So, after driving the car around town for a while, I figured it was time to finish the rear end work.
Previously, I had replaced some of the bushings in the rear end with polyurethane bushings. However, I did not do any work on the differential. Also, the bushings in the rear sway arm end links had not been replaced. These bushings were in bad shape - they were somewhat compressed and hardened, and provided some free-play to the sway bars. This is not good - you enter a turn, and the car leans some before the sway arm does anything to prevent it.
Again, off to Group 2 I went. Group 2 has a technician (Noah? I think - I must confess, I forget some of their names) who's an expert at rebuilding Alfa diffs (among other things.) During my visit to the shop, he even showed me an extra diff they had at the shop, opened it up, and showed me exactly what he would do on my car's differential. Very cool.
The GTV diff is a limited-slip type differential (LSD for short), although it looks very much like a conventional open-type differential. However, the diff has friction plates on either end of the internal gears. When one axle moves more than the other side, plates press against the friction plates, preventing (to some extent) the differential motion between both end. Shims can be used to preload the friction plates, and to adjust how much friction the plates provide (from almost none, to almost locked.)
Why are LSDs a good thing? Open diffs will send torque to the wheel that moves the most. This helps when the car turns well within the limits of cohesion. For example, as you turn (say, to the left), the outer driven wheel (the right wheel, in this case) would move a bit faster than the inside wheel. This makes the diff send a bit more torque to the outer wheel, which helps the car turn in the direction it is turning already (left.)
For most typical situations, this is a good thing.
However, when one of the driven wheels looses traction (say, ice on one side, dry on the other), it will spin faster than the wheel on the other side. The differential then transmits more torque to the spinning wheel - the one with no traction. If this occurs in an icy road (ice under one wheel, dry pavement under the other), most of the torque is sent ot the wheel with no traction - the one over ice. The result: one wheel spins, the other does nothing, and you go nowhere.
By providing friction between both sides, the LSD ends up "connecting" both wheels (to some extent.) When one wheel spins, the friction between both axles will force the other (non-spining) wheel to also spin. In essence, the LSD will help even out the torque sent to both wheels, allowing some torque to be sent to the higher-traction (slower moving) wheel even as the other side spins.
Marisa Tomei explains this very well in the movie "My Cousin Vinny". It's a good movie, but if you are impatient, fast-forward all the way towards the end of the film to listen to her much-better explanation.
So, back to the GTV, the guys at Group2 replaced the friction plates (small little disks, made of very exotic materials, machined to perfection, and hence, somewhat expensive.) They also cleaned things up in there, replaced one of the rear bearings, and put it all together. They also finished all the bushings work I had pending.
The end result: the car rides much quieter now. Before the service, the rear end was very noisy. I suspect replacing the bearings and the worn-out clutch plates made things much quieter. The new bushings tightened the rear end much more. So now the car rides much better - the tail does not feel sloppy, and remains truer, with very little side-to-side motion. This helps with the car's steering - you point the car where you want it to go, and since the tail is tighter, the car follows your inputs better.
Admittedly, I've not pushed the car too much. As I get comfortable with it, I might start pushing the car more around some corners to see how it behaves (understeer vs. oversteer, predictability vs. twitchiness, ease of corrections, etc.)
At the end of the day, the car feels much better - especially when compared with how it originally ran when I first bought it, one year ago.
Next: Heating and cooling issues...
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Alignments, Rear-End Work, More Driving Impressions
Last time, we had just finished installing the front end. The thing is, parts of the suspension are adjustable to make sure the wheels point in the right direction, and to have them sit at the right angle with respect to the road. To do this, I needed a specialized alignment shopt to do this - this could not be done at home.
In addition the rear end needed similar repairs as the front end: replace bushings, springs, dampers, clean things up, and check bearings. In addition, since the rear wheels are the ones driven by the engine, there is a differential back there to deal with. I figured I'd have the differential inspected and serviced as needed.
Before these repairs, the car seemed to float laterally over the actual suspension and wheels while turning and during transition. So rather than "pointing" in a fixed manner during a turn, the car pointed left and right of your intended target during turns. This made for scary-interesting driving, since every time you steer the car, you needed to wait to see what the rear end did, then correct your steering inputs, then see how these corrections affected the car, and so on.
Bushings are one of those things that tend to wear out over time on solid axle, trailing arm suspensions such as the ones found on the GTV. Replacing bushings and tightening up things would help minimize the lateral play on the suspension, making for crisper steering inputs with minimal need for mid-turn corrections and the such.
