Hi everyone, next week I will receive my 2002 156 JTS Selespeed.
It's done 127,000k, service book is all up to date. I've paid $7500 and but the 120,000k service had not been done which they are doing before I pick it up.
I wanted a manual but they were hard to find so decided just to get this one as it's in pretty good nick.
My wife talked me into looking at the car, I wasn't too interested, didn't mind the looks, interior looked nice so I thought reluctantly that I'd better take the thing for a drive, it's a four door sedan after all not a sports coupe, it will probably handle like a boat and I will be yelling "GO GO GO!".
Well what a surprise! I think by the first corner I was sold, I love it and can't believe how comfortable and well handing these cars are.
The selespeed system is smooth (provided I took my foot off the throttle changing) I ran through all the gears with no issue, engine is smooth and quiet.
I'm a little concerned with how reliable selespeeds are supposed to be but at 32 I don't drive hard all the time, I also change oils and fluid before they are due and fix problems asap, I will probably change all the fluids quite soon to full synth.
A few things that I need to do straight away are find a new key and fob and also the drivers side mirror has the black plastic peeling off the rubber part? (hard to describe) I'll just buy a relacement and a few 100ml paint and put a new one on, unless I can replace just the black part?
Now the horrible wait until next week when I can pick it up :(
congrats, I am a first time alfa owner, and after 5 months am still amazed how these things corner stock standard.
Mate, welcome aboard the test drive sounds very promising. Yes no matter what model Alfa finds itself in your possession, you can cerntainly feel the racing stock that it grew from. You'll find that most, if not all the oil is synthetic in modern Alfas, but your a little like myself, can't trust previous owners without written records so may aswell do it yourself to be sure ::)
The 120k service (assuming 2.0 twin spark) wasn 't done because it involves the timing belt replacement. I guess they (a dealership I presume) didn't want to go through the expense of its replacement until the vehicle sold (btn $1000-1500). Make sure you get a written record of what was done, you should have the timing belt, idler pulley, balance shaft belt, auxilary belt, engine oil, oil filter as a minimum replaced during this service. Also the brake fluid needs flushing at this service interval, unless already done in the past 24 months.
It would hurt to see if they are replacing the water pump, which they probably won't, if they are not ask them to do it while the engine is apart and foot the bill for the part now (~ $100-150).
Not sure about the selespeed actuator servicing requirements, but I'm sure there would be something to do there aswell. Oils replace, seals, brushes not sure mate, maybe a selespeed owner could chime in here...
But, yeah, I see selespeed problems usually occuring when owners don't maintain them. Although Alfas aren't like a hyundai excell or old holden, which could go for years with minimal servicing, Alfas have tighter tolerances and need regular upkeep per scheduled maintance. Look after it and the smile you had on the test run won't go away. Like ET, I bought a 147 for my daughter. No service records at all other than confirming the timing belt was done. Ran OK, but not Alfa OK. Wouldn't rev quite hard enough, anyhow after some months of fixing years of previous owner's neglect it runs like a rocket now. It simply needed a little TLC and complete service overhaul and it now drives like new.
Hi there jimay3677.
Cool Jesus had covered most aspects of the situation. Time and time again we have cars that have had the minimum done to keep them on the road and the next owner suffers because of this. Belts are done but not the bearings and variator.
Now at Spettacolo 2013, out annual Concors and Show'n Shine, we also will be supporting our regional members and the Ballarat Dealer (Peter Stephens Motorworld) by having a hospitality tent.
I am a big believer in supporting all Victorian Alfa Club members and friends so hope to see you on the day.
http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/content/view/391/1/ (http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/content/view/391/1/)
Every second cam belt chenge, the water pump should be changed as well, as it is part of the cam belt pulley system, change a water pump on its own and it would almost cost as much as a cam belt change.
Change the pump when the cam belts out and its just sitting there looking at you, take out a few bolts and its out, pumps cost $50 - $150 depending on quality and brand.
