The £200 Alfa...
Discussion
Took it for tracking yesterday - new tyres, new lower arm etc plus the steering has been out since I hit the pot hole in the winter.
Guy calls me into the workshop to explain an "issue". He was turning the track rod and it wasn't having any effect on the tracking. The only viable expaination for this being that the track rod must be loose on the rack.
He couldn't fix this issue for various reasons, so put it back together and I drove it the short distance home gingerly.
I Pulled the boot off the rack and sure enough, the track was looking to part company with the ball joint on the end of the rack.
We have replaced the track rod, last year sometime iirc, but the section that has come undone was in the middle of the replacement part - it came with the ball attached, so it should've been tight and I've had no reason to mess with it since.
I'd also imagine it should've had thread lock on it. It does now at least. Quite scary really.
Eta
Been back through the thread and found a pic I posted of the track rod when I fitted it.
Arrowed blue is the bit that screws into the rack, arrowed red is the joint that fell apart. Obviously, I had no reason to mess with that joint.
Guy calls me into the workshop to explain an "issue". He was turning the track rod and it wasn't having any effect on the tracking. The only viable expaination for this being that the track rod must be loose on the rack.
He couldn't fix this issue for various reasons, so put it back together and I drove it the short distance home gingerly.
I Pulled the boot off the rack and sure enough, the track was looking to part company with the ball joint on the end of the rack.
We have replaced the track rod, last year sometime iirc, but the section that has come undone was in the middle of the replacement part - it came with the ball attached, so it should've been tight and I've had no reason to mess with it since.
I'd also imagine it should've had thread lock on it. It does now at least. Quite scary really.
Eta
Been back through the thread and found a pic I posted of the track rod when I fitted it.
Arrowed blue is the bit that screws into the rack, arrowed red is the joint that fell apart. Obviously, I had no reason to mess with that joint.
Edited by Zombie on Tuesday 2nd August 14:10
I mentioned in my previous post last weekend that the water pump was leaking (requiring a cam belt change) and with work being slack ATM I've elected to take a couple of days off to tackle it. I know we could do it in a day but there's no rush and it'll give us the chance to clean up the mess from what may or may not be a current oil leak.
The job requires special tools. There's a hole in the side of the cam cover which has an allen bolt in it in the pic below
Into which you fit a sling loaded locking pin that finds a hole in the camshaft to lock it;
There are two holes and 2 cams but the exhaust cam is driven by a gears from the the inlet cam. The second pin is only needed when undertaking a full top end rebuild.
The crankshaft is locked using the bobble in the pulley;
Moving to the water pump;
It had RTV round it, suggesting that it's been refitted using an old gasket that may explain the leak.
Shiney new bits;
Tensioning the belt is easy enough. We used a screwdriver in a convenient hole against the black tongue on the tensioner.
And on it's way back together...
The job requires special tools. There's a hole in the side of the cam cover which has an allen bolt in it in the pic below
Into which you fit a sling loaded locking pin that finds a hole in the camshaft to lock it;
There are two holes and 2 cams but the exhaust cam is driven by a gears from the the inlet cam. The second pin is only needed when undertaking a full top end rebuild.
The crankshaft is locked using the bobble in the pulley;
Moving to the water pump;
It had RTV round it, suggesting that it's been refitted using an old gasket that may explain the leak.
Shiney new bits;
Tensioning the belt is easy enough. We used a screwdriver in a convenient hole against the black tongue on the tensioner.
And on it's way back together...
Edited by Zombie on Thursday 4th August 21:39
Edited by Zombie on Friday 5th August 20:49
We put it back together today, straightforward job, no issues.
However, now that the engine's clean(ish), it was possible to identify where the oil leak was coming from - between the top of the head and the cam carrier;
Which is what we were thinking. First thought was to slacken and re-torque the bolts holding the cam carrier down and in doing so we found that the bolt nearest the leak had stripped it's thread and was loose.
Helicoil to the rescue? Hmmm.
And that was with a slimline chuck. Finding a longer 8.3mm drill bit proved difficult which resulted in this;
All of which took about 4 hours to resolve. Think the leak is fixed though.
However, now that the engine's clean(ish), it was possible to identify where the oil leak was coming from - between the top of the head and the cam carrier;
Which is what we were thinking. First thought was to slacken and re-torque the bolts holding the cam carrier down and in doing so we found that the bolt nearest the leak had stripped it's thread and was loose.
Helicoil to the rescue? Hmmm.
And that was with a slimline chuck. Finding a longer 8.3mm drill bit proved difficult which resulted in this;
All of which took about 4 hours to resolve. Think the leak is fixed though.
Out on site with work this morning, I was wondering what the slight burning small was, checked under the bonnet thinking it might be the aux belt. Nope. And the wheels, checked none of them were running hot, tyre pressures seemed fine, tyres warm but not hot...
And then I was out again this afternoon and I noticed a small amount of smoke on acceleration. Car felt fine though. It was only when I got to my destination that I noticed some black fluff in the rear wheel. So I was looking at the ride height again (it's low but no lower than normal);
And as it had stopped raining I got on my knees and had a look under the car;
Ah.
!
I reckon the spring pan has corroded and dropped down the shock body slightly, causing it to rub on the tyre.
And then I was out again this afternoon and I noticed a small amount of smoke on acceleration. Car felt fine though. It was only when I got to my destination that I noticed some black fluff in the rear wheel. So I was looking at the ride height again (it's low but no lower than normal);
And as it had stopped raining I got on my knees and had a look under the car;
Ah.
!I reckon the spring pan has corroded and dropped down the shock body slightly, causing it to rub on the tyre.
As suspected;
And to further compound things the rear seat backs wouldn't fold meaning we had to figure a way of getting them out without access to several bolts.
