Alfa 156 V6 - Am I going mad?

[Caractacus]

Some years back I had a Alfa Romeo 75 Twin Spark. The engine was superb, the weight balance nigh on perfect and the styling, well, I kinda liked it. All else attached to the engine was pretty much ste though.

Now I find myself looking for a cheap hack that I need not worry about while parked in town, something I can happily rag around, throw gear into, etc. Something that's a bit different, and hopefully something that goes well and sounds good. MPG? Not important.

I'd considered the BMW fodder but I must admit I think I may be beginning to bore of BMW. Merc? Dunno.

However a reasonable 156 V6 has appeared on my scope and my heart says "do it". It's only 1500 quid and seems to have been looked after well...my head says, "but it's an Alfa, mate. It will go horribly wrong, just like your last one"

What do you think? Should I go for it, or look at other, more boring cars?

[Kickstart68]

Hi

We have a 2L 156.

Main weak point is the upper suspension arms. But they are cheap (<£50 each) and easy to change (last one took me about half an hour on the drive). Airbag warning lights have a habit of sticking on (according to the local Alfa specialist the main problem is rear seat passengers catching the wiring under the front seats with their feet). They do rust a bit, but in places you don't see. Under the bonnet they are pretty reliable. MAF sensors go (~£100, easy to change). Resistor packs for the cooling fan can go.

Bits that would worry me about a 2.5 V6 is the higher fuel consumption (not a problem if your mileage is low) and the cost of a cam belt replacement every 3 years.

We have had our 2L for getting on for 3 years and 40000 miles (now at 145000). Bits needed:-

Pads and disks all round
Rear pads and a replacement rear caliper
Tyres
Resistor for the cooling fan
Front upper arms and drop links (needs a new upper arm on one side soon)
MAF sensor
Cam belt
Clutch (possibly not really required, but got it done with the cam belt so I didn't have to worry about it)
Power steering pipes under the front (thank you vicious speed hump)
Rear window winder mechanism

Other than the clutch / cam belt none of these have been expensive.

All the best

Keith

[Zwoelf]

Do it, as that V6 is quite a special thing to have underfoot. However the 2.0TS feels nicer overall to drive and "lighter on its feet" if that makes sense. It doesn't sound too shabby either, as four-pots go.

[DuncanM]

I ran a 156 v6 for 8 months and bloody loved it .

I would happily have another 156, one of the prettiest saloon cars money can buy.

Have a search on hear, topic comes up every 3 months or so

[VR6 Turbo]

Diff's diff's diff's.

Know problem on all Fwd V6 alfa's. not so much on the 2.5's but I had one it went. id say because it had been abused. as much of the service history was missing. but I figured a punt at £800 was worth ago.

VR

[redstu]

Go on you deserve it.
The v6 is by far the best engine and the cambelt is 5 years not 3.
Fuel economy is not great but ?
Just watch out for rust as previously mentioned.
Still one of the best looking cars from the last 20 years!

[dave1409]

I've had my 156 2.5 V6 for 19 months now. I've spent a fair bit on maintenance and repairs but haven't regretted buying it for a minute. I've had a new MAF sensor, new resistors in the passenger compartment fan controller, front upper suspension arm, brake pads all round, radiator (previous owner did not put enough antifreeze in and coolant froze last winter), cambelt, water pump.

Worth it for the sound of the engine

As Zwoelf said, the 2.0TS handles better and sounds good for a four pot (I had one as a courtesy car for a day).

[davepoth]

That is all.

[Caractacus]

davepoth said:

That is all.

Yeah, I know.

Good looking engines tug at the heart strings, and wallet!

[-Pete-]

I had an S Reg 2.5 V6 in red with cream leather from new for a couple of years. Oh the sound of that engine! Lovely gearchange, lovely leather smell, the best FWD car I ever had. The speakers were useless but it didn't matter, just open the windows. I'd gladly have another one - A car with soul!

From what I've heard, you wouldn't want a SillySpeed though, endless trouble.

[gowmonster]

how much roughly on getting teh timing belt done on the v6, looks tempting...

[davepoth]

Caractacus said:

Yeah, I know.

Good looking engines tug at the heart strings, and wallet!

Oh, hang on, I was wrong, there's this too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeeNZr2pbpc&fe...

With man shouting enthusiastically in Italian for extra effect.

[Caractacus]

davepoth said:

Caractacus said:

Yeah, I know.

Good looking engines tug at the heart strings, and wallet!

Oh, hang on, I was wrong, there's this too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jeeNZr2pbpc&fe...

With man shouting enthusiastically in Italian for extra effect.

Hehehe, that's a good one.

How 'bout this - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EQbJk78q_D8&fea...

???

I must admit I did laugh out loud.

[V6Alfisti]

gowmonster said:

how much roughly on getting teh timing belt done on the v6, looks tempting...

The whole kit fitted is about £400-500

[Hackney]

davepoth said:

That is all.

Good point, well made.
Before I got my GTA I ran a 2.5V6 for 6 months. Lovely. Although I had to get rid of the mahoosive rear spoiler.
(replacement boot lid £25 from Autolusso)

Loved it, especially after I put a Ragazzon exhaust on it.

[New POD]

Caractacus said:

I had a Alfa Romeo ..... The engine was superb, All else .......... pretty much ste though.

..my head says, "but it's an Alfa, mate. It will go horribly wrong, just like your last one"

What do you think? Should I go for it, or look at other, more boring cars?

I say CONTINGENCY Plan.

Go for it, but keep £50 in the glove box, for a taxi home.

I believe the 2.4 20V Diesel is like your 75......

[Kolbenkopp]

Not sure if there is much difference between the maintenance costs of the arese V6 and the 2.0 TS. Think the 2.0 has the balance shafts belt thingys to change as well as the expensive set of spark plugs. So if mpg is no issue, the v6 might acutally be a little bit cheaper to run? Especially if you can get one where the timing belts have been done by the PO.

At any rate, if you have doubts about buying one, don't do go on a test drive. The v6 just sounds really good -- it is hard to be rational about it. You have been warned .

[-Pete-]

To be honest about the 2.5 V6, aircon was marginal, speakers inadequate, understeer if you push it too hard. But I never had any reliability issues in 2+ years 50K miles.

Get one. You're not mad, they're fantastic fun. I miss that engine noise so much...

Edited by -Pete- on Saturday 12th November 23:04

[uncinqsix]

I had a 2L TS. Bloody loved it, and it was perfectly reliable. The first car that I had that stopped me looking enviously at other cars.

But my wife wrote it off

[Kickstart68]

redstu said:

The v6 is by far the best engine and the cambelt is 5 years not 3.

Might vary between markets. General margin seems to be to check it at 60000km (~36000 miles) and replace if any sign wear. As my local Alfa specialist said, how can a quick visual inspection tell if the belt will last another 60000km. Cost of a rebuild if the belt snaps makes it a risk to rely on the belt for too long and snapped belts on higher mileage engines are not unusual.

Jamie Porter list the cost of a replacement belt as £400 including tensioners and VAT. He also lists details instructions on how to do it which might be of interest.

All the best

Keith