The £200 Alfa...
Discussion
rxe said:
I seem to remember suggesting you looked at the floorpans a while back on AO. :-)
I don't think a 156 still exists without rusty floor pans.
Yup and I'm well aware of the issue, I was one of the first to find the problem and post about it....I don't think a 156 still exists without rusty floor pans.
Edited by Zombie on Monday 9th May 22:58
maxdb said:
I had the same with mine so just sold it on and replaced it with another car. It was a shame really as they are really good cars to drive.
The diesel's (i.e. the subject of this thread) ok handling wise (I think it might be on konis) but it's biased toward understeer and if you do give it a bit of a scandinavian, you end up falling over the nannying stability control, which can't be turned off, in theory. The ride is crap though. My brother's 2014 BMW 320d is a limo comparatively speaking. The chocolate suspension bushes are a PITA too.The GTA is better, but the steering is way too light and doesn't instil confidence when you turn into a corner or feel through it. Think I'm going to change the power steering pump to a 2.5 v6 version.
Back together, all is good. Apart from some broken clips that hold the sill covers on. 
ing things.
IMG_9840 by Chris 155, on Flickr
IMG_9842 by Chris 155, on Flickr
Pics of the repaired bolster;
IMG_9839 by Chris 155, on Flickr
IMG_9838 by Chris 155, on Flickr
And given that it I'd washed it, some pics of the car itself, taken on the way home tonight:
IMG_9848 by Chris 155, on Flickr
IMG_9847 by Chris 155, on Flickr
IMG_9846 by Chris 155, on Flickr
ing things.IMG_9840 by Chris 155, on FlickrIMG_9842 by Chris 155, on FlickrPics of the repaired bolster;
IMG_9839 by Chris 155, on FlickrIMG_9838 by Chris 155, on FlickrAnd given that it I'd washed it, some pics of the car itself, taken on the way home tonight:
IMG_9848 by Chris 155, on FlickrIMG_9847 by Chris 155, on FlickrIMG_9846 by Chris 155, on FlickrAfter spending 2 days scrubbing the interior clean it's decided to thank me with a complete loss of power... That's randomly intermittent.
Great.
Broke out the diagnostic gear, moved the passenger seat back for my dad to come with me on a test drive and popped a bottle of coke that had been well agitated on the way home.
Coke (a cola) ended up spaying all over the whole and previously pristine interior.
1 hour later... A fault is being logged as a MAF problem that won't clear but isn't bringing the management light on.
Desired boost and actual boost roughly correlate
Desired and actual fuel pressure are about right
The maf voltage reading look a little suspect though.
So I'm going to leave it with my Dad tomorrow and go to work in the GTA. I'm sure I'll break that too, the way this week is going.
Great.
Broke out the diagnostic gear, moved the passenger seat back for my dad to come with me on a test drive and popped a bottle of coke that had been well agitated on the way home.
Coke (a cola) ended up spaying all over the whole and previously pristine interior.
1 hour later... A fault is being logged as a MAF problem that won't clear but isn't bringing the management light on.
Desired boost and actual boost roughly correlate
Desired and actual fuel pressure are about right
The maf voltage reading look a little suspect though.
So I'm going to leave it with my Dad tomorrow and go to work in the GTA. I'm sure I'll break that too, the way this week is going.
So following on from the last problem, my Dad has removed the egr delete which takes a feed from the MAF and tested the wiring continuity from the MAF to the engine ecu. Removing the EGR delete solved the lack of power issue but it's still over boosting on occasion.
But we went to Birmingham today with the diagnostic computer plugged in with a view to logging conditions when the over boost fault is triggered.
It all went pear shaped when it started acting up with a stutter. Feels like a misfire and is the same stutter that developed into a total loss of power.
This time it is different. It only occurs between 2k and 2.75k at around 30% throttle. Outside of either range, its fine.
We think it could be egr related but there's nothing in e-learn (alfa's workshop manual) that details the operating conditions for the EGR. It's also not present from a cold start up or after its warm and been left to stand for 15min.
The overboots issue also occurs on part throttle opening, as well as 100% and boost pressure where it should be full boost feels low on occasion.
Nearly every part of the boost control system has been changed as have the MAF and MAP sensors.
Consequently the only thing left is the ECU. Which has the added advantage of taking the Remap out of the equation of suspected causes.
A replacement has been ordered for £60.
But we went to Birmingham today with the diagnostic computer plugged in with a view to logging conditions when the over boost fault is triggered.
It all went pear shaped when it started acting up with a stutter. Feels like a misfire and is the same stutter that developed into a total loss of power.
