First off, THANK YOU to all who helped with the timing gears. I'm sure it will be easier next time. I'm sure there will be a next time.

I have another problem. When I left the yard today, the coolant bottle was topped to MAX. When I returned, 7 miles later, it was empty. I know this because it looked empty and because when I removed the oil filler cap, water poured all over the place. There were no signs of 'foam' when I pulled the stick - only under the valve cover. Picture the worst possible condensation (foam), then add 1/4 cup of water and whatever amount of steam you need to make you cringe. There was no visible oil in the radiator or in the bottle. During this drive the car ran poorly. Pinging under ANY load. Sputtering. No power.

I'm wondering what the likely causes might be and whether the timing gear failure might be related.

When I garaged this car last fall it ran great. What the hell happened.........

Craig

Is there ANY chance that the coolant froze? ( either over the winter or after the timing gear project...be honest!). Sure sounds to me like a cracked block, cracked head, or blown head gasket. Hopefully (probably) the latter of the three.

If any of those are the case, then the spark plug in the offending cylinder should be clean (if it is hitting at all..if not, it could still be dirty). Try running it from cold for just a couple minutes...don't let it warm up totally. Then shut 'er down, and pull the plugs to see which is wet. Wet being wet with water. If you pull a plug, and its full of water...well... cars don't run so good on water. It just doesn't burn very well.

If its really bad, you can pull the plugs and insert a clean white piece of paper into the spark plug holes till it hits the pistons. If it comes out wet, you know you have a problem. Might be best to yank the coil wire and turn it over a few times before you do that....(plugs in, air intake plugged so you get max vaccuum to suck water in).

And of course, a compression check would certainly be in order I would think.

I can't imagine that the timing gear issue would have/could have caused this though. Heck, it hasn't run all winter. Coulda had a lot of condensation in there. Filling the coolant bottle won't necessarily fill the engine, but a quick start would make the water pump fill it, and hence..drain the bottle. You might be fine just to change the plugs, and go...go...go...in your Vol-vo.

Just some shade-tree thoughts. Good luck, and keep us posted!

-Matt

Here's a bit more on the subject:

Since the timing gear install, I've put about 20 miles on the car. In one instance, certainly long enough to get it up to running temp and keep it there.

At your suggestion, I ran the fuel line (at the carb) to a clear bottle. Not a trace of water.

This morning, I ran the car for a moment, then pulled the plugs. Steam, mostly from 3, a little from 2. Wet plugs - hard to tell who's the offender, but I'd bet on 3, then 2. I did these starts and stops a few times to be sure.

Still, 4 seems to be the least affected by pulling the plug wire when idling.

When all this began, during the timing gear diagnosis, George suggested I take a look into the cylinders. I did and they were black. I expected that as the car has been run rich. Now, the cylinders are shiny clean. The floor of my barn is not. Black crud and water from the tailpipe.

I did notice the "white smoke" today. Lots of it. (Took her out for a spin to get the temp up.)

After returning, there's steam and water build-up under the filler cap just like yesterday. Still feels like it's missing, sputtering, etc.

Still no signs of water or foam on the dipstick. No signs of oil in the radiator or bottle.

I don't seem to be missing any oil.

With that much water, did you see white smoke coming out the exhaust?

Did the engine sound like it was missing? Start the engine and pull one plugwire at a time to try and identify which cylinder is bad. If so, pull the spark plugs, you should be able to see coolant on the plug or plugs affected. It sounds like you have water getting into at least one cylinder.

Your timing would not have caused this. I think you have at least a blown head gasket.

At the very least, you should drain the coolant, change the oil, start and run the engine for a few minutes to remove water from the bearings and such. Just dont run the motor long enough to get it hot. I would shoot some wd 40 into the sparkplug holes too, until you get the time to remove the head if that turns out to be the problem.

If steam qualifies as white smoke, then yes, but only when idling in the yard. Then forms a puddle under the tailpipe. I never noticed clouds of any color while driving.

I should say now that I filled the system with water - no coolant - for this first run after the timing gears - thinking that if I porked the gear installation and needed to pull the cooling components to get back in there, at least I wouldn't be dumping yet another gallon of coolant.

Yes on the engine feeling like it was missing. I thought the timing was out.

Pulling the wires on cyl's 2 and 3 makes the most impact, then 1, then 4. 4 making the least difference (no stumble, more of a slowing in the idle). Nothing obvious on the plugs. But, if "one of these things is not like the others" then it was 4. 4 not as clean as the others.

Thanks.

Matt made a good point about asking if the car has been in freezing weather without antifreeze. You might have cracked the block.

Usually the plugs look white after being exposed to water in the cylinder. Also you would see a white cloud at any speed with that much water flowing thru it. If you had antifreeze in the system you would get a definite sweet smell at the exhaust with a blown gasket or cracked head.

Still you should not have seen a difference in idle when checking each plug. Plug 4 would be a place to start looking for the water if it is in the cylinder.

At least it is easy to pull the head on these cars.

Yea...I'm cool with all that.

If I were you though, I'd make sure the timing and all that is in good order, get a new set of plugs (Bosch super with copper...don't go with the platinum...they suck), make sure the valves are properly adjusted...and...well....give 'er an Italian tuneup.

If there is damage already, you won't make it worse. If it is a sitting issue, you might just blow it out. Put a few miles on it!

Heck...another thought.... and I almost bet this one is the case...

You got a tankful of water.

Doesn't take much. Water settles to the bottom of the gas tank. Your car hasn't run all winter. Surely, an ounce or so of water condensed in the tank, settled to the bottom, and the fuel pump is sending that to the carbs...but...

As I said before. Water don't burn so well. I'm thinking as I type....

I've changed my mind about your problem. Get a clear bottle. Remove the hose to the carbs and make it go into said bottle (stop smoking at this point). Crank the engine. Then look in the bottle, and see if you have a layered mixture. the gas will float on the water.

Dispose of the ugly mixture responsibly (an old American truck with a V8 will burn it fine), and do it again until you don't get the layered mixture. Then hook it all back up.

Of course, you still have to drain the floats. But...that should be easy enough.

Well....actually, that doesn't explain the excess water under the valve cover (we'll write that off to condensation)...but it could explain a weak hitting cylinder, and it could explain white smoke (steam) on startup, and the lack of power, and the fact that it seems to miss.

Probably not the case, but it never hurts to check the easy stuff before you tear into the engine again.

I expect most 1800S owners know about water in the gas... In your case, it could just be from sitting all winter. How many miles have you put on it since you did the timing gears?


-Matt