I am a newbie when it comes to Alfa ownership. 2 weeks ago I bought a 2001 Spider on Grays Online sight unseen but for not a lot of money. It's in good overall shape with 97,000 k's on the clock but the service history is only partial and timing belt changes are not mentioned. The book is stamped by Lance Dixon Alfa in Melbourne, but it only covers the early life of the car. So far my attempts to locate the previous owner have come to nought. Grays say they can't provide anything for privacy reasons and attempts to contact the service department of the said dealer have been ignored.
All I want to find out is when the timing belt was last changed. Of course if I can't then I will have to get it done but you never know, someone out there in Alfa land might just know about the car.
Registration number is TND 914.
If anyone can help I will be very grateful.
Thanks in advance
What is the km on the clock, that might be a clue as to when perhaps the belts were last done ?
The belts on the JTS, and Twinspark ? need to be done at regular intervals (every 50-60,000km or 3 years which ever comes first) and if only after the last interval it might mean they have but equally if close to the next interval, perhaps for peace of mind you might be better off having the car booked in to get them done.
I am assuming you have a 4cyl rather than V6 spider. If it is a V6 then best check the requirements specifically for this model. Nice car.
Have a look around the engine bay around the timing belts, they sometimes put a sticker around the timing belt covers of when the belts were last done or due, the belts supplied have stickers in the box to put there.
I always write on the belt covers when its due, as the stickers come off in the heat.
Try going over the car to find any paperwork or receipts from previous owner.
Or do a shifty and go to Vicroads and say this car bumped into mine and took off, a witness grabbed the rego number, i want to send them the bill, then ring them up and ask a few questions, Colin.
Thanks for the tips. I have decided that discretion is the best tack and will go ahead and replace the timing belt.
I went to Vicroads today and asked about getting the previous owner's details but they said they couldn't, but I could write to them and present my reasons and they would consider it. I was told the instructions or form to do this was on the VR website but blowed if I can find it so I just used the general enquiry facility to ask about it.
BTW, the Alfa flew through the roadworthy.
It turns out the VicRoads form I was told about is just a Freedom of Information request! As I can't see that being resolved in anytime soon, I have decided to forget about it and get the car completely serviced and consider it day zero.
Isn't it good the way Goverment Departments can stuff you around when you want a simple request, but you get pinged when you do 62 kph in a 60 zone and throw you into jail with Ivan Milat, all in the name of generating revenue, Colin.