This time it is different. It only occurs between 2k and 2.75k at around 30% throttle. Outside of either range, its fine.
We think it could be egr related but there's nothing in e-learn (alfa's workshop manual) that details the operating conditions for the EGR. It's also not present from a cold start up or after its warm and been left to stand for 15min.
The overboots issue also occurs on part throttle opening, as well as 100% and boost pressure where it should be full boost feels low on occasion.
Nearly every part of the boost control system has been changed as have the MAF and MAP sensors.
Consequently the only thing left is the ECU. Which has the added advantage of taking the Remap out of the equation of suspected causes.
A replacement has been ordered for £60.
Dan (autolusso penrith) has suggested that the overbootst issue may by resulting from the inlet manifold being filled with soot.
But think the Inlet manifold may have been cleaned out as part of the work the PO had undertaken. Nonetheless, Father has suggested taking the TB off it and sticking the endoscope camera in it.
May try that tomorrow.
Also had another look at the wiring connections.
Nothing untoward found here - the connector by the side has a connection through to the maf so we were checking that.
This was a bit more suspect:
But the wire that had been soldered is for the FBW throttle.
The air filter has been replaced too;
But think the Inlet manifold may have been cleaned out as part of the work the PO had undertaken. Nonetheless, Father has suggested taking the TB off it and sticking the endoscope camera in it.
May try that tomorrow.
Also had another look at the wiring connections.
Nothing untoward found here - the connector by the side has a connection through to the maf so we were checking that.
This was a bit more suspect:
But the wire that had been soldered is for the FBW throttle.
The air filter has been replaced too;
I checked the suspension weeks ago, I checked the lights, I fixed the floor, I looked for leaks, I... My Dad checked the tyres... We bloody cleaned it with menzurma, waxed it and hoovered it.
I even left the windows down so MOT man wouldn't be jumping into a black car with a black leather interior that would've been as hot as dante's inferno after being left in the sun.
Did it pass it's MOT?
See thread title.
Yes it failed.
Upper wishbone.
It's now been replaced along with ARB drop links. Retest tomorrow.
Note to self, make a note of MOT day and don't plan a weekend 200miles away camping on same said weekend.
Yes there's pics. No, I can't be arsed posting them.
I even left the windows down so MOT man wouldn't be jumping into a black car with a black leather interior that would've been as hot as dante's inferno after being left in the sun.
Did it pass it's MOT?
See thread title.
Yes it failed.
Upper wishbone.
It's now been replaced along with ARB drop links. Retest tomorrow.
Note to self, make a note of MOT day and don't plan a weekend 200miles away camping on same said weekend.
Yes there's pics. No, I can't be arsed posting them.
Hereward said:
I really like the appearance of the pics of the engine and interior. What camera/filters/software are you using, may I ask?
Thanks, 
I have a Canon eos 650D as well as an eos M and have wide angle lenses for both, 10-18 efs and a 12mm f2 prime for the M. The only filters I use routinely are UV, mostly to protect the lens. I shoot in raw and edit the pics in Lightroom. Some of my earlier photos, particularly in the Gta thread are over processed and I'll admit I'm still trying to find a balance.
I do a bit of landscape stuff photography too;
www.facebook.com/onlyphotons
Edited by Zombie on Monday 6th June 14:39
After spending 3 days cleaning and polishing it, and the aforementioned MOT work, I went to the lakes for a weekend in the walking in the mountains.
It's still pishing about with MCSF, no surprises there but on arriving at the campsite, I found that I had no choice but to park it under a tree for 2 days and it ended up COVERED in tree sap. You could have stuck a live cat to the roof.
Being mindful that it's so hot ATM I took it down to tesco yesterday afternoon and washed the worse of the sap off. I wasn't getting anywhere with the pressure lance so I used the brush. I thought it may be a mistake at time and confirmed it when I got home. Scratches in the paint where there was none post buffing efforts.
I don't know why I bother...
It's still pishing about with MCSF, no surprises there but on arriving at the campsite, I found that I had no choice but to park it under a tree for 2 days and it ended up COVERED in tree sap. You could have stuck a live cat to the roof.
Being mindful that it's so hot ATM I took it down to tesco yesterday afternoon and washed the worse of the sap off. I wasn't getting anywhere with the pressure lance so I used the brush. I thought it may be a mistake at time and confirmed it when I got home. Scratches in the paint where there was none post buffing efforts.
I don't know why I bother...
Edited by Zombie on Tuesday 7th June 15:49
Tonights efforts;
As I mentioned in a previous post my Dad sourced a replacement ecu kit.
