To rebuild or not to rebuild

m3810 · Post by **m3810** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:14 am

Greetings all,

I am just beginning my restoration of my 81 spyder and am at a loss as to wheather or not I am in need of restoring the engine. I have pulled the engine and transmission to replace seals on both and am thinking that as long as I am doing work on the engine to just rebuild as long as it is out. It ran well but leaked oil like a bad diaper. I am not sure what to look for as signs of wear or damage? Any and all input is appriciated.

Thanks...Mark

mdrburchette · Post by **mdrburchette** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 7:25 am

I don't suppose you did a compression test, right? Did you notice smoke from the exhaust that would indicate valve seal or ring failure? You could pull the head to check for wear in the cylinder walls and pull the pan to check bearing wear and sludge. If money is not a big issue and you don't know the history of the car, refreshing the engine may not be a bad idea. At least it's easier to clean when it's in pieces.

m3810 · Post by **m3810** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 11:13 am

compression was fine. If the car sat for a while it would emit smoke from the exaust. It however never seemed to use oil or antifreeze. Money is somewhat of an issue so I was going to perform the rebuild myself but don't see any reason to do so if not needed. The engine supposedly has only 43k on it but sat for a long time. I drove it for a couple of summers and could never get it to run right (poor idle, no start after heat up) and have pulled the engine in order to do body work and clean the engine cavity.

fiatS2000 · Post by **fiatS2000** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 12:42 pm

Did it at least crank after the car warmed up? We recently had a FI spider that would start just fine when cold, but wouldn't start if it was turned off for more than a minute after it was warmed up. It would crank like crazy, but not start. If you let the car sit for 1/2 hour, it would start right up again. Mark determined that it was being caused by at least one leaky fuel injector that was flooding the engine when it was turned off. His suggestion was to have all the injectors proffesionally cleaned.

If your car didn't crank or cranked slowly(and you know that the battery was in good working condition), I would suspect your starter and have it rebuilt while you have it out of the car.

m3810 · Post by **m3810** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:47 pm

no, it would not crank and the coil was always hot to the touch. Tried changeing the coil and still had the same problem. After it sat for a while it would pop right off. I was out today starting to break down the motor and it honestly does look good. I still am not sure if I should just replace all the gaskets and let it go at that or what to do? Any suggestions are welcome.

Mark

So Cal Mark · Post by **So Cal Mark** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 5:55 pm

if it was blue smoke when starting, I'd pull the head and rework the cylinder head. If you're going to re-gasket completely, you'll be removing the head and cam boxes anyway.

fiater · Post by **fiater** » Sat Nov 17, 2007 6:53 pm

If the car sat for a number of years, I'd definitely pull the oil pan and check for sludge (like Denise suggested). One of my cars sat for years before I got it and the oil strainer finally plugged up from sludge. Also the fuel line and strainer plugged from varnish.

Jim DeShon · Post by **Jim DeShon** » Sat Dec 15, 2007 4:58 pm

One other thing I would do if it were mine...If I improve the compression [rebuilt head/new rings etc] I replace the oil pump. Just some insurance that the added power will stay together. ...Jim

zappi · Post by **zappi** » Tue Dec 18, 2007 8:16 am

As we all know, our spiders are very special. If you are going to pull out the engine and trani as an assembly, then go the extra mile and rebuild it. The time you put in now will be alot less than if you had to do it in place. Your shop manual will give you some insight, we on the forum can help guide as well. There as some special tools you will need. The bottom line is that if you rebuild your engine then you know what you are dealing with.

Good luck

bradartigue · Post by **bradartigue** » Wed Dec 26, 2007 4:49 pm

I'll agree with Zappi, it's out, rebuild it. There is more effort in the removal than the rebuild (IMHO).

I won't agree with changing the oil pump though, unless you find a FIAT OE pump. I've had a lot of crap aftermarket pumps. If yours is within the specs then clean it and use it.