Stinky car!'79 Spider

[mdrburchette]

If it's a sulfur or rotten egg smell in the trunk area you may want to also check your battery.

[SpiderHead]

....Or clean all those rotten eggs out from under the seat

That might help!

[artmunson]

Merry Christmas to all!I just thought I would let you all know that I havent gone away,I just havent had my car for the last couple of weeks.My buddy is putting in another clutch for me,he put one in about 2(?) years ago and it didnt make it very long before it started "chattering" like MAD!This time I bought one from IAP and my buddy is putting it in for free...so I let him.As soon as I get it back I am going to figure out what the heck is making it so "stinky" and then maybe I can help the next guy.

[rlux4]

If the old clutch went out so soon it may have been incorrect adjustment. If the release bearing rests against the clutch springs it will wear out very quickly. If the clutch is not released completely, the clutch plate will wear out quickly. When you get the car back, check the free play of the pedal. It should travel with no resistance 3/4 - 1" before it makes contact.
Also, be sure to take your nose plugs when you go to pick up the car.
Ron

[So Cal Mark]

I hope your buddy gets the flywheel resurfaced

[artmunson]

Ha-Ha!Glad to be the butt of your jokes(maybe thats the bad smell)anyway,the clutch was adjusted properly-the strange thing is that we expected oil got on the clutch-but it looked perfect so we looked at other possibilities for all the "chattering and shaking" and came to the conclusion that all the rubber mounts were just shot,so I got new motor mounts,trans mount and "dougnut" thing on trans out-put.When he put it back together he cleaned the flywheel and scuffed it up a bit with emery cloth as anyone would have when re-installing the clutch....well it worked great!....for about a day!This time we are using a clutch kit from IAP(COMA?)that has been used by several other Fiat owners rather than a clutch kit from his usual parts distributor.We may have been able to get away with just a new disc and re-surface but who wants to take another chance!

[So Cal Mark]

all of those things can contribute to chatter, but scuffing the flywheel with emory cloth isn't the same as resurfacing. Scuffing it may take some of the glaze off, but the surface may not be perfectly flat anymore and only resurfacing will cure that

[pope]

Could be an Egg McMuffin from 1979 in the trunk!

[artmunson]

Pope,
You were kinda right!There WAS an Egg McMuffin in the trunk!However it was only a couple years old.....so I ate it!Funny thing is it tasted the same as the one I bought fresh yesterday.Hhmmm???
Mark,
Yeah it was a bad call...the flywheel had been re-surfaced prior and it looked so good....and the rubber dampers looked so bad....of course without having a new one in our hands to compare them to....the new ones were definetly harder but oh well...bad call.Have you used these clutch kits?I believe they are COMA or COMO?

[artmunson]

I THINK the smell is gone!!!!!Check out my post under the title "runs poorly when hot" thanks to everyone for your help.
Art

[natalburga78]

I think I have a similar problem. My car is also a 79 and the air pump and EGR have been replaced. It does run reach after a hard acceleration and a stop. It also smells very strong when iddling. If I put the top down, the smells kills me specially in a red light. I have replaced the plugs and wires, but I don't have the air pump nor EGR to put back on the car, so I guess I have to put up with the small... I have no choice, for now.

[So Cal Mark]

no reason to put up with the smell, and you're not doing the engine any favors by running overly rich

[natalburga78]

Thanks so much for the reply Mark. I just don't know what to do with the smell.
I took my spider for a ride yesterday, I will change the oil later on ... Our weather got a little better. I have cleaned the carb, used better gas, replace the vaccum advance, checked the timing. However, the smell is still awful and the plugs are very dark. These plugs are Bosch platinum and they are accompanied by those fancy red wires. they came in a red and white box. I just forgot the name of the brand. I wanted to ask you, do you think it'd be a good idea to change the spark plugs and wires again? I've read that bosch platinum plugs are not quite right for our cars. When I bought the car, the previous owner had bought these wires and plugs and I just put them on the following week. I was also thinking and I remembered an early car experience with my dad years ago. We were working on a 1600 supermirafiori and Dad replaced the plugs and wires. He used a set of Japanesse plugs that were available at the time. The power of the engine decreased very dramatically, and we could not figure it out why. Later, I remember dad got a new set of bosch plugs and he got it, the plugs made it!!
The power of my car seems to be fine, so I thought that if the car has no air pump nor EGR, it would be normal to feel the smell. But it is so annoying! I was trying to remember if old cars smell that way and I have forgotten, or if I really need to keep searching for the problem.
Thanks again
Luis

[natalburga78]

I replaced the spark plugs and wires today. I adjusted the carburator and still smells as if it too rich. However, I feel a power increment when driving but still smells bad. One cannot even stand in the back of the car. You can even feel it from inside the cabin when driving. I wonder if the catalitic converter has been emptied. It may need a new one. Do you guys thing that would help? I was at work today and we had a customer's car (Honda accord) without a catalytic. The owner had a resonator mounted instead of the cat. The smell was so similar to the one from my spider. My car's cat is on, but I don't know what's in it., please let me know what you guys think.
thanks
Luis