petrosc

The short of the story is that the car only starts, when carburator choke spray is sprayed into the intake going out of the intercooler. Once the car starts, I have to keep my foot on the gas for about 2 minutes, because it will kill. After that, it runs fine and will start right up as long as it is warm. Once it cools, it will not start again. I also noticed that the radiator fans kick on as soon as I turn the key to start it.


The long of the story is that I had the alternator/water pump belt break one night. The lights came on in the dash and I immediately pulled over. I wasn't very far from my house, so I let the engine cool and started it back up 2 hours later and drove it home. It was not even a 5 minute drive on a cool night, no traffic, etc. Not enough time for the engine to get to operating temperature. So I get the car home and 2 days later I get a new belt and replace the old one. Mistake number one was that I didn't investigate to see why it broke in the first place, because it was a fairly new belt. I drive the car for 2 days, everything seemed normal. On the 3rd day I think I hear a faint sound coming from somewhere so I decide to stop driving the car until I figure it out. In the meantime, I had noticed some coolant on the driveway from the night before. So I stop driving the car and a week and a half later I take a look at it and I have a bad thermostat and a leaky water pump. The sound I heard were the water pump bearings. And no, my belt was not too tight. In the water pump, you can see where the blades were scraping on the inside of the housing. I install the new thermostat and waterpump and now I have the above problem. I must have messed something up during the install. Mistake number 2 was that I didn't disconnect the battery when I started this and one of the wires from the alternator touched something and sparked. Now the alternator does charge the battery, so it shouldn't be the problem because the battery can charge. The engine just turns and doesn't start. Could I have whacked out the engine preheating/choke system or blown a fuse somewhere?


Thanks for any help, sorry it was so long.


Petros

DamonB

This is the classis o-rings are going sign. Engine hard to start when cold because when the engine was shut down previously it was warmed up; so the coolant was under pressure. The car sits and the pressurized coolant leaks into the combustion chamber. You try to start car and it won't until it clears the coolant out and then runs like **** for a minute or two until all the moisture is gone. Then you are beautiful and the car will start right up again as long as it hasn't sat long. I would start it, warm it up and let it sit overnight. Next morning pull the ignition fuse and turn the motor over a few times. Then pull the plugs and see if you have coolant in there.

Good luck with what you find.

petrosc

Thanks for the fast reply. I have a feeling this is going to suck. (no pun intended)

Damon,

Even though the car was fine for about 5 days after the first belt broke, you think that it could be the O-rings?

I will do what you said. Thanks and I will keep you guys posted.


Any other ideas anyone?



Petros

DamonB

I am told that if the motor overheats the housings can warp and this would contribute to the o-rings leaking. It could be pure coincidence as well, what's mileage on your engine? If you find coolant inside the combustion chambers, first thing I would try is copper block weld. You can do a search here; some have had positive results. At this point that includes myself as well as I just did my car two weeks ago. Still can't say if it will hold together but so far so good.

Sad to say my symptoms matched yours exactly, but the treatment has fixed it for now. The key is how large the leak is. Mine was very small because the car had to sit overnight for any trouble. No noticeable coolant usage (though there HAD to have been some) and no vapor out the tailpipe, but after the block weld treatment all is fine.

I pray to the rotary gods daily.

petrosc

I have about 71k miles on the engine. I will do what you said and I will also check the fuses and fuel pump and such. I think praying to the rotary gods will do us no good, since they are all evil.



Petros

petrosc

Ok, I did what you said. I pulled the fuse and turned the engine about 5 or 6 times. The plugs were completely dry. But, they did have alot of **** caked on them, so I will get some new plugs tonight. I don't think that will solve my problem.


I did leave one thing out. When I was putting my airpump back on the hose going from the pump to the engine got a little cut. I haven't put a new hose on yet, I just repaired it with hose tape until I get a chance to get another hose tonight. Could that affect the car because it could be pulling to much air?


Petros

technonovice

I can't think of any reason why that would affect it.

Mach2

DamonB's diagnosis is 100% accurate. With those symptoms I would start saving for a rebuild. Good luck.

liamn56

I bet you burnt a fuse or shorted something. I did when I changed my Knock Sensor and the car would not start(did'nt disconnect the battery). I have the same problem with my Fiat 2000 Spider. When its cold it will only start when I spray some starting fluid and have to give it gas to keep it running until it warms-up. Why? Cause my cold start valve is not working(preheat). I would check that out before anything else. Good luck.