Alfa 159 1750 tbi (208000 miles)

[JakeT]

I really like this thread. Good job on it so far. Definitely in a much better position now than when you bought it.

[Nickbrapp]

Still a utterly brilliant looking car and so much better than BMW can muster today. Glad to see someone’s keeping one in good nick, they are rare already

[jumare]

I've just fitted new front discs/pads to my 159, EBC OE spec. The barkes were working OK but it was a MOT advisory and there was a lip on the discs. Should have done it sooner as there is a big difference in performance.

Although the car is currently in the garage needing a new DPF to get emissions right for a MOT pass :-(

[LetsTryAgain]

jumare said:

Although the car is currently in the garage needing a new DPF to get emissions right for a MOT pass :-(

Should have bought a petrol...!

[jumare]

LetsTryAgain said:

jumare said:

Although the car is currently in the garage needing a new DPF to get emissions right for a MOT pass :-(

Should have bought a petrol...!

I certainly wish I had, although when it's working it's good and it is on 92k miles.

[Zombie]

Following on from yesterday and the the front brakes, we found last evening (Saturday) that one of the rear wheels (offside) was significantly hotter than the rest after a test drive.

Casual inspections in the past haven't revealed much;

- Decent pad depth and no obvious problems with the disc

IMG_8256 by Chris, on Flickr

I did suspect there might be an issue as the offside wheel would squeak after driving more than 15 miles or so and that would disappear if the breaks were applied. But, when we checked / replaced the rear springs, I checked that the wheels would rotate freely, as should be expected.

However, when we looked at it today (Sunday), the offside wheel would barely turn. Generally there are 3 causes for this; seized pads / calliper sliding pins or piston.

Fortunately on removing the calliper and finding that the outer pad was stuck in the hanger it was obvious what the problem was. Again, as per the front, it needed prying out with a big bar.

IMG_8258 by Chris, on Flickr

And as with the front brakes, the issue was caused by corrosion where the pad sits;

IMG_8257 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_8259 by Chris, on Flickr

I also pulled the disc off the car to make sure there were no other issues and didn't find anything, the wheel bearing seems to be OK and it doesn't look like anything was getting stupid hot as a result of the brakes binding.

IMG_8260 by Chris, on Flickr

Whilst the rear discs are worn, but not excessively so, it doesn't the disc and pads don't appear to have suffered in the same way the fronts had - front face looked fine but I felt it wise to check the back of it as well;

IMG_8261 by Chris, on Flickr

Whilst I was looking at that, my Dad had bunged the caliper hanger, shims and bolts in the parts washer for a cook;

IMG_8272 by Chris, on Flickr

And then cleaned the pad seats up;

IMG_8262 by Chris, on Flickr

refitted the shims

IMG_8263-2 by Chris, on Flickr

And then we put it back together. Fixed.

IMG_8265-2 by Chris, on Flickr

Well not really. I made the mistake of checking the nearside, just to be sure, and found that was binding too. Not anywhere near as badly, but it needed the same treatment;

IMG_8271 by Chris, on Flickr

Edited by Zombie on Monday 9th July 13:04

[Zombie]

Pommy said:

Zombie - how many hours and how much have you spent getting the car right?

No idea, most of what we (my Dad and I) have done has been in between other jobs.

It would also depend on how you wish to define "getting it right", some of what we've done has been standard maintenance, other jobs have been sorting out minor issues that most people would ignore (intermittent parking sensor being an example, there's been a lot pf preventative maintenance and the remainder we knew about before I bought the car.

[Zombie]

JakeT said:

I really like this thread. Good job on it so far. Definitely in a much better position now than when you bought it.

Nickbrapp said:

Still a utterly brilliant looking car and so much better than BMW can muster today. Glad to see someone’s keeping one in good nick, they are rare already

Thanks

[Zombie]

jumare said:

I've just fitted new front discs/pads to my 159, EBC OE spec. The barkes were working OK but it was a MOT advisory and there was a lip on the discs. Should have done it sooner as there is a big difference in performance.