If you can't find someone to do the maintainence on the Selespeed around Wangaratta, it may be worth a drive to Melbourne once a year to gets experts to do the work, better to drive down than be towed down, Colin.
try milanos they should have mirror
I'm actually starting to wonder if I should cancel the purchase while in the cooling off period with all the issues people seem to have had with selespeeds.
Quote from: jimay3677 on November 13, 2013, 12:04:51 AM
I'm actually starting to wonder if I should cancel the purchase while in the cooling off period with all the issues people seem to have had with selespeeds.
I am a newbie alfa owner, but know the informed purchaser side of me says YES! there are a ton of manual alfas for sale, and the money your parting with will prob even get you a lower kilometer example.
It's your call jimay (private school?)
Just be mindful that you will read more negatives than positives. Why would you seek help if the selespeed is working as it should. You just need to factor in maintenance in your future budget. I will say that if I read correctly it's an early model, so if the service history is good, test drive was good and if you need an auto then you should be ok. But your preference is for a manual, hmmm it's very easy to buy an Alfa with ones heart rather than head. As extra said, my personal choice is a manual with Alfas, as god intended ;D
private school? I just never liked Jimmy
I spoke to a guy (forgot his name) at Alfamen who put my mind at ease so I am going ahead with the purchase.
He seemed to think it was a good purchase from what I described.
He advised to make sure I have the water pump done along with the belts kit so I have asked for it to be done.
I will just have to factor in making a trip down to somewhere like Alfamen every couple of years, I've also ordered a diagnostic cable too, yes I work on my own cars 90% of the time from clutches to timing belts to manual conversions of V6 Magna's it's my hobby, I also run all my cars on 95-98 octane fuels (98 is getting a little too expensive now) and have been changing fluids with synthetics at half the recommended interval for years, except cough cough, my wifes car does go over quite a lot with servicing.
There's a few other mechanics on your way to Alfamen if you're coming all the way from Wangaratta which are closer to you. Might save you some travel time and all have over 25 plus years experience as a minimum.
There's Northern Alfa in Thomastown, Ralph Guastella Motors in Brunswick, Il Bolide Rosso in Thornbury, Maranello PurSang Motors and Auto Sprint Motors again in Brunswick.
So the dealer are going to do the water pump while they are doing the belt. They obviously didn't like droppng the original price so much as they are charging $395 to do the wp which to me is quite excessive? I would think a wp is no more ths $150, $50 coolant and maybe an hours extra labor. But I need it done so kinda have to just cough up the dough. Luckily I sold the springs i took off my last car yesterday for $180
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Jimay, I don't have anything technical to add to the discussion, but as a relatively recent member of the 156 fraternity myself, I want to say just enjoy your new chariot. Even after 18 months of owning my Series 1 V6 (manual), I got busted yesterday by the missus for admiring it as we pulled out of the driveway in the family conveyance. Its beautiful to look at, beautiful to listen to, and most of all, beautiful to drive. That's what Alfa is all about.
Yeah, sounds a little steep in price. It may be a genuine Alfa pump, in any case you'll have peace of mind that it's done. Alternative is having it fail later which would cost almost a grand at a mechanic, let alone the risk of cooking the motor.
Private school = j'maie private school girl ::) my attempt at humour.
As poo mentioned, don't loose your buzz over it, sounds like your on a good thing here and you have some sense when it comes to car maintenance.
I think perhaps they sent a tech to Italy to pick it up? lol
If you change the water pump when doing the cam belt, then it would take maybe 10 - 15 minutes as you have to undo some bolts, take off old water pump , clean up mating surfaces, bit of gasket cement and put the new one in and Bob's your Uncle done....however if you do your waterpump on its own then you are looking at the same labour as changing a cam belt as it has to come off and go back on to get th the water pump.
My new water pump was $84 3 years ago from a European parts importer, the brand is QH, Genuine pumps are most likely $150, check ebay for Alfa 156 water pumps, Colin.
Yeah, I don't think genuine are even that much on Ebay, I know they are over charging me but there's not really much I can about it is there? I need it done. But I am going to ask that the receipt for the waterpump be itemized so I can see why it cost so much extra.