Given all these repairs, I figured I'd take the car to Group 2 and have them do all this work for me. They are my favorite car shop, and they happen to specialize in all things Alfa Romeo. The problem is that in mid-summer, every other AR owner in the region decides to also drive their cars (just like me.) Which requires lots of maintenance work, making for very busy times at Group 2.
So, I figured I'd just have the front end aligned, and do part of the rear end work: bushings, springs, dampers. I would wait until later in the year to do the differential work, as well as any bearing replacements and the such. That way, I could get the car back on the road and start chasing any of the numerous gremlins lurking in the car. And besides, it helps spread the cost over a longer timeframe, which is always a good thing.
Unlike the front end, the replacement rear end bushings were the polyurethane types from Centerline Alfa. The shop replaced the trunion arm-to-differential bushings, as well as the bushings in the trailing/radius arms, and the bushings holding the rear sway bar in place. Polyurethane ("poly", for short) tends to be stiffer than rubber, and hence, helps keeps uncontrolled supsension motions to a minimum, but at the possible cost of a bit harsher ride. However, this upgrade is a very popular one in the Alfa community, and worth trying out.
The shop also installed the AR Ricambi springs I had purchased earlier in the year (which matched the already installled front springs), as well as Koni Sport dampers (again, matching the front end Konis I had installed already.)
The service was very much worth it. The car now rides in a much truer fashion. During turns, the car feels predictable and easy to point within the turn. There was still a bit of tail-end lateral slide, which can be tuned down by using these poly washers where the trunion arm connects to the chassis.
Regarding the rear springs, the car rides a bit higher in the rear than I would like (about half an inch.) The ride is not harsh, however, so from a spring rate perspective, I am very happy with them. Correcting the ride height involved cutting down springs, so I asked the shop not to do this for now, and see how the car rode before going drastic on the springs (one thing at a time...)
At first, the adjustable shock absorbers were set a bit too stiff (which was my bad - I had set them myself), which made the ride jarring and shakey - even over smaller bumps. After softening the fronts to almost full-soft, the car's ride became much less jarring while still keeping the car motions under control.
(I will be posting my spring rates, shock absorber settings, and other technical numbers in a future post.)
One thing that started worrying me were the brakes; they felt soft and spongy, with what seemed to me as too much pedal travel. This kept me from driving as I normally do - in traffic, I had to leave extra space between cars, brake earlier, and the such. This is something that needed to be addressed quickly.
But even with the soft brakes, I had a bit more confidence in opening up the car and seeing how it ran. And run it did - the car accelerated quickly and pulled strongly (for a 2.0 liter four-banger, of course!) Throttle response was quick and sharp. Steering inputs were much sharper and predictable. The transmission was loud, and shifting required very long throws and patient double clutching during downshifts (especially 3rd-to-2nd downshifts.) The clutch felt nice, though, engaging smoothly, linearly, and strongly. The sounds emanating from the engine compartment were nice - lots of fan noise at slow speeds, changing to loud engine intake noise, manifold growls, and a shade of valve clatter. Very good sounds indeed.
Highway driving was loud - lots of wind noise, road noise, engine noise, car noise. All this noise could be confused with music for Alfa addicts such as myself, however, and I was happy to put up with it during my short test drives.
Overall, the car drove very nicely, for a 34 year-old car.
I still needed to service the rear differential, and address the soft brakes. And I still need to chase all of them gremlins lurking out there...
In addition the rear end needed similar repairs as the front end: replace bushings, springs, dampers, clean things up, and check bearings. In addition, since the rear wheels are the ones driven by the engine, there is a differential back there to deal with. I figured I'd have the differential inspected and serviced as needed.
Before these repairs, the car seemed to float laterally over the actual suspension and wheels while turning and during transition. So rather than "pointing" in a fixed manner during a turn, the car pointed left and right of your intended target during turns. This made for scary-interesting driving, since every time you steer the car, you needed to wait to see what the rear end did, then correct your steering inputs, then see how these corrections affected the car, and so on.
Bushings are one of those things that tend to wear out over time on solid axle, trailing arm suspensions such as the ones found on the GTV. Replacing bushings and tightening up things would help minimize the lateral play on the suspension, making for crisper steering inputs with minimal need for mid-turn corrections and the such.
Given all these repairs, I figured I'd take the car to Group 2 and have them do all this work for me. They are my favorite car shop, and they happen to specialize in all things Alfa Romeo. The problem is that in mid-summer, every other AR owner in the region decides to also drive their cars (just like me.) Which requires lots of maintenance work, making for very busy times at Group 2.
