Alfa 156 - what to look out for?
Discussion
I had a V6 Sportwagon for 15k miles, and most problems were typical,minor, old used car stuff, and an upper suspension arm (it wouldn't be alfa 156 ownership without). The floor needed a small amount of welding as the rear door seals had been leaking water into the rear footwells (top rear corner of the seal where it goes over a seam). some of this water also found its way into the spare wheel well. I can only imagine this getting worse as rubber seals get old.
Car is now happily burbling around at over 150k with the current owner.
Car is now happily burbling around at over 150k with the current owner.
nothing to add really, everything you need to know is already posted up. there is, of course, the comedy "fuse box lid falling onto your foot" thing but tie-wraps are your best friend for this one. oh, and if you operate the wipers with much snow on the screen you will spend most of the next day replacing the motor - don't ask me how i know this.
seem to be a number of V6's cropping up on the bay of dreams recently and, of the 156's i've had, they are by far the best option. never had a V6 with the auto box thingy but, despite the received wisdom, i really liked my TS sillyspeed. it honestly did seem to work better the harder i used it. mind you, it also had with it probably the longest invoice i've ever seen - work done on the box before i got it. not sure what the driver had done to it but one of the parts required was a new casing !
paul
seem to be a number of V6's cropping up on the bay of dreams recently and, of the 156's i've had, they are by far the best option. never had a V6 with the auto box thingy but, despite the received wisdom, i really liked my TS sillyspeed. it honestly did seem to work better the harder i used it. mind you, it also had with it probably the longest invoice i've ever seen - work done on the box before i got it. not sure what the driver had done to it but one of the parts required was a new casing !
paul
I am on my second 156; first one was a 2000 1.8TS that I bought from a pal, had 115,000 on it when I bought it.
I found a local Alfa independent and that is 'essential' IMHO, and has as has been mentioned on here, 156s have plenty of quirks and need a lot of TLC. But that is what makes them so interesting !
My 1.8TS was great, I should never have sold it ( but then I bought my current 1561.9 JTDM 150 ). The indy garage sorted the suspension with a 4 wheel laser alignment that makes all the difference. The Alfa leather interior is a great place to be, the quality of the leather and interior fittings is way above my other car, a 1998 E36BMW 318iS.
I fitted a Cybox S/S cat back exhaust on my TS, that sounded wonderful at 7K, but had a nice burble as well. Not intrusive at motorway speeds either, but sounded great with the window open !
The TS, as has been said, does like oil so it is essential to keep it topped up. Cambelt changes are every 36K, get the tensioner and water pump done at the same time.
Headlights are poor TBH : I tried all sorts of upgraded bulbs, Nightbreakers etc, and found that the only decent solution was to fit a set of....err HIDs, properly adjusted of course. I know this is a slightly grey area, and I am fully aware of all the issues etc, but I do a lot of night driving on my commute and the standard lights are so poor...They are set properly and do not dazzle others..
The only 'proper' soloution is the retro fit a set of Projector light units ( see youtube ) but this involves removing the headlight and splitting the units etc. It is something I really want to do but would have to buy a secondhand set of lights to work on as I use the car daily.
The air filters are a very poor design for a service item: in fact I recently removed the airbox lid completely ( need to detach the front fuse holder etc ) and have installed a cheap Halfords cone filter and fastened that inside the airbox body. So much easier to get at as the original airbox lids will be knackered by now. The cone filter seems fine with the MAF as well, something that I was concerned about initially.
I have had the current 156 JTDM for about 4 years now, spent a lot on it.... had it remapped to about 190BHP, a full stainless exhaust fitted, rear suspension rebuilt after the already mentioned issue with the rear damper cup failure ( a must check item I can assure you !), had the turbo replaced, and several rear window regulators (!), but TBH there is no other car that I would rather have !
Even now the facelift cars look modern, the 156 saloon is a timeless design and a well set up 156 handles like very few other cars do.
Oh and I have also done a couple of track days at Croft with my JTDM as well....brilliant !