Quick guide to replacement:
DISCONNECT THE BATTERY
The bits on the right, code box, engine ecu and key are required, the rest that turned up with it are not.
The code box is mounted above the fuse box, to the right of the steering column.
Removing the fuse box is relatively easy assuming you can get the locks on the plugs undone.
It's bolted in with 2 x 10mm bolts that are easy enough to get at. One is visible in the pic below, the other is off up on the top left hand corner
With that removed you can see the code box - It's the blue box mounted onto of the black bracket;
It's held in place with another 2 x 10mm bolts that go in from below. Undo them and disconnect the plugs and pull it out. Engine ecu is under the bonnet and easy enough to replace.
Once they've both been replaced it's also a simple enough job to swap the transponder from the key(s) that came with the ecu into your existing keys.
On connecting everything I found the engine management light was on and the glow plug light was flashing. I cleared the fault codes that presumably were a remnant of the previous owner. Not all that surprising really.
The other thing you need to do is code the ecu to the fuel injectors. The injectors have characteristics specific to each individual injector that are described by a code on the top of the injector, which in this case (no 3) is; 81AEAUAAA
You can use Multi ECU Scan to alter the codes.
This may sound complicated but, TBH, its dead simple.
There endeth the guide.
We went for a 12 mile drive, no errors. Boost pressure seems to be more consistent and it's definitely running better. It's also slower. MPG figure is more realistic though. As in not 55mpg after being spanked.
Not arsed about the performance aspect. That's what the GTA is for, I just want a car that doesn't throw a wobbler when you floor it.
As I mentioned in a previous post my Dad sourced a replacement ecu kit.
Quick guide to replacement:
DISCONNECT THE BATTERY
The bits on the right, code box, engine ecu and key are required, the rest that turned up with it are not.
The code box is mounted above the fuse box, to the right of the steering column.
Removing the fuse box is relatively easy assuming you can get the locks on the plugs undone.
It's bolted in with 2 x 10mm bolts that are easy enough to get at. One is visible in the pic below, the other is off up on the top left hand corner
With that removed you can see the code box - It's the blue box mounted onto of the black bracket;
It's held in place with another 2 x 10mm bolts that go in from below. Undo them and disconnect the plugs and pull it out. Engine ecu is under the bonnet and easy enough to replace.
Once they've both been replaced it's also a simple enough job to swap the transponder from the key(s) that came with the ecu into your existing keys.
On connecting everything I found the engine management light was on and the glow plug light was flashing. I cleared the fault codes that presumably were a remnant of the previous owner. Not all that surprising really.
The other thing you need to do is code the ecu to the fuel injectors. The injectors have characteristics specific to each individual injector that are described by a code on the top of the injector, which in this case (no 3) is; 81AEAUAAA
You can use Multi ECU Scan to alter the codes.
This may sound complicated but, TBH, its dead simple.
There endeth the guide.
We went for a 12 mile drive, no errors. Boost pressure seems to be more consistent and it's definitely running better. It's also slower. MPG figure is more realistic though. As in not 55mpg after being spanked.
Not arsed about the performance aspect. That's what the GTA is for, I just want a car that doesn't throw a wobbler when you floor it.
And the rush job changing the offside upper arm. We had one in stock (Genuine ricambi!) and a drop link, which was an advisory...
Simple job as the damper fork fell apart - My Dad has been there before and spent about 6 hours separating the 2. Needless to say, the went back together liberally coated in copper grease. And yes that includes the pinch bolt...
Simple job as the damper fork fell apart - My Dad has been there before and spent about 6 hours separating the 2. Needless to say, the went back together liberally coated in copper grease. And yes that includes the pinch bolt...
Time for another service. Oil and filter changed when I bought it, and again with the turbo. Now not due but probably worthwhile at:
IMG_9943 by Chris, on Flickr
As mentioned before, I went to the lakes last weekend. We did a silly walk that was 17km and involved 1400m of ascent, but it also involved sat nav, a "discussion" and the scenic route. Hard Knot Pass.
Consequently, the under tray and it's numerous hybrid repairs took a bit of a hammering. So much so it took 15 min to remove and 3 hours to repair. Sorry Dad, Thank you Dad....
aranoid:
Otherwise it was the standard stuff;
Drop Oil
IMG_9931 by Chris, on Flickr
New oil filter
https://www.flickr.com/photos/97420435@N05/2748808...
We also changed the fuel filter (again) as I suspected that may have been causing problems too. Notable by it's absence in this pic...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/97420435@N05/2748807...