So, I figured I'd just have the front end aligned, and do part of the rear end work: bushings, springs, dampers. I would wait until later in the year to do the differential work, as well as any bearing replacements and the such. That way, I could get the car back on the road and start chasing any of the numerous gremlins lurking in the car. And besides, it helps spread the cost over a longer timeframe, which is always a good thing.
Unlike the front end, the replacement rear end bushings were the polyurethane types from Centerline Alfa. The shop replaced the trunion arm-to-differential bushings, as well as the bushings in the trailing/radius arms, and the bushings holding the rear sway bar in place. Polyurethane ("poly", for short) tends to be stiffer than rubber, and hence, helps keeps uncontrolled supsension motions to a minimum, but at the possible cost of a bit harsher ride. However, this upgrade is a very popular one in the Alfa community, and worth trying out.
The shop also installed the AR Ricambi springs I had purchased earlier in the year (which matched the already installled front springs), as well as Koni Sport dampers (again, matching the front end Konis I had installed already.)
The service was very much worth it. The car now rides in a much truer fashion. During turns, the car feels predictable and easy to point within the turn. There was still a bit of tail-end lateral slide, which can be tuned down by using these poly washers where the trunion arm connects to the chassis.
Regarding the rear springs, the car rides a bit higher in the rear than I would like (about half an inch.) The ride is not harsh, however, so from a spring rate perspective, I am very happy with them. Correcting the ride height involved cutting down springs, so I asked the shop not to do this for now, and see how the car rode before going drastic on the springs (one thing at a time...)
At first, the adjustable shock absorbers were set a bit too stiff (which was my bad - I had set them myself), which made the ride jarring and shakey - even over smaller bumps. After softening the fronts to almost full-soft, the car's ride became much less jarring while still keeping the car motions under control.
(I will be posting my spring rates, shock absorber settings, and other technical numbers in a future post.)
One thing that started worrying me were the brakes; they felt soft and spongy, with what seemed to me as too much pedal travel. This kept me from driving as I normally do - in traffic, I had to leave extra space between cars, brake earlier, and the such. This is something that needed to be addressed quickly.
But even with the soft brakes, I had a bit more confidence in opening up the car and seeing how it ran. And run it did - the car accelerated quickly and pulled strongly (for a 2.0 liter four-banger, of course!) Throttle response was quick and sharp. Steering inputs were much sharper and predictable. The transmission was loud, and shifting required very long throws and patient double clutching during downshifts (especially 3rd-to-2nd downshifts.) The clutch felt nice, though, engaging smoothly, linearly, and strongly. The sounds emanating from the engine compartment were nice - lots of fan noise at slow speeds, changing to loud engine intake noise, manifold growls, and a shade of valve clatter. Very good sounds indeed.
Highway driving was loud - lots of wind noise, road noise, engine noise, car noise. All this noise could be confused with music for Alfa addicts such as myself, however, and I was happy to put up with it during my short test drives.
Overall, the car drove very nicely, for a 34 year-old car.
I still needed to service the rear differential, and address the soft brakes. And I still need to chase all of them gremlins lurking out there...
Friday, October 3, 2008
Finally, Driving Impressions
So, after filling up the car with gas, I finally got to drive the car.
It must be noted that so far, only the front suspension had been rebuilt, and further, it is completely out of alignment. So although I was hoping for an improved ride quality, I wasn't expecting much in the way of handling and ride. And sure enough, the car seemed very twitchy. Bad alignments do these kinds of things to cars.
Further, the rear end felt sloppy and very soft. Again, I had not worked on that side of the car, so the rear springs were still the very soft stock units, dampened by very tired and old shock absorbers.
But overall, the car felt better. The front end seemed much tighter, with less slop and play. And the spring rates were tighter but not jarring. The dampers seemed a bit stiff, due to the fact that I started with a bit stiffer adjustment than needed.
In addition, the coolant leaks were gone - woo hoo! At least that part of the repair was done with, and I would not have to worry about that.
The newly-installed fan shroud made the car ride a bit quieter. The fan noise does not drown the various other sounds emanating from the engine compartment, and so one can hear the intake noise, as well as the valve train softly clanging away. Very good sounds, if you ask me.
But even with the slightly quieter engine bay, the car was still very noisy. Wind noise at 60mph drowned out any attempts at a conversation at a normal volume. Rolling the window up or down did not make much of a difference, so it was better to roll it down a few inches to get some ventilation inside the car. The car transmited every imperfection to the driver, which considering the current state of suspension tune, proved a bit tricky and surprising at times.
