Heart Broken!

[Europa]

I drove my spider to the local auto store to purchase oil (yes, Rotella 10W40). On my way the engine felt like it lost compression and was sporadically sputtering. I pulled over checked all the gauges; everything looked good. I shut off the engine and looked under the hood, didn't see anything odd. It was kinda dark, so I figured I'll take her home.

As soon as I started her back up, I saw white smoke wafting from under the hood. At the same time I noticed a huge (to me) cloud of white smoke drifting away from the rear of the car. I shut off the engine immediately. I towed her home and checked the oil; it was milky brown!

I drove the car from Miami to Ft. Lauderdale when I purchased it; ran fine with no issues. I probably put in another 10 miles max since then. When I purchased it i examined the engine oil and radiator fluid. Oil was dark brown and radiator fluid was green. I drove the car until the engine reached operating temperature and checked the oil again. Everything looked good.

I was so heart broken that I put the cover back on the car. I guess I have to pull myself together this weekend and come up with a plan.

Abey

[rlux4]

Sorry to hear of your trouble Abey. If you didn't hear any loud banging or knocking it may be a less that catastrophic problem. Milky oil is usually a blown head gasket. I just did mine and it's not that difficult. Is there any foam on the dipstick?
Check your cam timing and belt also. It should have about 3/4 to 1" play between the intake (left) cam gear and the aux. shaft gear, and be fairly tight everywhere else. If the timing belt slipped it doesn't damage valves or pistons on our 2 litre cars like it does on the older models.
Hope it's not a major problem.
Don't go this alone, keep us posted.
Ron

[mbouse]

yup, it is not a catostrophic failure... setback for the season? well that will depend on your budget. but it is a recoverable injury.

[So Cal Mark]

did the engine overheat? head gaskets don't usually just fail unless you've been overheating or suffering from detonation.

As for the 2L being a free-wheeling engine; it is true that the valves should clear the pistons, but the aux shaft lobe can contact the crankshaft and break the block. The only true free-wheeling Spider motors are the 77-78 1800s.

[Europa]

It looks like I may have a blown head gasket. I didn't see any foam on the dipstick. AFAIK, the engine did not overheat and I did not hear it detonate either. Then again, I drove the car less than 50 miles since I purchased it; not sure what happened before.

As far as the next steps, I am going to get the issue addressed. I knew I was purchasing a 25 year old car. I didn't have any false pretense about things breaking. So I am going to work on it this weekend, time permitting. I need to get the car running as I don't want it sitting there.

Any advice or recommendation on additional fixes/upgrades since I most likely have to pull the head? I am thinking the following at the very least;

Clean the head thoroughly.
Replace head gasket, cam cover gasket and valve cover gasket, manifold gaskets.
Adjust valves.

I am also going to change the plugs, distributor cap and rotor. Change the oil (15W40, made a mistake on the original post), filter. The drain plug was molested, so will most likely change that. I already have an oil pan gasket, so i will be changing that as well. Flush the radiator, replace radiator hoses and possibly change the water pump and thermostat.

Interestingly, I recall the coolant color was still green with no sign of oil in the radiator.

Anything else y'all can advice me on?

Abey

[baltobernie]

Looks like you've thought of most everything. Valve adjustment requires a special tool and a box of shims of varying thickness, so most of us leave this bi-annual job to a Fiat shop.

Regarding cylinder head removal, some folks remove the manifolds, carb, etc. individually; others like the leverage available to lift the entire assembly off as one (with a friend or hoist). With the intake out of the way, you can get to the steering box. Check oil level; fill to within 1" of hole with 90W gear oil. Box adjustment if necessary. I'd replace the heater hoses and PCV hose before the water pump and thermostat. Don't forget a flush "T" for the new hose; open heater valve before refilling, and top off thru "T".

Do a search on "stretched cylinder head bolts" to familiarize yourself with this potential problem before starting.

You'll be back on the road in no time!

[So Cal Mark]

once the head is off, check it for flatness. If it's warped more than a couple thou, you'll be wasting your time to just replace the gasket

[Europa]

Very good point Bernie. I am making a checklist of items that must be done as well as some optional items.

Mark, I will absolutely have the cylinder head checked.

Thank you all for the tips! Much appreciated.

Abey

[So Cal Mark]

rarely do head gaskets blow to the outside, so if you're seeing smoke under the hood you may just have an oil leak that is getting on to the exhaust

[manoa matt]

Don' t forget a new timing belt, check the tensioner also. After its all back together put some oil in it and run it for a while then change it within the first 100 miles. Pull off the cyclonic trap and clean it. There is a gasket for the cyclonic trap, I assume that with all the gaskets you said you are going to replace you bought a complete engine gasket set?

You might run into the "while I'm in there/while I got it apart" syndrome and end up replacing a couple of oil seals too.

Mark, in terms of "free wheeling" what about a 2L block and 1800 head combination?

[kristoj]

Looks like you have a pretty good list of suggestions, and don't want to suggest overkill. But I would also replace the timing belt tensioner bearing and the water pump. Both are inexpensive parts, you will already be doing the vast majority of the labor anyway.

[So Cal Mark]

the head makes no difference on a 2L, it's the length of the stroke and the aux shaft that are the problem. The 2L pistons have larger valve reliefs. Remember, if you use a high(er) compression piston you no longer have a free wheeling engine.

[Zamise]

May want to get a compression checker too, check it and see which cylinders have lost compression if that is the case. Not sure how you tell if they lost compression otherwise, maybe a lack of power, but compression? Anyway, good luck, hope for ya that its not a broken piston ring, or cracked piston or head, or anything worse than a head gasket.

[So Cal Mark]

leak down tester is a better way of determing which cyl could be the problem. I'm not convinced it's a failed head gasket yet though

[Europa]

I haven't pulled anything off the car yet. Its amazing how we all think alike. Water pump, thermostat, belt tensioner etc are on the list that I put together. I had already purchased the radiator hoses, timing belt, cap, rotor etc for tune up. I just added the heater hoses and and valve etc.

I don't have a compression tester, but my brother in law has one and will be bringing it over this weekend. We plan to check everything over before we start to tear the engine apart.

Thank you all for your sincere suggestions. I'll keep you posted.

Abey