Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Twin Spark - Unseen-ish
Discussion
Proper job stew! I can only imagine how good it must feel to finally have full revs available.
about getting it serviced, plugs can be easily done yourself, you need a torx bit (i think 30 or 35) to remove the plastic engine cover and coil rail and that is about it (well, and a plug socket obviously). The plugs still cost some money (i think €100 for a set of 8), but considering a local indy here charges €180 for the job, its an easy way to save €80
That and freshening up the oil/filters was one of the first things i did on mine.
about getting it serviced, plugs can be easily done yourself, you need a torx bit (i think 30 or 35) to remove the plastic engine cover and coil rail and that is about it (well, and a plug socket obviously). The plugs still cost some money (i think €100 for a set of 8), but considering a local indy here charges €180 for the job, its an easy way to save €80
That and freshening up the oil/filters was one of the first things i did on mine.
I have the torx bits but as it is going to be taken apart for the belts, etc I’m going to see if the garage won’t do them as parts cost only - they’ll have done most of the prep work to swap plugs by doing the belts.
I’ve also been trying to find a replacement front bumper as mine has had a clonk at some time in the past and has paint flaking and doesn’t sit straight.
My paint code is quite rare, it’s mellatico Jarama or some nonsense, Alfa code is 846.
There’s a similar metallic black with a different flake in it with paint code 846/A (why not 847 Alfa?) and after getting fed up of my ebay search forever returning the 846/A I have up and spent £15 on a new solid black bumper to tide me over - it isn’t the right colour and it is missing the washer jets but I can swap these over.
The donor car has a perfect bumper with washers so assuming nothing goes wrong at the garage I will get that repainted and stuck on in due course.
I knew the ruddy thing would get under my skin...
I’ve also been trying to find a replacement front bumper as mine has had a clonk at some time in the past and has paint flaking and doesn’t sit straight.
My paint code is quite rare, it’s mellatico Jarama or some nonsense, Alfa code is 846.
There’s a similar metallic black with a different flake in it with paint code 846/A (why not 847 Alfa?) and after getting fed up of my ebay search forever returning the 846/A I have up and spent £15 on a new solid black bumper to tide me over - it isn’t the right colour and it is missing the washer jets but I can swap these over.
The donor car has a perfect bumper with washers so assuming nothing goes wrong at the garage I will get that repainted and stuck on in due course.
I knew the ruddy thing would get under my skin...
stewjohnst said:
I have the torx bits but as it is going to be taken apart for the belts, etc I’m going to see if the garage won’t do them as parts cost only - they’ll have done most of the prep work to swap plugs by doing the belts.
Fair point, i'd forgotten that the cam belt job includes using cam-locks, so the engine cover, cam cover etc... all have to come off anyway.Ah, the lord of motor vehicles does giveth and he taketh away...
In fixing the immobiliser/ecu I’ve had the battery off a touch too long and as a result the radio is demanding a code, which I do not have.
In itself it isn’t an issue as although I prefer an oem look, I’ll just replace it for now.
However, the fact that Alfa disable all functions without a code, including the goddamned bloody cd eject, the b
d thing has possession of my sole CD the other half got me for my birthday so I either buy it again or just take a tin opener to the unit to retrieve it...
The sunlight today reminded me how scratched the windscreen is, presumably the previous owner used to de-ice their windscreen with rock salt or something...
In fixing the immobiliser/ecu I’ve had the battery off a touch too long and as a result the radio is demanding a code, which I do not have.
In itself it isn’t an issue as although I prefer an oem look, I’ll just replace it for now.
However, the fact that Alfa disable all functions without a code, including the goddamned bloody cd eject, the b
d thing has possession of my sole CD the other half got me for my birthday so I either buy it again or just take a tin opener to the unit to retrieve it... The sunlight today reminded me how scratched the windscreen is, presumably the previous owner used to de-ice their windscreen with rock salt or something...
stewjohnst said:
Ah, the lord of motor vehicles does giveth and he taketh away...
In fixing the immobiliser/ecu I’ve had the battery off a touch too long and as a result the radio is demanding a code, which I do not have.
In itself it isn’t an issue as although I prefer an oem look, I’ll just replace it for now.
However, the fact that Alfa disable all functions without a code, including the goddamned bloody cd eject, the bd thing has possession of my sole CD the other half got me for my birthday so I either buy it again or just take a tin opener to the unit to retrieve it...
The sunlight today reminded me how scratched the windscreen is, presumably the previous owner used to de-ice their windscreen with rock salt or something...
I had this happen in a van a while back. I googled something like 'source radio codes', and found a site where for £20 (?) they supplied the code. It worked first time. In fixing the immobiliser/ecu I’ve had the battery off a touch too long and as a result the radio is demanding a code, which I do not have.
In itself it isn’t an issue as although I prefer an oem look, I’ll just replace it for now.
