[superloaf]

So i'm driving and accelerating mildly when all of a sudden, BAM, and then engine dies. Timing belt is intact. Nothing unusual under the hood. Of course it won't start. Cranks freely with no unusual sounds.

I'm baffled. Any ideas?

 

[Milanoverde]

Usually something sudden indicates loss of spark. Check the wires. See if you have spark to the plugs. Go from there.

Tony

 

[aralfa8589]

When you say BAM, do you mean there was a big noise, or is that a figure of speech?

 

[superloaf]

Oh yeah, it was a Bang! Found it though. Out was the bloody dist rotor. It exploded. Sourced a new used one thanks to benny @ alfa romance and i'm sitting in a running milano again. Oh, and the noise might have been amplified due to the huge hole in my center muffler.

Car sounds different now. Better and raspier. The old rotor must have been slowly fading.

Thanks to all and the car gods for getting me up & running once more.

 

[superloaf]

Yup, it was a bang but considering my center muffler has a huge hole in it, the sound may have been exaggerated.

Anyways, got lucky as it was just the rotor, which must have exploded but a quick trip to see benny @ johns alfa romance solved ask my problems and the milano lives on to deafen the ears of all those in reach.

 

[86spider]

exploding rotor

Check for play in the rotor shaft inside the distributor. If the shaft is able to move off its center it can allow the rotor to impact the inside of the cap and can pretty much look like your pictures.

 

[superloaf]

Check for play in the rotor shaft inside the distributor. If the shaft is able to move off its center it can allow the rotor to impact the inside of the cap and can pretty much look like your pictures.

Oh, yeah,i should have mentioned that. Benny told me the same thing and I actually checked the shaft before he even said anything. When i first saw the shattered rotor,i wondered what the hell could have caused
that to happen and figured a loo
se distributer might do it. Anyways, the shaft had no play or looseness so I think it was just a factor of sitting for ten years or so waiting for someone to resurrect the poor milano!

So don't put off replacing your cap & rotor as it might just be waiting to explode one day as you are headed to venice and give you a big scare that you just killed your happily revving V6!