Whilst we were there I also tried the new toy;
IMG_9934 by Chris, on Flickr
I ordered it to test the vacuum system prior to the ecu change which seems to have solved the mcsf but I thought i'd test it anyway
IMG_9936 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_9939 by Chris, on Flickr
IMG_9943 by Chris, on FlickrAs mentioned before, I went to the lakes last weekend. We did a silly walk that was 17km and involved 1400m of ascent, but it also involved sat nav, a "discussion" and the scenic route. Hard Knot Pass.
Consequently, the under tray and it's numerous hybrid repairs took a bit of a hammering. So much so it took 15 min to remove and 3 hours to repair. Sorry Dad, Thank you Dad....
aranoid:Otherwise it was the standard stuff;
Drop Oil
IMG_9931 by Chris, on FlickrNew oil filter
https://www.flickr.com/photos/97420435@N05/2748808...
We also changed the fuel filter (again) as I suspected that may have been causing problems too. Notable by it's absence in this pic...
https://www.flickr.com/photos/97420435@N05/2748807...
Whilst we were there I also tried the new toy;
IMG_9934 by Chris, on FlickrI ordered it to test the vacuum system prior to the ecu change which seems to have solved the mcsf but I thought i'd test it anyway
IMG_9936 by Chris, on FlickrIMG_9939 by Chris, on Flickrcannondale said:
Really enjoying the thread. Thanks for sharing.
Can you explain what the new tool is for? Assume it's to understand boost pressures?
Thanks Can you explain what the new tool is for? Assume it's to understand boost pressures?
It's a vacuum pump. The bit that the blue pipe is attached to is a diaphragm that uses a vacuum (generated by the pump on the engine as it's turbocharged) to pull a rod that alters the vane geometry in the turbo, increasing or decreasing the amount of boost it produces.
I was using the pump to check the operation and response time relative to pressure. The new ecu has fixed the boost issues I was having but seen as I'd bought it, I thought I'd try it.
It also comes with a reservoir that you can use in conjunction with the pump to bleed the brakes. Given that I've had problems in the past with bleeding the 4pot brembos on my GTA, I felt it was worth the £13 just for this.
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 11th June 22:30
Just had a frustrating weekend which started with a broken 'leccy window switch earlier in the week. Not a huge problem, I thought i'd just find one on eBay...
The ebay search resulted in me spending a sizeable sum of money on a 1/12 scale Tamiya Porsche 935 model kit and the some more money with camskill on some Rainsport 3 tyres to replace the landsail ditch finders that are on the back of the 156 as a temporary measure whilst my Dad repaints 2 wheels.
I'd completely forgotten about the window switch.
Tyres turned up on Friday around mid-day - I ordered them Wed eve. So I popped home to collect them and the wheels to have them fitted by the local tyre shop, no problems there. It was at this point I looked at the offside front wheel and noticed that it was covered in black grease.
Arse. Outer CV joint.
Jacked it up, took the under tray off and found the air con compressor and the front of the engine was covered in oil and coolant.
(Mint...)
On finding this the cv issue took a secondary role. It's had an oil leak since I got it, I think it's leaking from between the head and the cam carrier but it's not that significant it just looks bad because it's accumulated. Even so, I was concerned that it may have gotten worse and wanted to check whether the cam belt had been contaminated;
I felt a bit happier but still needed to know where the coolant was coming from. My Dad found the leak with a mirror...
Great, it's coming from the water pump. So it needs a new pump and a cam belt change. (Next week...)
We put that back together and went back to the CV joint.
If the brake hose wasn't in the way you'd be able to see that there's no obvious split in the cv boot. But on close inspection we found that it had worn through in some places and had numerous pin sized holes in it.
Taking it apart should have been easy enough but the lower arm ball joint wouldn't release, so that had to come off with the upright. Damaged the thread releasing it so that needed to be repaired...
We have some spare drive shafts so the plan was to cannibalise one for a cv boot. The difficulty is that the offside shaft goes straight in to the gearbox, so removing it means draining the gearbox oil (and the cost of refilling it).
Sod that.
Plan b. Split the shaft at the inner joint spider and hope we can get a band around the inner cv boot when we refitted it.
Every part of the other drive shaft was different to the existing shaft. Including the cv boot. The other cv boots we have in stock didn't fit it and we ended up with that bloody grease everywhere. My dad ended up going to europarts this morning for a generic replacement boot, which worked fine.
Getting a band around the inner cv boot took an hour though.
After getting the shaft back in, it should be a simple job to put it back together?
Nope.
The thread repair on the lower arm ball joint was fine but the bolts into the front mount wouldn't torque up. Both threads stripped. So new lower arm required. FFS. And the only one we had in stock was a decent quality one.