Ended up taking all of this out just to get at the tstrut tops...
And, typically the section of the strut bolts was corroded to the point where an impact gun and large hammer was required to remove it.
And to further compound things the rear seat backs wouldn't fold meaning we had to figure a way of getting them out without access to several bolts.
Ended up taking all of this out just to get at the t
strut tops...And, typically the section of the strut bolts was corroded to the point where an impact gun and large hammer was required to remove it.
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 13th August 20:39
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 13th August 20:42
Moving back to the front. Think this is only the 4th time we've had the offside corner apart this month...
Compressing the front coil springs is always a right pita as they're such a small diameter and the spring compressors try to jump off them. If anyone has any suggestions for a make that will work effectively, I'd appreciate it.
The offside shock was also knackered, leaking oil, but at least the springs are OK.
Shiny new(ish) replacements from a GTA
Oddly, it seems that we've not had the nearside front suspension apart, as the alloy fork (links the shock to the lower arm and not shown in the pic) is firmly attached to the old shock. It's usually a full day's work to separate the two parts but we have a spare fork and pinch bolt, used that to put it back together. Not being able to separate the fork makes getting the shock out from under the wing a right mission though.
And then we found the spring was broken, so they're scrap as well as the shocks. Bugger.
And the upper arm was worn out... Great. We have another new, genuine Alfa part in the spares bin though.
And then I started putting the back of the car back together again, but of course not before I've taken the rest of the trim out and given it a hover;
Compressing the front coil springs is always a right pita as they're such a small diameter and the spring compressors try to jump off them. If anyone has any suggestions for a make that will work effectively, I'd appreciate it.
The offside shock was also knackered, leaking oil, but at least the springs are OK.
Shiny new(ish) replacements from a GTA
Oddly, it seems that we've not had the nearside front suspension apart, as the alloy fork (links the shock to the lower arm and not shown in the pic) is firmly attached to the old shock. It's usually a full day's work to separate the two parts but we have a spare fork and pinch bolt, used that to put it back together. Not being able to separate the fork makes getting the shock out from under the wing a right mission though.
And then we found the spring was broken, so they're scrap as well as the shocks. Bugger.
And the upper arm was worn out... Great. We have another new, genuine Alfa part in the spares bin though.
And then I started putting the back of the car back together again, but of course not before I've taken the rest of the trim out and given it a hover;
Edited by Zombie on Saturday 13th August 21:21
threadlock said:
Your persistence is amazing! Interesting thread. Thanks for all the updates.
Thanks threadlock said:
This number of problems can't be normal, surely, or nobody would want to own an Alfa?
Hmm. It's 12 years old and has done 150k. I don't think it's any worse than any other comparable german make that are perceived to be reliable.
I bought it as a non runner after all.
To get it up and running it had
2nd hand, proven injectors
New MAF
New MAP
2nd hand fuel pressure regulator
New injector seals
Thermostat
The failed turbo falls into this category too and it's demise was likely accelerated by the remap.
Bits that have broken
Rear wash wipe
Electric Window Switch
Bits that have worn out / failed
Early 2015 - Track control arm
Early 2015 - 4 Tyres
27/03/15 - O/S Driveshaft
27/03/15 - O/S Upper arm
11/04/15 - Nearside Driveshaft
29/02/16 - Windscreen
08/05/16 - Small amount of rust in floorpan repaired
03/06/16 - O/S Upper arm
03/06/16 - O/S front drop link
31/07/16 - O/S CV Boot
31/07/16 - O/S Lower arm
31/07/16 - 2 Tyres
13/08/16 - Springs & Dampers
13/08/16 - N/S Upper arm
Upgrades
Early 2015 - Cruise Control
Early 2015 - Bi Xenon projector lenses
16/03/15 - EGR Delete
04/04/15 - GTA interior
06/09/15 - Bose
Routine maintenance
Early 2015 - Oil & Filter / Pollen Filter
27/05/16 - Air Filter
11/06/16 - Oil & Filter
07/08/16 - Cambelt & waterpump
Everything else relates to the original problems with the engine and my inability to find the problem.
Young? As I said, it's 12 years old and has done 150,000 miles!
Cost of repairs have not exceeded its resale value and that includes over 18 months of use as my daily drive.
Previous owner has a Jetski and it therefore probably spent time on the beach, which may explain the rust. But lets remember here it's the koni dampers and german springs that failed, not OEM units.
The rest of it is mostly suspension bushes and they're (156s) known for chewing the ones on the front axle, particularly those fitted to cheap pattern components. I think that their wear rate could also be attributed to the rock hard suspension and remap.
It wasn't exactly a standard car afterall.
The garage I work at part time is a Land Rover / Volvo specialist and I have not seen anything that makes me think these makes are significantly more reliable - dicso 3's seem worse and the arms fitted to them are £200 each plus fitting!
If anything, my experiences with this car just demonstrate the issues modifications can cause than anything else.
Cost of repairs have not exceeded its resale value and that includes over 18 months of use as my daily drive.
Previous owner has a Jetski and it therefore probably spent time on the beach, which may explain the rust. But lets remember here it's the koni dampers and german springs that failed, not OEM units.
The rest of it is mostly suspension bushes and they're (156s) known for chewing the ones on the front axle, particularly those fitted to cheap pattern components. I think that their wear rate could also be attributed to the rock hard suspension and remap.
It wasn't exactly a standard car afterall.
The garage I work at part time is a Land Rover / Volvo specialist and I have not seen anything that makes me think these makes are significantly more reliable - dicso 3's seem worse and the arms fitted to them are £200 each plus fitting!
If anything, my experiences with this car just demonstrate the issues modifications can cause than anything else.
Edited by Zombie on Tuesday 16th August 14:12
Edited by Zombie on Tuesday 16th August 17:01
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