it, and it wasn't clogged. I had cleaned it good in 2015...but the restrictor in the ovs line to the plastic intake runner was ****ed in the line. Something was pressurizing the crank case. Mood is darkening.

Compression was taken a few weeks ago, and I'm 150-160-145-150 across, but I had forgotten to hold the throttle open, so I thought I'd do another compression test. The car started right up but still ran like crap, not the smooth idle I had a few days ago. I warmed it up until it died on its own. :( Also, I saw puffs of vapor coming out of the dipstick tube when pulling the dipstick. I pulled the oil cap and saw lots more vapor puffing out, and while revving I could feel a nice breeze coming out of the oil fill. Mood darkening further.

I pulled the plugs, and here's how they look.



So, I do my compression with throttle open and get 190-180-40-175. Crap. I then pour a little oil in #3 and #3 comes up to 175psi. Note that in Sept. 2015 I had 200, 205-160-193 just after the new head gasket started leaking compression into the cooling system between 3 and 4....so #3 has been an issue for a while.

So, sounds like my engine is shot, eh? Rings in #3? I put fresh plugs in and that didn't help anything as far as smooth running. This sucks...
 
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#42 ·
Guys, I have a question. An 2.0L from an 'early 70's' Alfetta just popped up locally, freshly rebuilt. Would I be able to use just the block in my 86? I'd use my head, FI of course and other stuff. I don't know if the Alfetta nord had different stroke, etc...

Let me know what y'all think.
John
 
#45 ·
Guys, I have a question. An 2.0L from an 'early 70's' Alfetta just popped up locally, freshly rebuilt. Would I be able to use just the block in my 86?
It depends.
US market Alfettas used engine type 01629 from 1975-1977 then switched to 01615 engines from 1977-1979. These same two engine types were also used in the 75-79 Spiders. The issue is whether or not the crankshaft is drilled for a pilot bushing for the gearbox input shaft (required for a 105/115, not so for a 116). If this Alfetta engine has a pilot bushing (or a blind hole to install one) then yes, the block will work. If there's no provision for a bushing, it won't work.
 
#46 ·
Update

I ended up giving the car to a guy in the city to rebuild- the shop has been around for years and had great reviews. Nasko's Imports in Portland, OR. I can't get over how messy his shop is though :p The day I delivered the car, mine probably had the least value out of everything else in the lot. It must have been Duetto Day there.

Anyway, he invited me to check out the engine once he tore it down, and as expected the #3 rings had broken. Two compression rings had hammered around in there and made a mess. I still can't get over the bad luck- I still have 3 pistons that have more than 190psi.

In the bottom end, the bearings looked really good- no copper at all and very little scuffing. Still stock size. Crank was being sent out for inspection.

Even though I look forward to new Motronics, I wish that I could have saved some money by getting a hone job on the other cylinders with new rings, and 1 new piston and liner. He didn't like that idea...but, the piston face was pretty well hammered with the metal flying around in there, and Nasko said that finding new stock pistons was hard. I'm good with that. It's only money :|

So, a question for you guys that have built S3 engines- I am keeping my stock exhaust, as I need to pass emissions...is there a hotter cam setup that would take advantage of the Motronic pistons and still let me pass emissions? Or would that be money down the drain if I didn't have a free flow exhaust and carbs, or different fuel injection?
 
#47 · (Edited)
Better cams and the 10:1 Motronic pistons will make a noticeable difference in power and the way the engine runs regardless of any other changes. Contact Richard Jemison (alfar7) for first hand information regarding hotter cams and emissions. There are threads that discuss this topic so maybe do a search.

A side effect of bigger cams is a fairly lumpy idle and lower intake vacuum at low engine speeds. I don't find this objectionable but it is different and may affect brake boost at low rpm (<1600 rpm).
 
#48 ·
Thanks for the comment. I've lived with a sport cam before, in an M10 BMW engine. New regrinds were either 272deg for FI cars or 288 for carbs. Mine was from the 90's when there was still more choice, and it was a 268 deg cam. I can't remember the lift, but it was greater on the exhaust side. It was a great cam over stock, and made my 1.8L much more fun than the 2.0L I sold.

I was pretty happy with the stock engine before it went south, so I'm excited to see what it will be like with the new pistons!
 
#49 ·
I got her back!!

:thumbup:
Nasko's Imports in Portland called last Thursday to let me know that it was ready to bring home, but yesterday was the first chance I had. I ended up not getting other cams, but he also rebuilt the top end. Kind of insisted on it. It's much more quiet than before. All new valves and hardware, and he set the lash much better than the last guy that touched the top end in '15.

I can't tell much of a difference yet between my stock pistons and the new Motronics, but I'm supposed to keep it under 3k RPM for 500 miles, so I can't really tell. I sort of loved the engine as it was, before I lost #3.

The exhaust smell way cleaner than before. I must have been getting some blow by for a long time...I hope my new CAT is going to be OK...

As usual, not everything came out peachy. No indoor storage in the small shop meant that my dash cracked in the 100F+ days. Not bad, but it's starting. The tach no longer works; it worked for an hour, but read way high. I hope it's the connection at the coil.

She's running cool and smooth. I missed this car!
 
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