After many delays and much frustration my car is finally ready for collection tomorrow. They have done timing belt and balance belt kit. Water pump and drive belt.
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I changed the manual gearbox oil about 3 years ago at about 80,000 klms, the oil that came out of it was so clean i filtered it and put it back into another car i work on.
Thats means there is no nasty wear taking place in the gearbox, put Penrite fully synthetic, when you do a gearbox drain on a Alfasud or 33, they are usually very black and gritty, the 156 was good in that respect.
I also changed the oil in the power steering, no one ever talks about it, but it is well worth doing, the cost of a new rack and pump would be horrid, and the fluid change took about an hour.
Good to see you changed the balance shaft belt as well, when the balance belt breaks, it gets tangled up in the cam belt causing its failure resulting in a loud bang....followed by a long silence, Colin.
Even a diagnostic, you really do like to tinker then.
I find it very hard to trust anyone else to work on my cars
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You have to find a good Alfa Romeo Service Provider and stick with them, its like having a good Doctor/Dentist/Accountant, you have to trust them and get along well with them, Colin.
Hmmmm. Great car but the selespeed is sick. On the two hour drive home it was fine until about three quarters into the trip where it reved for a few seconds then went into first at an intersection. It did this again around town. Just then I went for another drive and after reversing I got stuck in neutral and had to push it to the side of the road. After restarting it was fine again....
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Fark, that suck jimay. Hopefully it's something simple like fluid. You sound like the sort if bloke that will get his head around the sillyspeed, and you will become proficient with it. Once sorted I'm sure you'll love the car, I mean Alfa. 2 hours, that's a heck of a long drive to have it looked at by the sales yard.
I like my Alfas with a stick, so I'm not much help with a diagnosis. There should be something on here or elsewhere like alfaowner.com UK site which may shed some light. I know that they need a good battery, good fluid, good maintenance and the accumulator can fail. Keep in mind that you will only ever find people having problems with their cars, I've yet to find a forum with members praising their chariots.
May be worth having a local Alfa specialist look at it and arrange the warranty work through them? Depends on the type of warranty clause you have of course.
its prob due lack of maintenance, and something that was bound to happen. At least you went into the purchase aware of selespeed potential issues.
The company I bought it from has a shop in my town which is where I signed and payed so I can take it there but, it's more than 10 years old so doesn't have a statutory warranty. It should fall under the consumer guarantee though I mean to have problems with a car on the first day!?
I should not have ignore my gut which was telling me not to buy a selespeed..
If only my diagnostic cable were here.
OK, I just went out and did some tests after reading up.
I turned ignition on, I heard pump go for a few seconds. shifted into 1st, then 2nd then 3rd and I heard the pump come on again.
Shifted back down and the pump came on again so The accumulator should be good, and presumably the pump should be too..
Hmmm. This sucks.. lol
OK, I remembered having a bluetooth OBD scanner which I hooked up today.
No error codes on either the SS or engine which really sucks. It's reporting 6 gear misses.
One thing I have noticed is that the pump kicks in every couple of minutes just with the ignition on but the engine not running, is this normal?
Should it have to build pressure every few minutes?
Try this link http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-147-156-and-gt/359967-alfa-147-selespeed-stuck-in-neutral.html (http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-147-156-and-gt/359967-alfa-147-selespeed-stuck-in-neutral.html)
Sounds like what your facing
Here's another http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-147-156-and-gt/203493-156-selespeed-stuck-in-neutral.html (http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/alfa-147-156-and-gt/203493-156-selespeed-stuck-in-neutral.html)
I just did a google search on "selespeed stuck in neutral" and came up with a few threads.
Thanks :)
I've run more tests. The system pressure is withing acceptable ranges when I test it idling in the driveway and shifting 1-2-N-R-N-1-2 etc but I will do some more tests later on the road to be sure.
All multiecuscan tests come out fine, clutch rod is 29.14 which is out of range but not by much and shouldn't cause these issues.
I'll adjust the rod later and while I'm at it I'll clean all the electrical connectors with some contact cleaner.
I'm hoping it's just a dirty connection somewhere or that the fluid was low.