Although the car is currently in the garage needing a new DPF to get emissions right for a MOT pass :-(

A lip on the discs? Sounds like they were looking for work.

DPF is one of the main reasons why I was happy to go for the tbi - I had 1.9 and 2.4 20v jtdm 156's before this and they were a right PITA when they went wrong. Admittedly, they didn't break often though.

[jumare]

Zombie said:

jumare said:

I've just fitted new front discs/pads to my 159, EBC OE spec. The barkes were working OK but it was a MOT advisory and there was a lip on the discs. Should have done it sooner as there is a big difference in performance.

Although the car is currently in the garage needing a new DPF to get emissions right for a MOT pass :-(

A lip on the discs? Sounds like they were looking for work.

DPF is one of the main reasons why I was happy to go for the tbi - I had 1.9 and 2.4 20v jtdm 156's before this and they were a right PITA when they went wrong. Admittedly, they didn't break often though.

The discs were properly gone, uneven wear etc. I changed them myself anyway £136 kit from EBC.

I think the DPF was made worse by me mucking about trying to fix the EGR rather than just replacing it. I bought the car 4 years ago before all the recent fuss about diesel now I'd go for petrol.

I really should have my own thread but I'm hoping once I get it back that there won't be anything (I'll settle for much) to write about.

[LetsTryAgain]

I'm 30, have spent my whole working life on diesel engines, and wouldn't recommend one to anyone.

[Pooh]

Zombie said:

Thanks, I do try to make it interesting, but lets be honest, it's a diary about running a vectra in a little black dress

A very interesting thread and it’s great to see somebody doing such a great job of looking after a 159 but I am confused by the above comment
The 159 is based on a floor pan that was co developed with Saab but never used by them, I do not believe it has very much in common with a Vectra other than a few components due to the Fiat/GM tie up that was happening at the time.
The suspension layout, for example is totally different.

[Zombie]

Pooh said:

A very interesting thread and it’s great to see somebody doing such a great job of looking after a 159 but I am confused by the above comment
The 159 is based on a floor pan that was co developed with Saab but never used by them, I do not believe it has very much in common with a Vectra other than a few components due to the Fiat/GM tie up that was happening at the time.
The suspension layout, for example is totally different.

I didn't mean for that comment to be taken seriously.

Nice Maser BTW - My Dad had a 4200.

Edited by Zombie on Tuesday 10th July 00:32

[Vitorio]

Pooh said:

Zombie said:

Thanks, I do try to make it interesting, but lets be honest, it's a diary about running a vectra in a little black dress

A very interesting thread and it’s great to see somebody doing such a great job of looking after a 159 but I am confused by the above comment
The 159 is based on a floor pan that was co developed with Saab but never used by them, I do not believe it has very much in common with a Vectra other than a few components due to the Fiat/GM tie up that was happening at the time.
The suspension layout, for example is totally different.

Some of the engines carry some GM-ness as well. The 1.8 MPI is a straight up GM engine, the JTS engines (1.9, 2.2 and 3.2) are GM bottom ends with an alfa head (and GM sourced cam chain troubles). the 1750Tbi is the only petrol engine without a whiff of GM about it.

The 159 was also rather heavy/large compared to the 156, and many say its not as good to drive, so while it is a very solid car, it does catch some flack in alfa circles.

Personally i love the looks of the 159, but im a bit hung up on the engine situation, im weary of the JTS engines, think the 1.8 is underpowered, so that leaves the 1750, which is rare and expensive... Not sure ill ever have one, but then again i was weary of the 2.0 JTS, and i just bought a GT with that engine, and i love it, so yeah...

[Pooh]

Zombie said:

Pooh said:

A very interesting thread and it’s great to see somebody doing such a great job of looking after a 159 but I am confused by the above comment
The 159 is based on a floor pan that was co developed with Saab but never used by them, I do not believe it has very much in common with a Vectra other than a few components due to the Fiat/GM tie up that was happening at the time.
The suspension layout, for example is totally different.

