My 33 - And its problems...To Fix

[Brooke]

I just bought a 33 1985 Ti Green Clover yesterday. Its condition, well.

Biggest problem is that it misfires when revved, but idles fine, distinct smell of petrol, likely from misfiring.

Other not so big problems:

• Squeaking from engine when revved, sounds like a fan belt, havn't checked it yet.
• Crunches when selecting second gear while moving (is this my technique?)
• Tachometer, Odometer don't work, this may just be an undone cable.
• Windows only go down when the doors are locked.

For the price I payed, I expected that it wasn't perfect, and look forward to getting it perfect again.

The main reason for this post is to find other alfa boxer engine drivers that have had the misfiring problem. I know these cars are known for electrical problems.
Replaced spark plugs and leads, still same problem of badly misfiring when revved.

I tried to check which cylinder is missing, by removing spark leads one at a time while idling. Each lead causes it to miss more, which has me confused as to which cylinder is missing, any tips?

Could be a million things, if yours ever misfired, why was it and how did you figure out why?

Is the crunch into second gear normal or is it my bad gear changing technique?


Apart from this minor flaws, I love it to bits, and was very pleased when the guy who sold it to me also gave me spare exhaust, wheels, body panels, engine parts, interior parts, in fact, you name it, I have a spare for it if it comes from a 33.

Absolutely love this Alfa bug that has caught me after day one, won't give up this car till it dies, and even then. I will be pushing around its ultralight body myself!

[Sheldon McIntosh]

Workshop manual here buddy!.....http://alfaromeo33.extra.hu/


Sounds like Frank dealt with your misfire and second gear problem in another post.  All Alfas crunch in second eventually though......

Tacho and Odo, maybe a loose plug somewhere, or a fuse?
Windows.  The earth cables sometimes come in contact with the doors on these cars.  Take off the door trims and check the cables aren't touching any metal.

I just got one of these for my Missus to learn to drive in, and unfortunately I really like the car.  I've changed the water pump and cam belts, replaced the entire interior, spent a week rewiring the f*&cken sh*thouse stereo and finding somewhere to put some decent speakers, let alone all the bullsh&t I had to do for the f%cken RWC!

But jeez I love driving the little thing.  And it loves me driving it.  I reckon the missus might have to get a Toyota actually, and I'll keep the 33. 

[philpot]

Tacho not working? start with the simplest and work back. The female spade lug connector on the magnetti marelli coil pack heat sink( my mechanic always knock it off) Or the plastic connectors on the back of the instrument panel, inside the intrument pod, are notorious for being painful and killing the speedo or anything else in there!  At the risk of giving  away a trade secret (?) the connections all need to be soldered to make a reliable, functional and long lasting instrumentation set up. Remove the plastic connectors completely. Went through a lot of sender units, bought second hand,before learnt that one the hard way!  Odo?? does the speedo work? normally ifone is they both do....
Modules on the coil pack can cause misfire probs too.   Though if you can see the jets not squirting...I'm always blowing out my idles and sometimes mains, with a ballpoint pen gently placed in the holes after removing each idle/main jet. A gentle (so as to not spray petrol all over your face!) puff will clear most small obstructions from the idle/main jets after removing the emulsion tubes.
With one idle jet per cylinder, if it starts to not idle/light throttle run, its the first thing you check. Oh, the ballpoint pen has its innards removed, so its just a tube!!! BLow through the jet nozzles/emulsion tubes too...
People who dont know these set ups can forcast doom and gloom, when it could be just a blocked idle jet on one cylinder!
Hope this helps, or is a start anyway!
Cheers'

[Brooke]

The misfire has got to be a new record for the easiest Alfa fix in history.

All I needed to do was open my eyes, check the rod that links the throttle cable to both webbers, and see that the arm that links the rod to the valve opener on one weber was missing.

This therefor didnt open one webber, not letting through any air or fuel to that weber.

The jets were blocked but thats rather easy to fix as well.

All running nicely now, tested on a dyno at 85bhp.

Next is to replace air filter, fuel filter, clean out both webbers (was pretty blocked up with black crap on the left one that I dismantled).

Then a full oil change and she's ready for suspension upgrades.