Now this is embarrassing. I think the not shifting out of N was a PEBSWAC error (Problem exists between steerting wheel and chair)
Just now I discovered you can't select a gear without your foot on the brake, it's possible I didn't have my foot on the brake at least that's what I'm hoping it was.
The trouble going into 1st could be the rod distance?
By the way, I'm an IT network administrator by trade so the fact this system is computerized I find good as it helps me understand it, it's a bonus that I also understand cars quite well too :)
Ok. Some of the selespeed has been spat back out the breather
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take it back for warranty, I wouldnt tell them about messing with it yourself
There is no warranty on a 10 year old car
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bugger
Yeah tell me about it.. I'm wondering if the revving in first was from the selespeed downshifting automatically as I pressed down to select 1st and it got confused? And as I said the stuck in neutral may have been me taking my foot off the brake..
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Well. Have been driving around today with not one issue.. so if I took it back I doubt it would do it. The second time it did the rev in first I engaged second gear and it took off so maybe first gear is a bit notchy in the actual box.
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Ahhh. What's the beep from the radio every ten seconds???? Driving me nuts
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Try pressing the TA button to disable the hicut, i have no idea why or what it does, but it worked for me, Colin.
TA, I believe stands for traffic alert or something like that.
So that no emergency signals come through on the radio.
I think.
Thanks. That's better I opened the boot, all the doors, the bonnet, checked all the lights etc.
Well, I've been driving around heaps today after setting the clutch to 28.3mm and running the selespeed calibration routines with MultiECUScan and it's running fantastic.
I cleaned some of the plug contacts with electrical cleaner and blew them out with a compressor, I also noticed the plug boots on the main selespeed loom were a bit cracked and falling apart so I taped them up with electrical tape just to keep crap out of the wires.
I can now shift gears without lifting off the accelerator and the changes are about as smooth as my shifts in a manual if not smoother and definitely quicker.
But OMFG! this thing is going to cost me a fortune..... in fuel!! because I can't stop driving it! I haven't wanted to just drive around since I was on my P's
I was going to say when you have an enormous problem with your car you don't know how you are going to fix it and you want to sell it, then you work through your problems one by one and you get through it and you feel good and you feel 10 foot tall, then you look back and wonder what all the fuss was about, glad to see you fixed it, happy motoring, Colin.
On the subject of beeps on the radio, mine used to do it when i first got it and i will try and find out how i stopped it, i am sure i pressed the TA button, i will try to find out, Colin.
Hi Col, the noise is gone now, it was the TA button but before finding that out I had tried opening and closing just about everything trying to track it down before realizing it was coming from the speakers not the dash.
I think I got worried when I had issues due to the car before my last which I was badly burnt with, the private seller was very deceptive and I didn't check it over properly, by the time I had spent nearly twice what I bought it for just to get it roadworthy I hated it so when more problems popped up I fixed them and got rid of it for less than I paid for it in the first place just because I hated it so much. I was worried the same may happen with the Alfa. I still can't get over how well it's been looked after, the interior doesn't look ten years old and only has a few minor tiny wear marks, the body has a few barely noticeable scratches that will buff out, the wheels have barely any gutter rash, the suspension is tight and barely makes any noise other than tyre noise, there's nothing but a leather smell inside (aren't those seats great!)
I am a bit concerned with the work done by the Ford dealers though in that they didn't use the correct method to change the timing belt (no blocks) and they violated the engine with Magnatec which I'm eager to dump asap and get some Penrite 10w-70 Full Synth into it.
Hmm, had trouble with 1st again this morning. It was with a cold gearbox that it reved in first so I selected 2nd and off it went slowly. There were no buzzers or warnings so I suspect it's just a notchy 1st gear.
Yes col, it's definitely the TA (traffic alert), as mentioned. Had the same issue with the 147.
Jimay, I can assure you the what you're feeling is exactly what Alfa is all about. Keep the maintenance up and you won't look back. As Col said, those with little mechanical proficiency would sooner blame the marque and off load the car. I'm no mechanic by any stretch, and like you I'm at pains to have anyone else look at my cars. Over the past couple of years I've saved $1000s if not tens in doing my own work. Even now the wife and I arm wrestle over who gets to drive the spider.