Mashing on the gas pedal made the car swerve off line, probably due to lack of alignment on one or both ends. But it did accelerate willingly and strongly - the car loved riding at or above 70mph, although at this speed, the car needed constant steering inputs to maintain a fairly straight path.
Even with all this stuff going on, the car hinted some better potential in ride and handling quality. Bumps were easily absorbed, without upsetting the car too much. And the car communicated the road to the driver - the feedback on the steering wheel, the controlled dive during medium brake application, and the engine noise when opening up the throttle.
I really could not wait to get the car sorted out.
So, after all this, what comes next:
- align the front end.
- rebuild the rear suspension: this involves replacing the rear springs, shocks, bushings, and maybe painting the various suspension links and the such.
- rebuild the rear diff: the thing is loud, and wide open. It also leaks a bit of oil. Rebuilding it will make the car work better off the corners, quiet it down a bit, and keep fluids from leaking all over my garage.
- Then, the details: wiring, interiors, etc.
It did feel nice to put some closure onto this part of the job. From now on, things should march along nicely.
Next up: Alignment and rear end work. More driving impressions.
It must be noted that so far, only the front suspension had been rebuilt, and further, it is completely out of alignment. So although I was hoping for an improved ride quality, I wasn't expecting much in the way of handling and ride. And sure enough, the car seemed very twitchy. Bad alignments do these kinds of things to cars.
Further, the rear end felt sloppy and very soft. Again, I had not worked on that side of the car, so the rear springs were still the very soft stock units, dampened by very tired and old shock absorbers.
But overall, the car felt better. The front end seemed much tighter, with less slop and play. And the spring rates were tighter but not jarring. The dampers seemed a bit stiff, due to the fact that I started with a bit stiffer adjustment than needed.
In addition, the coolant leaks were gone - woo hoo! At least that part of the repair was done with, and I would not have to worry about that.
The newly-installed fan shroud made the car ride a bit quieter. The fan noise does not drown the various other sounds emanating from the engine compartment, and so one can hear the intake noise, as well as the valve train softly clanging away. Very good sounds, if you ask me.
But even with the slightly quieter engine bay, the car was still very noisy. Wind noise at 60mph drowned out any attempts at a conversation at a normal volume. Rolling the window up or down did not make much of a difference, so it was better to roll it down a few inches to get some ventilation inside the car. The car transmited every imperfection to the driver, which considering the current state of suspension tune, proved a bit tricky and surprising at times.
Mashing on the gas pedal made the car swerve off line, probably due to lack of alignment on one or both ends. But it did accelerate willingly and strongly - the car loved riding at or above 70mph, although at this speed, the car needed constant steering inputs to maintain a fairly straight path.
Even with all this stuff going on, the car hinted some better potential in ride and handling quality. Bumps were easily absorbed, without upsetting the car too much. And the car communicated the road to the driver - the feedback on the steering wheel, the controlled dive during medium brake application, and the engine noise when opening up the throttle.
I really could not wait to get the car sorted out.
So, after all this, what comes next:
- align the front end.
- rebuild the rear suspension: this involves replacing the rear springs, shocks, bushings, and maybe painting the various suspension links and the such.
- rebuild the rear diff: the thing is loud, and wide open. It also leaks a bit of oil. Rebuilding it will make the car work better off the corners, quiet it down a bit, and keep fluids from leaking all over my garage.
- Then, the details: wiring, interiors, etc.
It did feel nice to put some closure onto this part of the job. From now on, things should march along nicely.
Next up: Alignment and rear end work. More driving impressions.
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...
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...
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Putting stuff back together - part 2.
(Note: I added a few pics to this post on 23 August 2008.)
The last time, we installed the front suspension. Once this was complete and tightened, it was time to get back to the original job - repairing the water pump.
As you may recall, I removed the old water pump (Which seemed to be leaking) back in December. To do this, I had to remove:
- the radiator
- the alternator
- the battery
- the crank pulley
- the accessory belt
- the coolant reservoir.
So, I had to re-install all these parts in addition to the water pump before I could restart the car.
So first, I worked on the water pump. First, one needs to remove the tachometer drive from the old water pump onto the new water pump. This must be done carefully, as the water pump housing is made of very soft cast aluminum. Any threads on the housing are easily stripped. How do I know? Well, I ended up stripping one of the threaded holes used to attach the tach gears. Very annoying!!
Fortunately, the threaded hole is fairly long, and I only stripped the top part of the threads. Sourcing longer bolts from the hardware store solved the problem. That, and very careful application of torque...
