MOTOR CHAT

[The Ken]

oh not at all gaz
alfas are for me in the same catagory as lapdancers and dinosaurs
love them ,but wouldnt want to own one

i was just trying to imagine the conversation thats all
our unreliable cars in for repair ,so we bought an alfa

nearly bought a 155 silverstone a million years ago
but my son managed to pull the door handle off as we got out after a test drive ,and the salesman ,without blinking said that'll be covered under the warranty theres always teething problems with these

Ok now getting serious... Just buckled the front nearside wheel on a pothole, was only doing about 25 mph too :twisted: Roads are a mess up here since the rain.

To be fair it wasn't the Alfa's fault but I'm sure it will be at some point, totally agree with you Mikee and parts aren't cheap either but it has re-ignited the pleasure of driving with me, I think I'm in it for the long haul.

 

[jimihendrix]

My old 155 2.0 TS Widebody, random electrical faults, water leaks, expensive for bits (£110 for spark plugs :shock thirsty, BUT when i was driving it NONE of that mattered, drove fantastic, also just the best looking four door saloon car of the period

You need to watch the Timing belts on them too, they are critical on these engines, there is two belts, with two lots of tensioners and idlers (twice the expense and twice as much to go wrong), there is a short belt to drive a ballancer shaft and the long main belt driving the cams, been cases where the ballancer shaft belt has failed which is fine on it's own but it will get tangled up take out the main belt wrecking the engine :roll:

Would i buy another Alfa 155 ?, of course i would, to quote that big tit Clarkson "every petrolhead should own an Alfa at some point"

 

[The Ken]

Yes looking at 350 to 500 to do the 2 belts, tensioners and I think waterpump, I'm going to get mine inspected next week but expect it will need done anyway as it is at 52 k - seen recommendations vary from 38 to 60 k for a change despite the service log saying 75 k. Age is also an issue too though with most belts.

 

[jimihendrix]

Age is also an issue too though with most belts.

Yep, a lot of people make the mistake of just going by the mileage, the belt is a rubber component and rubber rots, i'd say new timing belts every three years regardless of mileage.

 

[RobMac]

Jimi have you got a pic of the 155 from the front or rear?

 

[jimihendrix]

Jimi have you got a pic of the 155 from the front or rear?

Sorry Rob, that's the only pic i have

 

[gnawamurney]

I fix these feckin things for a living! There are a few well known issues with them but apart from the wildly over-optimistic timing belt replacement intervals they are no worse than anything else and actually better than most. If you want to know anything about them give me a shout.

 

[velomaniac]

There,s an Alfa Romeo specialist in my town aswell, infact they're the poor souls who get to fix my microcar

 

[The Ken]

I fix these feckin things for a living! There are a few well known issues with them but apart from the wildly over-optimistic timing belt replacement intervals they are no worse than anything else and actually better than most. If you want to know anything about them give me a shout.

what do you charge for a cambelt etc/waterpump change?

 

[zigzag]

You hopeless optimist, it'll never make it to Glesga!