couple of issues with my 156 2.0 Tspark

[deadtom]

Evening all,

I took a chance on a 2002 156 sportwagon 2.0 from fleabay the other day, and im already starting to worry that this was a mistake...

the engine cooling fans come on as soon as i start the engine, and the engine temperature gauge in the car isnt doing anything; it just sits at minimum.

also its totally gutless below around 3k rpm or above 4.5k rpm in any gear, and only adequately powerfull between those points.

the car doesnt seem to make any untoward noises, doesnt smell or feel like its overheating and coolant level is correct (at least in the header tank in the engine bay it is). it also had a new radiator fitted not long ago.

im reasonably mechanically minded, but i dont know much about electronics and cooling systems, would the fans and temp gauge work from the same sensor, or do they each have their own?


any ideas?

Thanks,

Tom

[deadtom]

i assume that wont do anything about the cooling system, just the lack of grunt?

[deadtom]

where might i find the connector in question?

and am I likely to do any damage running the car as it is? i generally do less than 50 miles a week, so not really heavy usage

[deadtom]

well, it died.

it started with a ticking sort of noise at about half throttle (it seemed to be related to throttle position rather than engine speed), then it lost power and wouldnt even maintain speed (about 50mph at the time), then the oil light came on.

now what?

the car is still sat by the side of the road. only thing i can think of is to check if its run out of oil, and if so top it up and see if it goes again?

failing that, get it towed i suppose.

anything else anyone can think of?

[deadtom]

alfa pint said:

useful stuff

I wrote that last reply in a bit of a hurry as i had to go try and retrieve the car, so i shall expand on what happened to it.

like you said, it wouldnt have lost all its oil just like that and i did check under the car and in the engine bay for any oil and didnt find any. at least, not excessive amounts, just the usual you would expect. and also like you said if it had conked out due to lack of oil it would be seized solid, but even after it lost all power and the oil light came on it was still idling ok, so it certainly hadnt run completely dry.

I went back to it today and found that it was low on oil, so i added a couple of litres of oil and fired it up again. it started and idled fine, oil light wasnt on and all seemed ok, but then as i pulled out onto the road it was definitely down on power and the ticking noise started again. and so it continued for the whole 3 mile journey back to my mates house, with the ticking noise then being accompanied by a slightly heavier sounding knocking noise which happens across the whole rev range and gets worse with higher engine speeds (unlike the 'tick' which seems to only happen with a certain amount of pressure on the throttle) and the oil light is flickerign again.

so thats where i am at the moment. at idle its ok, but anything above that it rattles like a skeleton in a biscuit tin. the dipstick shows plenty of oil, but the oil light on the dash is flickering. i checked under the bonnet to see if there was anything obviously loose, but it all looks ok and the noise appears to be coming from under thet rocker cover.

what do?

Edited by deadtom on Monday 30th January 12:25

[deadtom]

i dont know much about these engines, would they have hydraulic tappets/lifters/followers/whatever they're called?

if the oil wasnt getting around the engine properly, could this result in horrible noises from under the rocker cover, and the low oil light coming on?

[deadtom]

oh dear

how much would a new variator and related gubbins be to replace?

and would it have run low enough on oil to do that much damage without the low oil light even coming on?

[deadtom]

does the cam belt have to be done at the same time as the variator? I ask ebcause the cam belt was done only a few thousand miles ago

EDIT: just looked back at some old bills and it looks like the belt, tensioners, pulleys and variator were done 12000 miles ago.

is it likely to have happened again so soon?

[deadtom]

have signed up to alfaowner, so will see what they have to say.

-sigh-

remind me why i thought it was a good idea to buy a 10 year old alfa?

[deadtom]

robsco said:

bearing in mind that any engine on the planet will be seriously damaged being ran without sufficient lubrication.

granted, I guess I shouldnt have taken the guy at his word that it had plenty of oil in it (I did make a point of asking). I guess my experience is not as extensive as most as I have only been driving for 6 years, but I always figured that the low oil light was intended to come on before damage occured, not after.

[deadtom]

perhaps ive just been lucky then. Ive had the oil light come on a couple of times while driving other cars, and so long as the oil was then topped up as soon as possible, it didnt cause any problems.

i know of a few other people who have had the same, but maybe those engines were hardier than the T-spark

[deadtom]

friendly local mechanic reckons the variator is alright, but the oil pump is shafted.

apparently its quite a job to replace the oil pump due to having to take the engine to pieces, so he said i should consider just replacing the engine with a low miles/re con unit.

what would PH do?

[deadtom]

its a 2002 sportwagon lusso (with the red leather interior that everyone loves) in good condition and lowish miles. i paid 900 for mine, but I think they tend to go for around 1500 usually.

a quick browse of ebay suggests a replacement engine can be sourced for between 250 and 400 notes, so if it costs 600 or so to get a new engine dropped in, ive still effectively paid a fair price for the car?

[deadtom]

yeah thats what I'm thinking, but its always a gamble because a new engine could have all kinds of problems of its own