I found a local Alfa independent and that is 'essential' IMHO, and has as has been mentioned on here, 156s have plenty of quirks and need a lot of TLC. But that is what makes them so interesting !
My 1.8TS was great, I should never have sold it ( but then I bought my current 1561.9 JTDM 150 ). The indy garage sorted the suspension with a 4 wheel laser alignment that makes all the difference. The Alfa leather interior is a great place to be, the quality of the leather and interior fittings is way above my other car, a 1998 E36BMW 318iS.
I fitted a Cybox S/S cat back exhaust on my TS, that sounded wonderful at 7K, but had a nice burble as well. Not intrusive at motorway speeds either, but sounded great with the window open !
The TS, as has been said, does like oil so it is essential to keep it topped up. Cambelt changes are every 36K, get the tensioner and water pump done at the same time.
Headlights are poor TBH : I tried all sorts of upgraded bulbs, Nightbreakers etc, and found that the only decent solution was to fit a set of....err HIDs, properly adjusted of course. I know this is a slightly grey area, and I am fully aware of all the issues etc, but I do a lot of night driving on my commute and the standard lights are so poor...They are set properly and do not dazzle others..
The only 'proper' soloution is the retro fit a set of Projector light units ( see youtube ) but this involves removing the headlight and splitting the units etc. It is something I really want to do but would have to buy a secondhand set of lights to work on as I use the car daily.
The air filters are a very poor design for a service item: in fact I recently removed the airbox lid completely ( need to detach the front fuse holder etc ) and have installed a cheap Halfords cone filter and fastened that inside the airbox body. So much easier to get at as the original airbox lids will be knackered by now. The cone filter seems fine with the MAF as well, something that I was concerned about initially.
I have had the current 156 JTDM for about 4 years now, spent a lot on it.... had it remapped to about 190BHP, a full stainless exhaust fitted, rear suspension rebuilt after the already mentioned issue with the rear damper cup failure ( a must check item I can assure you !), had the turbo replaced, and several rear window regulators (!), but TBH there is no other car that I would rather have !
Even now the facelift cars look modern, the 156 saloon is a timeless design and a well set up 156 handles like very few other cars do.
Oh and I have also done a couple of track days at Croft with my JTDM as well....brilliant !
Im into my 8th year of ownership with my 2005 156v6 q-system (Due to a motorcycle accident over 10yrs ago i need to have a auto option),and i recently worked out that in that time ive spent approx £1800 on tyres,servicing,brake pads,exhaust,cambelt,waterpump,idlers,battery and a few bulbs.It has been the most reliable car ive owned and still gets some admiring glances (a few chats at the petrol station too).
I do work on the car myself which has kept the cost down and there are signs it needs a suspension refresh now its at 68k miles.Ive gone to sell a few times but as its not worth much its still here,and before anyone dismisses the autobox try one first as it can be a lot of fun driven in manual h-gate mode..
I do work on the car myself which has kept the cost down and there are signs it needs a suspension refresh now its at 68k miles.Ive gone to sell a few times but as its not worth much its still here,and before anyone dismisses the autobox try one first as it can be a lot of fun driven in manual h-gate mode..
Edited by noway on Monday 17th April 07:56
As mentioned by previous posters, the suspension is an achilles heel on the 156. The front wishbones wear very quickly ... I had to replace them every couple of years, otherwise the suspension noises drove me NUTS! All four tyres wore on the very inner edges - not very pleasing when you are replacing tyres every eight months!
Do an "acceleration test" - if there is a hesitation at approx 2,500-3,000 rpm ... the MAF/Airflow meter is knackered. Watch out for oil leaks that are hidden by the undertray. As mentioned before ... low oil level = poorly looked after. Pathetically weak blower fan? It was fitted as standard by Alfa Romeo
Do an "acceleration test" - if there is a hesitation at approx 2,500-3,000 rpm ... the MAF/Airflow meter is knackered. Watch out for oil leaks that are hidden by the undertray. As mentioned before ... low oil level = poorly looked after. Pathetically weak blower fan? It was fitted as standard by Alfa Romeo
Edited by RedAlfa on Monday 8th May 20:40
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