And then the thread stripped on the (new) ARB drop link. The lower arm was old and corroded. I can understand that failing but a new drop link. No idea what happened there. By chance I realised it had a coarse thread rather than the usual fine thread, so it wasn't a case of using the wrong nut.
As I said, it was a frustrating couple of days. Back together now though.
The ebay search resulted in me spending a sizeable sum of money on a 1/12 scale Tamiya Porsche 935 model kit and the some more money with camskill on some Rainsport 3 tyres to replace the landsail ditch finders that are on the back of the 156 as a temporary measure whilst my Dad repaints 2 wheels.
I'd completely forgotten about the window switch.
Tyres turned up on Friday around mid-day - I ordered them Wed eve. So I popped home to collect them and the wheels to have them fitted by the local tyre shop, no problems there. It was at this point I looked at the offside front wheel and noticed that it was covered in black grease.
Arse. Outer CV joint.
Jacked it up, took the under tray off and found the air con compressor and the front of the engine was covered in oil and coolant.
(Mint...)
On finding this the cv issue took a secondary role. It's had an oil leak since I got it, I think it's leaking from between the head and the cam carrier but it's not that significant it just looks bad because it's accumulated. Even so, I was concerned that it may have gotten worse and wanted to check whether the cam belt had been contaminated;
I felt a bit happier but still needed to know where the coolant was coming from. My Dad found the leak with a mirror...
Great, it's coming from the water pump. So it needs a new pump and a cam belt change. (Next week...)
We put that back together and went back to the CV joint.
If the brake hose wasn't in the way you'd be able to see that there's no obvious split in the cv boot. But on close inspection we found that it had worn through in some places and had numerous pin sized holes in it.
Taking it apart should have been easy enough but the lower arm ball joint wouldn't release, so that had to come off with the upright. Damaged the thread releasing it so that needed to be repaired...
We have some spare drive shafts so the plan was to cannibalise one for a cv boot. The difficulty is that the offside shaft goes straight in to the gearbox, so removing it means draining the gearbox oil (and the cost of refilling it).
Sod that.
Plan b. Split the shaft at the inner joint spider and hope we can get a band around the inner cv boot when we refitted it.
Every part of the other drive shaft was different to the existing shaft. Including the cv boot. The other cv boots we have in stock didn't fit it and we ended up with that bloody grease everywhere. My dad ended up going to europarts this morning for a generic replacement boot, which worked fine.
Getting a band around the inner cv boot took an hour though.
After getting the shaft back in, it should be a simple job to put it back together?
Nope.
The thread repair on the lower arm ball joint was fine but the bolts into the front mount wouldn't torque up. Both threads stripped. So new lower arm required. FFS. And the only one we had in stock was a decent quality one.
And then the thread stripped on the (new) ARB drop link. The lower arm was old and corroded. I can understand that failing but a new drop link. No idea what happened there. By chance I realised it had a coarse thread rather than the usual fine thread, so it wasn't a case of using the wrong nut.
As I said, it was a frustrating couple of days. Back together now though.
Edited by Zombie on Sunday 31st July 21:33
Edited by Zombie on Sunday 31st July 21:47
noway said:
Nice collection on the drive there...
Mines a pre face lift....its my daily with 62k miles and ive had it just over 6 yrs.Its been the most reliable car ive owned and ive had a few.It had a suspension refresh just before i bought it and theres a few squeaks now and then but its just gone thru its last mot a few days a go again with no advisories...im always on the hunt for my next weekend car but the 156 will stay a while longer yet.
Very nice, one of the best colours. Mines a pre face lift....its my daily with 62k miles and ive had it just over 6 yrs.Its been the most reliable car ive owned and ive had a few.It had a suspension refresh just before i bought it and theres a few squeaks now and then but its just gone thru its last mot a few days a go again with no advisories...im always on the hunt for my next weekend car but the 156 will stay a while longer yet.
Edited by noway on Monday 1st August 20:26
Edited by noway on Monday 1st August 20:28
davebem said:
I can relate to your ebaying. I too was searching for a window switch and got sidetracked and ended up buying a whole red leather interior for my 156! consequently the switches were thrown in with it so if you still need one give me a shout as I have some spares. I too have stripped the rear lower mount threads, but on a brand new TRW arm, in the end i put longer 90mm M10 bolts through and a good nut and washer tightened over the top!
Thanks, but my Dad sorted out a new switch in the back ground... It was the front mount that failed. We were looking at the longer bolt and nut option on the outer of the two until I found the inside bolt wouldn't torque up either.I'm guessing you've seen this thread;
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-gta/907450-cau...
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