Why does my Spider hate me?

[htchevyii]

Sorry for the long post! I finally fired up my eng yesterday & it started right up & ran great. I ran it up to operating temp & shut it off. Today I changed the oil checked the coolant, it fired right up & ran great for about 10 min. but then it started sputtering & nearly died for a few seconds. It started running fine again for a minute & then started running bad, sputtering & rattling like it was running on 2 cyls. Sounded terrible. I was afraid it was terminal, but I pulled the plugs & cranked it over & all clys have compression & no wierd noises. The dang thing runs so bad that I'm afraid to leave it running long enough to troubleshoot. This is the first time it has run since I had the head reworked & added a new t.belt, tens, ign p.u., coolent temp sens, Accel module & coil, etc, so there are many variables. Anybody have any ideas where to start? I'm pulling my hair out! thanks.

[So Cal Mark]

does it run smoothly at higher rpms? If the carb has been sitting during this renovation, the idle/low speed circuit may be plugged up. If the trouble is only while idling, I'd slightly loosen the idle cutoff solenoid while it's running. Just slightly turning the idle cutoff solenoid will richen the idle circuit. If its' too lean or plugged the engine will smooth out.
If it's rough at all rpms, set the idle up high enough so it will run, then remove the plug wires from the dizzy one at a time to determine which cyls aren't firing.

[racydave]

maybe you should get a fuel sample in a glass container...

[mdrburchette]

It doesn't hate you. It's just showing you who's boss. I guess the plugs looked good...no black soot? Do as Mark suggests. Pull a plug wire off one at a time to determine if there's a cylinder not firing. It could be as simple as a loose plug wire. Also check for a weak spark. If all of that shows good, it may be a fuel problem. Is it fuel injected?

[mbouse]

SHE doesn't hate you, SHE is just showing you who is boss.....

did you check to be sure that the wires from the mag pick up did not get pinched in the dizzy?

[htchevyii]

It is EFI. It barely runs at all and sounded so bad I was afraid to run it. I Pulled the cap & everything looks fine, as did the plugs. It was late & I was disgusted, so I'll do some more checks tonight. I followed the procedure exactly for the t-belt tens. I would suspect the t-belt slipped, but it doesn't make sense to me that it would start running bad, then ok for a minute and then bad again. Doahh!

[So Cal Mark]

since it's FI, you probably have sticking injectors

[htchevyii]

Is that a common problem? It just seems weird that it went from running great to bad instantly, I would think it would be more sporadic. I did borrow a bore scope today and everything looked fine & with #4 on tdc the rotor was still pointing to the correct position, so at least the exh cam couldn't have slipped. I'm thinking it has to be ign or fuel at this point. I was thinking of unplugging the injectors one at a time to see if I could isolate the bad clys, but it runs so bad I think it would have to be more than 1 sticking which seems unlikely to me. I guess I know what I'm doing this weekend! I had to take sleeping pills to be able to sleep last night!

[So Cal Mark]

I'm in the process of resurrecting an FI car that has been sitting at a body shop for about 4 years. Every injector was stuck shut. I got them freed up, but they intermittenly stick, causing a misfire. With the car running, try tapping on each injector with a screw driver or punch and see if it affects the running. I'm planning on cleaning the set I'm working on to get all of the old varnish out. You would think that 45 lbs of fuel pressure would force them open, but that won't do it.

[mdrburchette]

Oh, the infamous FI malfunction. Pull it off and slap a carb on it....or first determine if it's a fuel or ignition problem. Do you have a strong spark and have you checked the timing with a light? If that checks out, do you have a FI troubleshooting guide? Brad Artigue has a great one here: http://www.mirafiori.com/faq/fiatFI_may2002.pdf

[htchevyii]

uh, I think I figured it out. I fired it up again today & same thing, ran great then like crap. I had the air cleaner off & you could hear it popping thru the intake & see the air flow meter slamming shut. Pulled out the borescope and the #3 exh valve is stuck open & hitting the intake valve. I had new exh valves & guides installed and I'm guessing the clearance must be too tight. Very frustrating as it ran fine before the head was redone!

[rlux4]

This is wierd. I just logged on to ask via this thread how it was going with your (wifes') car, and there is your last post. Sure hope you have it nailed htchevy11. You've done such nice work on the car we were all bummed that it had a problem.
Good luck.
Ron

[Danno]

This is wierd. I just logged on to ask via this thread how it was going with your (wifes') car, and there is your last post. Sure hope you have it nailed htchevy11. You've done such nice work on the car we were all bummed that it had a problem.
Good luck.
Ron

I think he should give up on it altogether and just let me be a good friend and help him out by towing it away. I won't charge him a thing.

[rlux4]

Wow, what an example of brotherly sacrifice! sniff. Brought a tear to my eye.

[htchevyii]

Got the head back to the machine shop yesterday, it sounds like it's goin' to take about a week. The guy was pretty cool and said he will fix it & buy me a new gasket set so I guess that's all I can ask for. I guess I get this weekend off.