Next up, the pump is moved into place, and tightened with nine studs/nuts. Most of these were fairly straightforward, but a few of the nuts hide behind the water pump pulley, making things a bit annyoing. Again, one must torque carefully in order to prevent anything from breaking.
Once this was done, it was time to install the crank pulley. This required 150lb-ft of torque, which can be tricky. One must lock the engine crank somehow, which I was not able to do. So, I used my other good friend, the impact wrench, which coinidentally, is rated for 150 lb-ft of torque. A few seconds worth of torqueing (and a few drops of high-temp thread locking glue) took care of that.
Next up was the alternator. Of the three things so far, this was the simplest. I also installed the accessory belt simultaneously. Getting both the alternator and the belt instaled together simplifies things a bit.
Next up, I installed the engine fan. Even simpler than the alternator.
Then it was the fan shroud. I had just bought this recently, as the car did not have one installed when I bought it. It attaches to the radiator. However, there is not enough clearance to lower into place the radiator and shroud assembled together. So the trick is to place the shrowd around the fan, then slide the radiator into place.
Before installing the radiator, I took the time to clean up the radiator core and cooling fins. I figured I'd never have a chance to do this as thoroughly. After cleanup, I slid the radiator into place, attached the various hoses required, and attached the fan shroud in place. Things looked good.
Next up was the battery. I decided to replace the old, leaky unit with a smaller, gel-pack battery from Baker Precision batteries. These things are small, lighter, and supposedly can handle deep discharge cycles. Plus, it opens up the engine bay a bit.
After filling up the engine with fresh coolant (50/50 mix of ethylene glycol and water), I connected the battery terminals, cranked the engine, and crossed my fingers. Guess what - the car started right up! Go figure.
Next up was flushing any air trapped within the cooling system of the engine, then on to a test drive. Things were looking good so far...
Next: How to fill up your GTV with coolant; First test drives, minor disasters.
The last time, we installed the front suspension. Once this was complete and tightened, it was time to get back to the original job - repairing the water pump.
As you may recall, I removed the old water pump (Which seemed to be leaking) back in December. To do this, I had to remove:
- the radiator
- the alternator
- the battery
- the crank pulley
- the accessory belt
- the coolant reservoir.
So, I had to re-install all these parts in addition to the water pump before I could restart the car.
So first, I worked on the water pump. First, one needs to remove the tachometer drive from the old water pump onto the new water pump. This must be done carefully, as the water pump housing is made of very soft cast aluminum. Any threads on the housing are easily stripped. How do I know? Well, I ended up stripping one of the threaded holes used to attach the tach gears. Very annoying!!Fortunately, the threaded hole is fairly long, and I only stripped the top part of the threads. Sourcing longer bolts from the hardware store solved the problem. That, and very careful application of torque...
Next up, the pump is moved into place, and tightened with nine studs/nuts. Most of these were fairly straightforward, but a few of the nuts hide behind the water pump pulley, making things a bit annyoing. Again, one must torque carefully in order to prevent anything from breaking.
Once this was done, it was time to install the crank pulley. This required 150lb-ft of torque, which can be tricky. One must lock the engine crank somehow, which I was not able to do. So, I used my other good friend, the impact wrench, which coinidentally, is rated for 150 lb-ft of torque. A few seconds worth of torqueing (and a few drops of high-temp thread locking glue) took care of that.
Next up was the alternator. Of the three things so far, this was the simplest. I also installed the accessory belt simultaneously. Getting both the alternator and the belt instaled together simplifies things a bit.Next up, I installed the engine fan. Even simpler than the alternator.
Then it was the fan shroud. I had just bought this recently, as the car did not have one installed when I bought it. It attaches to the radiator. However, there is not enough clearance to lower into place the radiator and shroud assembled together. So the trick is to place the shrowd around the fan, then slide the radiator into place.
Before installing the radiator, I took the time to clean up the radiator core and cooling fins. I figured I'd never have a chance to do this as thoroughly. After cleanup, I slid the radiator into place, attached the various hoses required, and attached the fan shroud in place. Things looked good.
Next up was the battery. I decided to replace the old, leaky unit with a smaller, gel-pack battery from Baker Precision batteries. These things are small, lighter, and supposedly can handle deep discharge cycles. Plus, it opens up the engine bay a bit.
After filling up the engine with fresh coolant (50/50 mix of ethylene glycol and water), I connected the battery terminals, cranked the engine, and crossed my fingers. Guess what - the car started right up! Go figure.
Next up was flushing any air trapped within the cooling system of the engine, then on to a test drive. Things were looking good so far...
Next: How to fill up your GTV with coolant; First test drives, minor disasters.
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