Vapor separater gurgle?

[fiatsaver]

Hello all,
I have searched the pcv system and found several different problems, have not seen my problem yet.My spider is a 80 model that has been comepletely rebuilt.1800 intake and 32 adfa.The sepearater hoses have been replaced.While the car is running I'm getting water vapor(not oil) pulsing out the breather hose.And also a gurgle sound.Have I messed something up?(air in the system?)The engine has only a few hours on it.
Thank you
Ray

[mbouse]

the intake manifold and change in carbutetor have nothing to do with noises or other things exiting that hose. if indeed you are seeing WATER vapor, where do you think the water is coming from? proper installation of this system goes no where near any water or coolant supply. does the vapor dissipate after a short time? Does the water vapor seem to appear only on cold, damp days?

1. you are sure the oil level is correct, and not overfilled
2. did the cyclone trap get cleaned out, and the passage in the crank as well?
3. did the brass flame trap get replaced?

[fiatsaver]

The car has been sitting for a while.Since being built it really has not been driven much(today was the second trip of 200ft.).The oil level is correct and oil pan is not dented.The cyclone trap was cleaned and the plugs in the crank were R/R.Flame trap is good.The gurgle and condensation is comming from the long hose that attatches to the cyclone trap.Could this be normal condensation ,from sitting,evaporating ?
Thanks
Ray

[racydave]

Id say drive her! (After you empty the water from the hose.) I bet with normal driving, its not a problem.

[lanciahf]

As Dave says drive her and get her really hot, might be left over water vapor in the crankcase. Worst Case scenario - head gasket. While the car is idling are there any bubbles in the coolant recovery tank? Also how is the coolant temperature while driving? Another test is to pressurize the coolant system and see if it holds the pressure.

[racydave]

Simple test, taste it. If it tastes like artificial sweetener, its coolant. If it tastes like water, make Koolaid.

[TulsaSpider]

Ok I had the same problem...sorta... When I got my car, my first Fiat, in the Spring. I got it running and it gurgled like crazy and spit out droplets of oil out of the long hose. I panicked I thought it would be something serious. I drained the oil, measured it and found that it had too much oil in it although my dipstick read Min it had about 1 quart too much oil. So I measured the amount of oil according to specs, 4.5 quarts, and the problem went away. I think this is the only answer to your dilemma that I have encountered or heard of on here. I am assuming that the crank hitting the oil is causing the gurgling, guys please correct me if I am wrong. What else could be causing a gurgling noise in the crankcase? I also always have "vapor" coming out of my long hose and always assumed it is normal. I doubt what you/we are seeing is actually water vapor but it could be...
Hope this helps!

Lanciaf or anyone else.. what would the temperature do if there is a head gasket leak? I am a little concerned that I possible have a small leak. I replaced every hose and a new thermostat installed recently. I am pretty darn sure it's facing the correct way. My car takes quite a while to heat up. I came home from work, (about 3 miles) (maybe 10 min). With the heater going, just getting warm.. I got home.. I felt the hoses and the hose to the water pump was warm, not hot, and the top hose was warm, but the bottom hose was still cold. The valve covers seemed to be pretty warm. I would think these cars would warm up faster! When the weather was warm I also thought it should get warmer, it almost never got to midway on the gauge. When I drive it for longer periods it does get warm.
Thanks for any advise from you experienced owners!

[racydave]

It doesnt sound like a head gasket problem. And that doesnt seem like alot of warm up time.I have seen clogged heater cores. I have fixed some by flushing them both ways with a garden hose and some remote hoses. Also here in the cold, a partial block of the radiator will help warm them up, cardboard works!

[TulsaSpider]

I flushed the heater core and radiator when I replaced all the hoses. The heater core was pretty dirty, but not clogged The radiator was extremely clean. I am just testing to see if any of this is terribly unusual as I haven't found any other Fiat owners here in Tulsa, and only a few in the state to compare notes with!
All the input is much appreciated!!

[lanciahf]

When I said check for temperature I just wanted to see if the car was overheating. Also my car takes forever to warm up, but once it does the temp gauge hovers around the 190 mark like it should. Maybe your thermostat is always open?

[fiatsaver]

I started the car and let it run for about 5 cycles of the fan.The vapor did become less.I took a camera phone video but cannot get it loaded.There may have been some condensation in tank and engine from sitting.As far as driving it...not quite there yet I still need a air cleaner,alignment,some wiring,carb tuning and other little stuff.There were no bubbles in tank and It looks like I'll be makin' koolaid Thank you all for the support!!
Ray

[So Cal Mark]

Clark, it sounds like your thermostat may be stuck open if the car won't warm up

[TulsaSpider]

Hey Mark! I know that new items can be defective. When I changed my thermostat a while back I did notice a difference. It began running warmer. The other day I removed the radiator cap and started it while cold, let it idle a while and there was no coolant movement that I could discern. Today when I got home.. I felt the hoses and the hose to the water pump was warm, not hot, and the top hose was warm, but the bottom hose was still cold. Doesn't that indicate that the thermostat is closed? I did drill a hole in it as suggested on here and had no problems bleeding the system, I doubt it would affect things that much... I guess I should be thankful I don't have overheating problems like many of us!

[rlux4]

That would indicate a closed T stat Clark. But after running a while, the stat should open and the bottom hose get hot. Do you fill the coolant from a high point of the system? If air gets trapped around the stat it won't open, no matter how hot the air is. I put one of those flushing Ts in the high loop of heater hose at the firewall and when I top off the system it will slowly (very s-l-o-w-l-y) keep taking coolant for a while, which I suspect is the air pocket below the hole in the stat filling up.
Ron

[majicwrench]

I have seen people drill holes in thermostats on many cars to help bleed the system. While it works, unless the hold is TINY it will dramaticly affect the heat output. Personally, if it worked from the factory without a drilled hole, I see no reason why it needs a hole, and I do not drill thermostats., but as always, to each their own.
Keith