Just noticed your last post. Make sure the battery is up to scratch, second hand cars invariably have batteries that aren't up to the task. I hear battery outlets will load test and check your battery for free.
Purchased another Blaupunkt radio and needed a radio code, purchased one off ebay for $9, radio is off and running, Blaupunkt means 'bluedot' in German which was a dab of paint by the quality controllers that it was up to standard 'TA' button is traffic alert which brings a beep about every 15 seconds, drove me bonkers when i first purchased the car, just kept pressing buttons until it went away, press 'Menu' button and 'phone' came up, 156's couldn't have had blueteeth in 2002?, anyone know what it means?, Colin.
Got a good story about Magnatec, but not for the Forum, think of it as a flushing oil in preparation for some good oil, the type to use is 10-60 fully synthetic racing oil of your favourite brand, 10-70 may be a bit thick for cold starts and will affect fuel consumption, unless it is using oil, then use a thicker oil.
Not absolutely a must to use camshaft locks, you can use sprocket locks that lock the sprockets, nee cams together, but the aluminium cam locks are the way to go if your workshop does the same model cars often, Colin.
The stock radio has the capability to add a phone wired into the rear of the unit. Not sure if it was just a cable you plugged into the phone or if a cradle was used.
Hey Colin, the oil recommended by Penrite is their Synthetic racing oil which is a 10w-70.
I'm a fan of Penrite oils, I've been using the HPR Synthetic range for a few years.
Indeed the Magnatec is a flushing oil, I'm just worried what it could do to the seals if left in too long, or left as long as the sticker they put on the car (12 months)
Hey jimay, just noticed there's a sticky thread on the selespeed here which may give you solice or angst :-\
http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=2570.0 (http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=2570.0)
It would probably be better if you continued your diagnosis over on that thread, would be more appropriate than in the introductions thread ;)
PS. I use Penrite
Quote from: colcol on November 25, 2013, 09:31:24 PM
Purchased another Blaupunkt radio and needed a radio code, purchased one off ebay for $9, radio is off and running, Blaupunkt means 'bluedot' in German which was a dab of paint by the quality controllers that it was up to standard 'TA' button is traffic alert which brings a beep about every 15 seconds, drove me bonkers when i first purchased the car, just kept pressing buttons until it went away, press 'Menu' button and 'phone' came up, 156's couldn't have had blueteeth in 2002?, anyone know what it means?, Colin.
I'm goings to assume you just refuse to read the manual :) ??
No, it doesn't have Bluetooth, it has a phone inputs on the back that will take over the system when/if it senses activation (line in voice, phone button etc), ie. from a cradle or parrot blue tooth adaptor.
Yes the TA is annoying in Aust where RDS and traffic alerts are not commonplace... they can be switched off though (read the manual). I find the climate control more frustrating, and I have read the manual several times (just which led indicates recirculate!!)
I have spare CD/radio with code out of an '03 facelift 156 car if anybody wants one. BTW, you can hack the CD changer input into a std aux in for an iPod/MP3 player easily enough using the std blaupunkt blue plug.
There is also a thread on alfaowner.uk where you can request your radio code by supplying the serial number, I did this just the other month, works a treat and is free :)
http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/ice-and-blue-and-me/140598-need-a-radio-code-ask-here-190.html
Read the manual?, why would i want to do that, when i can pick the brains of good people out there, i was pushing buttons and the phone came up on the radio, had no idea what it meant.
You are right about the climate control, i have no idea how it works after reading the manual the arrows, does that mean fresh air or circulate, i just leave it on 16.5c and it seems to work good, actually works good for the whole year.
Tried getting a code a few years ago for the original radio a few years ago and i kept getting the wrong code off them and everytime you put the wrong code in, it waits a bit longer until it will accept the right code.......my radio was so peed off with me for putting the wrong code in locked me out for 24 hours, then i paid some money, $15 i think and got the correct code, Colin.
the climate control is truly mad, like nearly everything else. I am still only 60% sure that I have it fully fully sussed lol. It works well enough though, so that's the main thing. Another thing, wish they had of put a clock in the dash, or radio. I have to turn the ignition on to see the time, which activates not only the dash lights, but some other gizmos under the dash, or engine bay? I hear something powerdown after I check the time.
