Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Catching up: Filling up the GTV with coolant, test drives, minor disasters.

It's been a while since I've updated my blog. A lot has occured in the past few months, and hopefully, we'll catch up soon enough. So, let's begin where we left off.


First, adding coolant to the car is simple:
a) make sure all the hoses are connected, and all drain plugs are tightened. Inside the car, turn the heater thermostat open (all the way hot).
b) remove the water pump vent plug and the block's vent plug. These are screws found on top of the water pump and on top of the motor, which allow air to escape while filling up the radiator with coolant.
c) remove the radiator cap, and start pouring a 50/50 mix of coolant and distilled water.
d) While filling up the radiator, look for coolant to start seeping out of the water pump vent hole. When coolant comes out, replace the vent plug and tighten. Do not overtighten! The pump housing is made of very soft(cheap?) aluminum, and the screw's threads will strip very easily.
e) Keep filling until coolant seeps out of the block's coolant air vent. When this happens, replace the plug screw and tighten. Again, do not overtighten things!
f) Fill up the coolant reservoir tank to "Min"
g) top off the radiator, and replace the coolant cap.

Once this is all done, start the car and let it run for a while, and check for leaks. Simple, eh?


Now, If you recall from my previous post, we were done installing the whole water pump, cooling system, and battery together. If you look closely in one of the pictures, you'll see trouble a-brewin'...

You see, the tachometer cable connects to the water pump through a little gear that sticks out from the bottom of the pump housing. Well, I forgot to connect it. Right after filling up the car with coolant and cranking the car, I looked around and under the car, and saw the cable dangling loose.

Hmm..... Just when I think I was done.

So, after completing the coolant fill-up process (and waiting for the engine to cool down again,) I figured I'd connect the tach cable to the pump.

To get access to the water pump and connect the cable, I had to remove the alternator - just move it out of the way, really. Well, during the whole procedure, it seems I grounded one of the alternator connectors against the car body, and sure enough, sparks and smoke flew everywhere.

Que jodienda! Two bad things in a row. I had forgotten to disconnect the battery, and now the alternator might be fried, for all I knew.

It was turning out to be one of those days.

So, I disconnected the battery, removed the alternator, and figured out I could take it to a shop to test it and make sure it was OK. If I did not find out, this would be nagging me for a few months. And worse, if the thing was bad, the car would eventually strand me on the side of the road.

So, the next day, I went to a shop in Seattle, and they tested the thing, and all was good. Yippee...

So later that night, I finally connected the tach cable, alternator, and battery. I also made sure to purge all the air from the cooling system, checked all cables and such, and decided the car was ready for a drive - for the first time in over six months!

So, the next Saturday afternoon, I went out for a short test drive (20 minutes.) Now, keep in mind, the car's alignment was all shot. And for all I knew, my repairs may have messed things up more than they helped. So there was a bit of trepidation - it was a bit late in the afternoon, and I did not want to be out on the road at night. But I couldn't wait.

The car started right up. I let it warm up, got buckled up, and off I went. As I drove down the street, I ran a mental check through the various details needed to make the car drive:

"Clutch - check!" It seems to disengage/engage OK.
"Gas - check!" The gauge indicated half-full.
"Oil pressure - check!" The gauge seems to be alive, and indicate good numbers.
"Water temp - check!" The gauge started out cold, but came up to temp within a few miles.
"Brakes... - Check!" The car stops. Good thing!

And so on.

So, I drove for about 10 minutes, when I decided to head back home. To get there, I had to get onto this freeway that heads back towards town. As I entered the on ramp, the car sputtered a bit, then accelarated normally. "Hmmm... Maybe the carbs need adjustment..." Keep in mind, this was the first time I had driven the car in six months, so maybe this was a normal quirk, waited to be adjusted. I figured the car was fine, and I could check this at home.

About a mile later, the car died. It just shut down.

"Mierda! This car is a complete waste of time!" First time out in six months, and the car dies. What are the odds!?

So, I pulled over to the side of the road, took out my cell phone, and turned it on. The thing booted up, then decided to shut down, claiming that the battery was dead. "Mierda de nuevo!" Two dead toys!

So, here I am, stuck on the side of the road, next to my old p.o.c. italian car, with perfectly good and dead cell phone, and about 8 miles from the house. At that time, I had the erie feeling that this would not be the last time I'd find myself in this situation.

As I pondered my predicament, two motorcyclists pulled over to the side of the road. Rider #1 was very friendly and helpful. His first question was a bit annoying, though: "didn't you check your fuel level before you left home?" Well, the gauge indicated half full, but now that he mentioned it, maybe I had run out of gas... Hmmm...

He then let me use the phone to call a cab. Well, it turns out cab companies in Seattle don't pick up stranded motorists on freeways. Idiots!

Meanwhile, rider #2 walks over, and shared a somewhat sarcastic observation "a nice italian car, stranded on the side of the road - that's something you don't see every day!"

- "You've seen anything like these before," I asked.
- "Heck yea! We see them all the time."

Sigh...

So, after chatting about the car for a few minutes, I figured I'd have to walk to the nearest gas station, about 1.5 miles from where I was, call for a cab (again), and make it home. From there, I could pack up my tools, gas cans, etc, and see if I could get the car running again.

After my hike to the gas station, dealing with a operators, and a few cab companies, I eventually made it home. Afterwards I picked up my friend Gretchen, and we made it back to where the car was parked. I went ahead and added some gasoline car, just in case, and tried to start it.

Sure enough, the car started right up - it ran like new.

So yes, the car had run out of gas. We drove straight home, parked the car, and called it a night. I did learn a few things:

a) The gas gauge needs to be fixed (duh...)
b) When driving the Alfa, make sure your cell phone has enough battery charge. And for that matter, bring a spare battery with you.
c) I need to join AAA, and put their number my cell phone's speed dial list.


So, finally, after all this time, the car was back on its wheels. If you recall, the original reason for parking the car for this long was the leaky water pump. And I am glad to say, after I parked the car that night, there was no coolant leak/puddles under the car.

Now I need to figure out what's the source of the other oil puddles on my garage floor...



Next: Driving impressions... finally...