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[joninaustralia]

Hi there,
Just bought a 1991 1.7 16v cloverleaf 33 in Australia to replace my failing 1987 33. It was $3000 AUS which is cheap for a series 3 here. It is fairly high milage (187,000km) and there is a tiny bit of blue smoke at start up which I intend to fix by using full synthetic oil (Mobil 1) which burns invisibly and I will use a stop smoke additive that claims to reduce start up smoke (Wynns worn engine treatment).

I am trying to get off the oil drain plug which is a female socket hole unlike the bolt plug used on the old 33's. My 3 socket handles don't fit it, what size socket handle do I need to buy? Many thanks!

[Ben_nz]

Does that worn engine treatment stuff work by thickening the oil so it won't slip past worn valve guides / piston rings and into the cylinders? In which case buying a higher viscosity oil to start with might have the same effect as the worn engine treatment? E.g. buy 20w50 instead of some synthetic 0w10 that's as thin as water. You'll save money too!

Do the cops in Australia bust you and give you some sort of defect if they see your car smoking?

If you park a 33 on a sideways slope, it will often make a cloud of oil smoke when you next start the engine. Mine will do this, even though it otherwise uses no oil.

My series 2 33 has a female socket oil drain plug thingy. It takes a 12mm allen key (hard to find - 99.9% of allen key sets stop at 10mm!), or a torx T-60 can be used if you can't find anything else.

[joninaustralia]

Thanks for that ben. I will have to look for the 12mm allen key. I just bought I set that went up to 10mm before I saw your reply! I wonder why they have made it so hard, perhaps so people would take the cars to the dealer rather than do it themselves.

I don't think the police here are worried about smoking, but you can be reported to the transport authority on pollution grounds. I am more embrassed with the smoke than anything else - people used to say "typical alfa" when they saw my old one smoking. I don't want my friends to see my new car only to cover them in smoke when I drive off! Takes the shine off having an slightly exotic car if it is running badly.

The worn engine treatment I bought does not thicken the oil (it is very thin itself) and claims to swell the seals which are letting the oil through, hopefully blocking most of it.
Thanks again. If anybody knows who sells 12mm allen keys in Aus please let me know!

[Ben_nz]

[joninaustralia]

Ben, that looks a lighter blue than regular oil burning. If it is oil burning that is pretty badly worn - is your power down much? Apparently the oil burning issue makes the engine run hotter as well as oil is harder to burn than petrol.

I have the 12mm allen key - in the form of a hex socket you can fit onto the wrench. The set cost me $80 AUS! I may decide to take it back after the job is done... I know I am bad.

My new problem (do they ever end!) is the bloody sump plug seems stuck. I have have put all my weight on the wrench to try and remove it and it doesn't budge. This has been counter clockwise which should be correct? I even tried the otherway just in case but nothing. I have also tried warming the engine. I need to the thing undone as there is engine flush in the crankcase I have put in which is apparently not good to be left sitting in the engine for long. Any more help appreciated!

[Ben_nz]

[paddy granger]

Ben that is hilarious!!!

[sudman]

12mm allen key is a piece of cake to find! Go to your nearest Paykel's engineering specialists and they sell Unbreako 12mm allen keys separately! Cost was below 10 bucks as well IIRC!
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