My climate control on my 156 works just fine(through no fault of my own!),but it has a funny sound when turning the engine of, like a clattering sort of thing,and also the sound of powering down a jet engine which ads a bit of fantasy!
Hmmm. Twice in two days we've pulled up to the driveway which is about a 30 degree slope and it's not gone into 1st and just revs, check gearbox light comes on and you have to shift into second or N then 1st again.
Do the fault codes get erased every restart?
Quote from: extraball on November 28, 2013, 07:43:46 AM
the climate control is truly mad, like nearly everything else. I am still only 60% sure that I have it fully fully sussed lol. It works well enough though, so that's the main thing. Another thing, wish they had of put a clock in the dash, or radio. I have to turn the ignition on to see the time, which activates not only the dash lights, but some other gizmos under the dash, or engine bay? I hear something powerdown after I check the time.
if the temp number is jumping around - you have a solder fault.
the whirring noises are normal - electrically operated vanes for the ducts. these reset their range of motion when you disconnect the batt for 30min and leave key in 'MAR' and wait for all of them to extend and retract - you'll hear it.
Quote from: Alfa81 on December 28, 2013, 04:16:16 PM
Do the fault codes get erased every restart?
kinda - there are transient errors that self clear if the issue goes away, or there are persistent errors that require the code to be reset by a diagnostic computer.
I can't remember my password for alfa81 and no longer have the email address so set up a new account :(
I just wanted to give an update on my 2003 Alfa 156 JTS.
Well, I've really had next to no issues whatsoever and just a few "wear and tear" items, the issues I've had were;
1. revving in 1st after stopping at then attempting to lgo again.
Under warranty my dealer (Ford) sent me to an Alfa dealer who replaced an engine speed sensor which seems to have eliminated this 90% of the time but it does still happen occasionally.
2. Motor Control System failure comes on every 300-500k, the fault codes are for the catalyser 2 but on investigation all the o2 sensors are working fine so I just clear the codes and am on my way again for another 300-500k, fuel consumption is 8l/100k using Vortex 98 (No BP Ultimate close by)
3. sunroof leaked
Rear drain pipe was blocked by crud.
4. Lost 4th Gear
Took to dealer along with instructions for removing swarf.
5. Thermostat knackered
Replaced with a new one.
Selespeed oil has remained at high, engine oil has been dropping 200-300ml every 1000k, I was using Penrite 5w-60 but have been topping up with HPR10 which I plan to switch to on the next oil change which I'm doing in another 4-5 weeks.
I've now done 5,000k.
Welcome back New 156 driver,
2. might be that one of the 2 cats are contaminated, new Genuine are about $3500, but can get after market for about $800, the lambda sensors start to throw up error codes at about 100,000 lkms.
4. Swarf in a gearbox?, sounds serious, need to drain oil and put in fresh oil and drain it later on to see if clean, another reason not to have a selespeed.
5. I have had my 156 JTS for over 5 years, onto my 3rd thermostat, with different brands/suppliers, like how hard can it be to make a thermostat last longer than 10 minutes?.
6. Direct injection means that it uses a bit of oil, put 10-40 oil in and it will use more than if you use 10-60, don't stress out about it, just accept it and check the oil every week, Colin.
Hi col. I should have been a bit clearer. The gearbox had a small chunk of metal in it, I'd say a chunk of 1st gear as the selespeed loves dropping to 2nd 1/4 a second before I press downshift which has caused a shift into first at 30-40k a few times. I took in the instructions for removing swarf but it wasn't swarf that caused it. I'd say you're right about the cat but I'm not too stressed at the moment since it's still running fine and economy is good.
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I definitely don't like the fact the sele takes over on downshifts or that it insists on switching to city when you use cruise control.
