head rebuilt on 81 FI 2000 spider, now problems

[DarkstarEuro]

Going to start out with what i have done then describe issue so to provide as much info for trouble shooting as possible.
Purchased this pretty red Fiat last summer, made it about 2 miles from the purchase place when the water pump died/blew the head gasket and had to have it towed home. I then disassembled the head, had it taken to the machine shop where i had to be milled a bit due to warping, but not beyond the manuals allowable specs. Replaced 2 valve guides, had the valves and seats recut, rehoned the cylinders, and rebuilt the injectors, but couldnt find spray nozzles, so i just left the old brittle ones off, new rad, new water pump, new thermostat, new cap/rotor/wires, new O2 sensor, as well as new head locating dowels to mount it straight, which when inserted seemed a bit loose in the bores.
Re-assembled every thing and started it up. Was very hard to start, but it finally did after fiddling with the disributor timing, but now it runs rich when it idles and lean when driving, and has a severe lack of power, like i cant get it to rev enough to get it to 3rd and overheats within 15min. Also feels like it's missing on a cylinder. My initial fear is that i didnt get the head lined up perfectly straight with the block and gasket so, no coolant or oil are circulating, maybe? i pulled the valve covers off and there appears to be alot of oil just resting in there with the cams, like half an inch worth, also the top rad hose that returns coolant to the rad seems bone dry. My second thought is that the valves arent opening and closing completely, being that i didnt re-shim them after the head was milled. or leaving the injector caps off is causing them to dump in fuel rather than fine spray it in.
So now im to the point where i'm ready to re-pull the head, again... to check, but would rather not buy another gasket and bolts if it's not necessary. Is there a coolant or oil port i can run a wire down through to make sure the passageways aren't blocked? Also how does leaving the pintle/injector caps off affect the fuel delivery? Help!!! I hope the forum can help shed some light since i know literally noone that has any idea about these cars besides myself.

[majicwrench]

Wow. YOu absolutley have to adjust (reshim) valves after they have been cut.

What do you think the injector "caps" are there for?? You cannot just leave parts off and expect it to work correctly.

Is really easy to put thermostat in wrong. Find a diagram of how it goes in and double check.

Is easy to get cam timing off too.

Good luck

[76was124]

Some oil collecting in the cam housing is normal..

There are lots of good posts on valve/shim adjustments in the forum.

If it tuns out the thermostat is installed correctly, cold hoses and overheating could also be due to having a large amount of air trapped in the coolant system. Search the forum for the words 'air and burp' for threads on how to avoid the trapped air.

If it was me, I would fix the things Keith said (valves, injectors, check cam positions/timing, thermostat) before pulling the head again.

[ORFORD2004]

Are you shure about the timing belt location on the pulley?

[DarkstarEuro]

Ok. So yes, i am positive about the aux/cam/crank timing, crank is on the shortest mark on the tab, cams are lined up perfectly with the holes on the gears/pointers front and rear, and aux sprocket is aligned with the tensioner bolt. I left the pintle caps off cause my typical forte is Bimmers and their injectors are barely affected by the caps, i run my e30 with out caps and it actually improved the acceleration and it runs a jettronic system. The re-shimming of the valves is now kind of a head slapper, i realize this is vital and would more than likely explain why i'm having alot of the problems i have. This weekend i'll gauge the tappets and re-shim as necessary and hunt down some caps, then ill pull the intake/injectors. And i didn't even think of air trapped in the coolant system, that makes sense though, ill make sure to do that after i re-install the cooling system. Thanks guys.

[76was124]

Let us know how it works out when your done

[wizard124]

Ok. So yes, i am positive about the aux/cam/crank timing, crank is on the shortest mark on the tab, cams are lined up perfectly with the holes on the gears/pointers front and rear, and aux sprocket is aligned with the tensioner bolt..

0TDC is the LONG pointer, most clockwise as you look at the crank pulley from the front.

[DarkstarEuro]

Oops, yes, you are correct and the short is 10deg. My bad, late night Forum posts. And don't worry, it's on cylinder 4, before someone mentions that as well.

[bradartigue]

Be certain you don't have the timing so retarded that the engine runs but fires on the exhaust stroke. It's a weird thing once you get the engine there because it seems to run very well at idle, and above idle it overheats like a madman.