I didn't mean for that comment to be taken seriously.

Nice Maser BTW - My Dad had a 4200.

Edited by Zombie on Tuesday 10th July 00:32

Fair Enough

The Maserati was brilliant, a very under rated car with probably the best engine of any car I have ever driven.

[Zombie]

I don't think I've driven it in the rain since I bought it till yesterday. Typically, in doing so, I found some more things in need of fixing.

The rain sensing wipers for a start. They start off OK then get faster and faster until they're going all out bat st crazy. But, being honest, I knew about that before hand and had dismissed it as not worth the bother of fixing it till it needs a new screen - it's caused by an issue with the gel around the sensor that bonds it to the screen. Apparently. I need to re-evaluate that choice I think.

The second issue is the rear wiper. Unexpectedly, it does actually work! Normally the shaft which the wiper rotates on corrodes in the body, the shaft effectively expands within it and jams solid. Instead the one on mine just won't park consistently in the right place. It just stops it's sweep wherever it feels like. Not having that!

IMG_8734 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_8735 by Chris, on Flickr

You wouldn't believe how may fixing held the boot lid trim on! And how many clips broke off. The broken bits are now rattling about in the cavity between in inner and outer skins of the boot lid. Mint. I even took the latch out to trying fish the bits out, but there's no chance of getting them out. Stupid design. They always break.

Drive mechanism removed and the cover plate taken off;

IMG_8743 by Chris, on Flickr

Turned out the wiper drive shaft was corroded and wouldn't turn freely in the housing, so it was about to break - The brown grease is a result offing mixed with iron oxide...

There's a track on the back of the drive cog, which was equally filthy and could be the cause of the parking problem;

IMG_8749 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_8747 by Chris, on Flickr

Bunged it all in the parts washer for a clean;

IMG_8760 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_8761 by Chris, on Flickr

And unfortunately, the rusty, grease wasn't the problem. One of the two brushes that contact with the sensor track is broken;

IMG_8756 by Chris, on Flickr

As a solution (new motor probably required) we bent the contact into the right place. This in itself took a bit of faffing, putting it back in the car, reconnecting it and finding it didn't work properly, but it now appears to be fixed. I'm hopeful that it should last a while as the rear wiper shouldn't get much use.

Whilst I was in the boot, I decided to have a look at the aerial. (no signal for the radio). After breaking nearly all the clips holing the roof trim on around the headlining, I was able to get at the nut holding the aerial down (just about).

IMG_8757 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_8758 by Chris, on Flickr

There's supposedly crosshead screws around the perimeter of the aerial - it comes apart and inside theres a PCB that corrodes causing signal issues. But there's no chance of getting that apart. I suppose a more determined effort might, but the wiring from the aerial doesn't have a connector in the roof. Apparently you have to take most of the boot apart to get at the it to remove the aerial from the car. Sod that. Given the level of corrosion, the PCB is probably toast anyway.

And no, I don't want to know how much a new aerial is!!!

I raided my Dad's parts bins for new clips and put it back together....

[8IKERDAVE]

Looking good an I absolutely love the colour of that Brera!

Wish I had more patience with my 159 but it literally ate my wallet and after 7 months I moved it on (probably having fixed all the issues for the next owner!) Miss that front end though, they really are striking and nice to drive. I went for the wrong engine though (1.9JDTM) it was crying out for a petrol lump.

[Zombie]

As a thank you for replacing the subframe on my Mum's Brera, my Dad bought me some new door mirror covers ;

IMG_8385 by Chris, on Flickrreplacing as they were

They needed replacing as they had become corroded;

IMG_8388 by Chris, on Flickr

Finally got round to fitting them a couple of weeks ago. The job was easy enough once I'd figured out you need to remove the mirror glass (it's just clipped in) to unlatch the cover;

IMG_8389 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_8390 by Chris, on Flickr

[BlueHave]

Doesn't look like a 208k car the navy really suits the 159 Sportwagon.