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Its good that you have made it clearer, a chunk of metal has fellen to the bottom of the gearbox, where it can't cause any harm, swarf is ground down metal caused by something rubbing somewhere, as for the chunk of metal, don't worry about it at this stage, when its a new clutch, with gearbox out, have the gearbox looked at, Colin.
The chunk had actually lodged itself at the end of the forth gear selector rod so I had no forth until it was removed. I have some royal purple gear oil to go in when I find a reason to take that giant undertray off.
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Well, after a few months of only missing 1st occasionally I ended up dropping in to N when I tried for 5th, 1st wouldn't select quite frequently (tonight I had to try several times to get in to 1st)
The selespeed pump was kicking in almost every gear change and the pressure was dropping in just over two minutes. So tonight I change the accumulator over for the one I had (that, thank the gods, I didn't sell)
So sorry to the user who asked to buy it THE SAME DAY I dropped into N and noticed the pump priming frequently.
Pressure is holding now for just shy of five minutes, the pump is operating every 2-3 gear change and no more missing 1st.
It took about one hour to change, 45 minutes of the was pulling off the engine tray to find a nut I dropped and to take the battery tray back out again after discovering I'd left a cable tie off.
Asap I will pull the pump and change the brushes just because I've heard you get no warning when it fails.
Still loving the car, she's a bit oil hungry but we're talking 100-200ml every 1-2000k, I've been using Penrite HPR10 which is a 10w50 Full synth I figure it's a compromise between 10w40 and 10w60. I was looking for paddle shifters for ages and couldn't find any cheaper than around $120 each, then I saw a full steering wheel for $35 to grabbed it and have put the paddles back in, so much fun :)
When the 156 JTS first came out in 2002, Alfa Romeo recommended 10-40, as previously used on the twin spark, then with the higher than twin spark JTS oil consumption, they uped the oil to 10-60, so like you said the oil you have is 10-50 a bit of a compromise, but thats ok, just keep an eye on the oil consumption, but importantly, the oil suffers from dilution, due to the direct injection, so if you do a lot of idling and traffic, change it sooner rather than later and or give it a good high speed run to burn out all the contaminates, Colin.
I drive 40k to and from work at 100k five-six days a week so it gets a good run :)
Well. I still have the random not going in to first issue. I'm just going to live with it for now until I can get the car to a decent independant.
I've got a 2nd hand pump on the way that I'll rebuild and swap that over just to see if it makes a difference but I'm not optimistic. Next step is battery but it may be hard to convince the boss lady I need a new battery lol
Quote from: Alfa81 on June 23, 2014, 06:54:57 PM
Well. I still have the random not going in to first issue. I'm just going to live with it for now until I can get the car to a decent independant.
I've got a 2nd hand pump on the way that I'll rebuild and swap that over just to see if it makes a difference but I'm not optimistic. Next step is battery but it may be hard to convince the boss lady I need a new battery lol
To save me reading the whole thread - have you had the selespeed box calibrated yet and adjusted the clutch rod?
Yup, rod is at 28.06 and have run self learn clutch calibration and eol which seems to have helped a little.
There's also clutch calibration.. that's worth a shot..
also, last time I had similar symptoms, i replaced the EV0 (Clutch electro valve) seal in the actuator and that cured it... they're only abou5 $5 and 30 minutes to replace.
Another possible cause might be that it could be due for a clutch..
Yeah I did the clutch cal. It hasn't done it since so that may have been it, when it does it it's more like when you shift a normal manual into R and it doesn't go in because shifting from 1 > N > 1 fixes it everytime. Last weekend I switched the gearbox oil to royal purple and also changed to actuator fluid which was brown to penrite LDAS, it's half the prive of cs speed and it's a full synth hydraulic fluid penrite recommend for the actuator, it's also green. I haven't seen any more oil covering the sump and gearbox so I'm not sure where that came from but it's been spotless since I cleaned it all off. I have a funny feeling it was transmission fluid from when the dealer took the gear box end off to fix my 4th gear issue as they clearly didn't remove the drain plug but surely they would clean it off.
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Still happy after 10 months :) no major issues other than accumulator.
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