WARMING ENGINE OF OLD ALFAS

[lombardi]

HOW LONG IS ENOUGH IDLE TO WARM UP FOR OLD ALFAS IN PARTICULAR 1750 60S WITH TWIN WEBBERS

[MD]

Geez what a can of worms of a question ! Obviously the climate you live in will have a bearing on how cold your engine is to start with and what viscosity the oil is at the time and therefore the warming period.

Ideally you should warm the engine until the oil is hot as opposed to the water temperature being hot. These two values do not necessarily coincide. Regrettably not too many road going Alfas have an oil temp gauge so that makes the excercise academic.

The second hassle is the warm up revs. If you warm the engine at idle revs, it will take a long time to heat the OILand the oil pressure is not the greatest at such revs. So unless you have a hand throttle like the earlier cars do,( I am assuming yours does) you will need a brick or a lead foot to keep it above idle for the duration of the warm up. Do you really want to do that?

My suggestion is to get some advice about the right oil for you car and after a typical 2-3 minute warm up, the engine should be protected for normal running just dont pull any big revs until the engine is fully warm as a rule.

[1750GT]

Agree with MD, if you have a hand throttle, which you should have on your model, it is the best way to warm up the car and you can keep it above minimum revs and leave the car to warm up for 3-5 minutes. When I bought my vehicle the hand throttle wasn't working and getting it fixec was the best thing I did, it makes it much easier.

Another no no is using the choke to start the car, not a good idea unless you haven't used the car for a couple of weeks, regular day in day out use of the choke, I have found, mucks up the carbies.


1750GT

[Davidm1600]

yep I too agree with the above advice, based on my 12 years + experience in owning and driving 105s.  Basically the choke should never likely to be needed with a Weber equipped 105, simply two to three pumps of the accelerator should be sufficient to get it started and then use the hand throttle or your foot to idle the engine until sufficiently warmed up. 

The key with this is not just for the engine but as well the gearbox, since 105 and also 116 gearboxes can tend to be a little sluggish/baulk (especially 116 Alfettas) until warmed up. Its not a bad idea to say go through the gears before heading off first thing, as a way to try to protect your synchros, which as we all know are a little fragile on 2nd gear.  Dave

[Evan Bottcher]

The recommended procedure to warm up a rental car (e.g. Hyundai Getz) is to use full throttle for 3 minutes.  This will ensure the rev limiter is properly lubricated and will maximise the lifetime of that component.  Under no circumstances check oil levels, coolant, or tyre pressures or this will invalidate the rental agreement.

[k76]

You forgot to mention the warming of the tires by at least trying to spin 1 front wheel with the handbrake on. Best done in parking houses on slippery concrete for maximum sound effect.

[scuzzyGTV]

don't forget the warming of the transmission by doing clutchless shifts.

[Doug Gould]

The question is, what are you warming? In the old days it was oil. The thinner multi-grade oils don't need much of this. Some cold engines don't run well because the fuel vapour condensates on the cold inlet manifold until it warms. Webbers with short manifolds don't suffer this. The cylinder bores change shape slightly with temperature, so that's a potential issue - but probably only when you load the engine or use high revs. So I reckon it depends on what oil you use and what you want to do with the car. I reckon a minute or less followed by a gentle drive until it gets fully warm is OK.

Doug

[k76]

I was thinking that as well. I can understand the principle that an engine based from a 50's race engine need warming, and it probably is a good thing. But, on the other hand, what changed over the years this engine was in production? We see so many twinsparks for sale with well over 200k on them, and I just can't imagine they've been cuddled all their life. I'm not sure my neighbours would appreciate me blipping the throttle for 3 minutes every morning?

[1750GT]

Me thinks that warming the engine is still the best idea. I think you are risking damage by not having a properly oiled engine. Plus I can't remember the last time I could do the gentle drive thing for more than a few seconds so I'd prefer to warm the engine with the throttle, and as Dave says give the gears a bit of a turn and then drive off knowing that the cars ready to go!

Doug I genuinly think that these older engines need warming. I can't remember my old man (who was a car nut) ever owning a sixties and seventies vehicle (and he had plenty) without giving it a good warm up except perhaps the big 450 gbanger V8 chev impala US luxo barge which was auto with no choke or carbie to speak of (god I still wish we had that car, pure American mustle luxo barge candy).

1750 GT

[Doug Gould]

1750GT. Other than you father told you, give me a reason why warming is required & what it achieves?

I'm not saying irs not required, but I'm saying maybe 30 sec (do up the seatbelt, tune the radio) then drive at low load until fully warm.

Its all about inlet tract for proper air/fuel mixture, oil temp for proper flow & cyl head temp for proper piston / bore clearance. An EFI car of one with a good inlet manifold (ie webers with 1 choker per cylinder)doesn't need #1. A modern oil doesn't need much of #2. And the third point is only critical at high cylinder BMEP. There might be an arguement about valve clearances, but on a typical Alfa OHC cam engine with shim adjustment, I doubt that it changes much with temperature compared with a pushrod engine with rockers or hydraulic lifters.

Oils aint oils. A modern semi-synthetic or synthetic oil doesn't bear much relationship to a mineral oil of 10 years ago, let alone 20, 30, 40 or 50. Both in base stock and additive pack. Ditto for oil filters where large progress has been made in paper technology which is incorportared in all filters now.

Doug

[1750GT]

Doug, thanks, the reason I'm saying I need a little more warming is I have problem with driving at "low load" bit for much more than a minute? How long do you suggest the low load bit is required?

1750GT