However, the fact that Alfa disable all functions without a code, including the goddamned bloody cd eject, the b
d thing has possession of my sole CD the other half got me for my birthday so I either buy it again or just take a tin opener to the unit to retrieve it... The sunlight today reminded me how scratched the windscreen is, presumably the previous owner used to de-ice their windscreen with rock salt or something...
Not a great deal has been happening of late, the wife has been recovering from her op (all good on that front now) so I have been driving the Outlander on the basis that battery power = 60p commute and the recent snow has meant I could dick about no end on my way to work down the country lanes
Not sure the Alfa would have been as much fun to ram the snow drifts with either...
Why all this talk of snow though?
Well, I got in the car the other day finally and the noticed fogging on the inside of the window. A quick lean over and fumble on the passenger floor confirmed it was wet so I assumed there was crap in the windscreen scuttle again blocking the drain.
After whipping off the screws and checking, it was annoyingly clear down there so my current theory is that the snow blocked everything up and it has melted into the heater vents causing the moisture.
The snow theory is just a guess but there’s no sign of a leaking heater matrix or any other obvious answer - I’m open to other explanations if anyone has them.
I also found a mystery plug that I’ll have to check out on the donor car - wonder what it’s for?
Not sure the Alfa would have been as much fun to ram the snow drifts with either...
Why all this talk of snow though?
Well, I got in the car the other day finally and the noticed fogging on the inside of the window. A quick lean over and fumble on the passenger floor confirmed it was wet so I assumed there was crap in the windscreen scuttle again blocking the drain.
After whipping off the screws and checking, it was annoyingly clear down there so my current theory is that the snow blocked everything up and it has melted into the heater vents causing the moisture.
The snow theory is just a guess but there’s no sign of a leaking heater matrix or any other obvious answer - I’m open to other explanations if anyone has them.
I also found a mystery plug that I’ll have to check out on the donor car - wonder what it’s for?
Edited by stewjohnst on Monday 26th March 22:59
Unlike the main car, the donor car hasn’t been giving me a headache so much as backache...
We have a garden wall that after a hundred years or so has decided it no longer wishes to remain vertical so a couple of thousand bricks were being delivered this morning, right where the donor car was parked.
Since It has no ecu or fuse box in it at the minute, it will move nowhere under its own steam and for added belligerence one of the tyres has gone flat as a pancake.
Stupidly, I’d done such a good job of parking the donor out of the way at her majesty’s request that I now couldn’t get to the offending bloody tyre (passenger rear) that was flat.
This resulted in far too much buggering about with cars as there’s no battery in the donor to power the cig lighter compressor so I had to faff about parking another car with a 12v socket close enough for my compressor to work.
My solution was to park the Outlander perpendicular to the Alfa and run the power though an open window and doors.
Having done this, I then rolled the Alfa forwards to allow me to steer it and wheel it back into a new position.
Apart from the lack of power steering (how did we ever used to cope?) moving the car was initially easy enough as there’s a gentle slope on the front courtyard.
This did however make trying to push it back to where I wanted a literal uphill struggle
Trying to apply steering lock to end up behind the Outlander and maintain reverse momentum at the same time tested the traction of my practical choice of footwear to their limit
As for the bricks? Well they turned up this morning but the size of loader meant he couldn’t quite get in properly,
Net result? The crane could only just reach the other side of the door and the bricks are now piled up just short of where the Alfa was originally parked, doh.
We have a garden wall that after a hundred years or so has decided it no longer wishes to remain vertical so a couple of thousand bricks were being delivered this morning, right where the donor car was parked.
Since It has no ecu or fuse box in it at the minute, it will move nowhere under its own steam and for added belligerence one of the tyres has gone flat as a pancake.
Stupidly, I’d done such a good job of parking the donor out of the way at her majesty’s request that I now couldn’t get to the offending bloody tyre (passenger rear) that was flat.
This resulted in far too much buggering about with cars as there’s no battery in the donor to power the cig lighter compressor so I had to faff about parking another car with a 12v socket close enough for my compressor to work.
My solution was to park the Outlander perpendicular to the Alfa and run the power though an open window and doors.
Having done this, I then rolled the Alfa forwards to allow me to steer it and wheel it back into a new position.
Apart from the lack of power steering (how did we ever used to cope?) moving the car was initially easy enough as there’s a gentle slope on the front courtyard.
This did however make trying to push it back to where I wanted a literal uphill struggle
Trying to apply steering lock to end up behind the Outlander and maintain reverse momentum at the same time tested the traction of my practical choice of footwear to their limit
As for the bricks? Well they turned up this morning but the size of loader meant he couldn’t quite get in properly,
Net result? The crane could only just reach the other side of the door and the bricks are now piled up just short of where the Alfa was originally parked, doh.
I have grown tired of playing random code roulette to attempt to unlock the radio on my commute so decided to pull it out and see if the serial number would work in any of the helpful links posted above to get the actual code.
First things first, I needed some radio pulling tools...the wife will no doubt be up in arms if there is weed matting blowing atriums in the garden but a couple of ground pins were liberated for a good cause...