Just unfortunate their are quite a. lot of 'Jays', small time house dealers that are only in it for a quick profit regardless of condition.

I once went to see a car of which there are plenty and the seller said it was 'MINT' and 'THE BEST ONE IN THE COUNTRY'. It was a rotter. Then I phoned about a car and the guy was Polish but his English was superb. Suddenly when I started to pick out the obvious faults on his car he didn't speak much English anymore.

In my neck of the woods a small time unregistered dealer was selling 300 cars he bought at auction in 18 months from his house some found to have very dodgy histories and questionable MOTS. He got fined £1500 in court. That was probably the amount of profit he made on one of two of the motors.

Edited by BlueHave on Friday 7th September 01:02

[Zombie]

As I mentioned at the beggining of the thread, the back tyres were nearly worn out when I got the car, so I had a new pair sat in the shed ready to go on when they hit the wear bars, the front having 5mm of tread left.

Consequently, I was a little annoyed when I spotted this (these are the front tyres);

49268370_10155696678626507_6959171896671731712_n by Chris, on Flickr

Which resulted in an alignment check;

49076972_10155696678706507_20074419443466240_n by Chris, on Flickr

There was nothing obviously wrong with the tracking but the tyre pressures were also on the low side (30psi). I had it set up as a Brera S which has improved the handling from terminal understeer to somewhere near neutral.

Shortly afterwards, I picked up a screw one of the rear tyres.

So, it's had 4 new Falkens all round;

IMG_9677 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_9678 by Chris, on Flickr

I chose the falkens after watching this review;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QseDx-aBaK4

They seem to be decent tyres, certainly a vast improvement on the worn out ditch finders that were on it. With them fitted to just the front, the thing was oversteering EVERWHERE in the wet...



Following on from that, I was in a rush and in the process of backing it onto my drive, where there's a level difference because I'm halfway through block paving it, I "removed" some underbody protection that covers the feed and return lines to the fuel tank.

We (my Dad and I) fixed this with some zip ties and this lasted a week or so before I did the same thing again. Only this time, it couldn't be repaired. New fixings and covers required, which needed to be ordered from Italy;

IMG_9679 by Chris, on Flickr

These were accompanied by some new wipers and a pack of stainless screws...

IMG_9676 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_9683 by Chris, on Flickr

With that fixed I started looking around the rest of the car.

IMG_9675 by Chris, on Flickr

It appears that it has a slight oil leak. Took the heat shields off the turbo and it appears to be coming from either the oil return of the compressor housing. arse. Not going to do anything with that until it gets any worse. ( There's a spare turbo in my loft).

And the subframe is, predictably, showing signs of corrosion.

As a temporary measure, I applied some chemical treatment and some rattlecan waxoil;

IMG_9680 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_9681 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_9697-2 by Chris, on Flickr

And finally, we've been looking at the headlights. It's got led bulbs in the dipped beam units and they're crap. Beam patter is non-existant and the light output is dire.

But an obvious solution is not presenting itself. We did some experimenting with a spare light unit in the garage against the door.

IMG_9690 by Chris, on Flickr


I used the same exposure for all the pics below;

This is a (35w?) HID bulb

IMG_9685 by Chris, on Flickr

A standard halogen bulb;

IMG_9687 by Chris, on Flickr

And a fancy blue tinted osram bulb;

IMG_9689 by Chris, on Flickr

They all APPEAR to be better than the LEDs that are in the car but the beam pattern is still poor.

I've got bi-xeneon's in the retrofitted in the GTA's headlights with leds in that and they are brilliant. We had a spare of these so here's another comparison;

(In this instance, it's fitted with the same HID bulb from the first pic)

IMG_9693 by Chris, on Flickr

IMG_9692 by Chris, on Flickr

I know the led's in the GTA are better than the HID units but they're a different bulb type. It doesn't appear to be feasible to fit the bixenon units in the 159 lights so it comes down to bulb choice. As it stands with the changes in MOT regs, decent set of halogen bulbs semms to be the best option?