Unhelpfully, the sticker wth the serial number was nowhere to be found on the radio, there was a crusty yellow patch where it used to be
Undeterred, it occurred to me I had another head unit in the donor car and after whipping that one out, I found a serial number to try. The more observant of you will also note there is a serial number stamped in the chassis and yes, I missed this on the first one...
I tried the serial in a few tools but with no joy and I didn’t fancy paying £20 to get a code so just shoved the unit back in and it actually started working without requesting a code
First things first, I needed some radio pulling tools...the wife will no doubt be up in arms if there is weed matting blowing atriums in the garden but a couple of ground pins were liberated for a good cause...
Unhelpfully, the sticker wth the serial number was nowhere to be found on the radio, there was a crusty yellow patch where it used to be
Undeterred, it occurred to me I had another head unit in the donor car and after whipping that one out, I found a serial number to try. The more observant of you will also note there is a serial number stamped in the chassis and yes, I missed this on the first one...
I tried the serial in a few tools but with no joy and I didn’t fancy paying £20 to get a code so just shoved the unit back in and it actually started working without requesting a code
I could have stopped there but clearly the second head unit looked like st, the previous owner was an Italian lady and I’m guessing her nails have, over time, obliterated the button surfaces.
I also still hadn’t retrieved my CD and in taking the units out, I noticed the front electrical panel was held in by a couple of torx screws so a switcheroo plan was hatched.
I was hoping that swapping the front of the old unit onto my unit would allow me to get the CD out on the basis the front electronics controlled the code logic, etc.
I swapped the unit and head unit over but it didn’t work so I plugged the donor one back in, intending to put the old front back on...at this point it went Loco...literally...
https://vimeo.com/262292450
No front on it but it was happily playing Ridings FM that was playing Loco in Acapulco...the Alfa has a sense of humour
t, the previous owner was an Italian lady and I’m guessing her nails have, over time, obliterated the button surfaces.I also still hadn’t retrieved my CD and in taking the units out, I noticed the front electrical panel was held in by a couple of torx screws so a switcheroo plan was hatched.
I was hoping that swapping the front of the old unit onto my unit would allow me to get the CD out on the basis the front electronics controlled the code logic, etc.
I swapped the unit and head unit over but it didn’t work
so I plugged the donor one back in, intending to put the old front back on...at this point it went Loco...literally...https://vimeo.com/262292450
No front on it but it was happily playing Ridings FM that was playing Loco in Acapulco...the Alfa has a sense of humour
Back t home tonight, I took the units into the house and decided I’d use the old head unit as it was working without a code but I’d swap the fronts and internals about.
The intention was to get the buttons that weren’t scratched to buggery on to the head unit that worked.
A fair few torx screws later,
PCB swapped over
The donor car lcd screen was a bit dirty, I didn’t have a lint free cloth to hand but a baby wipe and the daughters rabbit ‘Betsy’ provided an admirable substitute...
A quick dash out to the car confirmed I now have a working radio with decent buttons.
The intention was to get the buttons that weren’t scratched to buggery on to the head unit that worked.
A fair few torx screws later,
PCB swapped over
The donor car lcd screen was a bit dirty, I didn’t have a lint free cloth to hand but a baby wipe and the daughters rabbit ‘Betsy’ provided an admirable substitute...
A quick dash out to the car confirmed I now have a working radio with decent buttons.
There wa just the small matter of getting the CD out of the other unit...
A few screws later and the CD was liberated.
As they say in the Haynes manuals...Refitting is the reversal of removal, or something.
You’ll note the EMR keyring and yes, the whopping 200g or so of scrap metal left behind will be added to the pile of stuff I’ll be weighing in when I get round to it.
A few screws later and the CD was liberated.
As they say in the Haynes manuals...Refitting is the reversal of removal, or something.
You’ll note the EMR keyring and yes, the whopping 200g or so of scrap metal left behind will be added to the pile of stuff I’ll be weighing in when I get round to it.
The only other thing of note to report was that I stuck the eldest in the car for the first time today in a car seat to take her to playgroup.
We play a game in the PHEV where I use kickdown to fire the ICE engine and she shouts ‘engine-g’.
It’s her first time being driven in a proper petrol car and she was laughing he head off as I left it in second to get up to 60, revving most of the tits off it to do so and in a perfectly responsible way on a quiet and straight nsl road, I might add.
Thinking no more of it, I had to go to the office this afternoon and on arriving home, the wife commented how said child was excitedly telling mummy about hearing daddy’s cars engine and had spent the afternoon making a gazillion racing cars out of Lego.
We play a game in the PHEV where I use kickdown to fire the ICE engine and she shouts ‘engine-g’.
It’s her first time being driven in a proper petrol car and she was laughing he head off as I left it in second to get up to 60, revving most of the tits off it to do so and in a perfectly responsible way on a quiet and straight nsl road, I might add.
Thinking no more of it, I had to go to the office this afternoon and on arriving home, the wife commented how said child was excitedly telling mummy about hearing daddy’s cars engine and had spent the afternoon making a gazillion racing cars out of Lego.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff