Selespeed Actuator / Accumulator / Pump

Started by Evan Bottcher, April 06, 2009, 09:42:12 PM

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Gotta B Red

Hi Pasey25,
No I have never owned a selespeed nor am I likely to, to be fair I would not consider any other manufacturers products similar to selespeed either.
For mine it's another level/layer of complexity I don't understand and of marginal benefit to my style of driving. In fact it would reduce my driving pleasure significantly, constantly worrying when the transmission is likely to take that early lunch.
I'm just a Luddite a techno-antihero.
I long for the days of carbies,points and plugs, mechanical clutches and gearboxes it's just what I understand and can diagnose and fix myself. I've never minded getting my hands dirty,happy to accept grease under my fingernails .... that's what a nail brush is for!
For me hydraulics is an innovation, Fuel injection is too techie for me. Just try to buy any car these days that isn't fuel injected.

Black boxes,Logic Boards etc all run on smoke and the main problem being, when the smoke gets out, your stuffed, there's no way you can coax the smoke back into the box or circuit board it came from ..... game over.
In an earlier post, Topic  "Typical Alfa Unreliability" I found an interesting device a friend of mine steered me to when he learned I was looking to buy an Alfa.  
That's what friends are for ..... don't ya love 'em !
I may not have created the hyperlink properly so just cut and paste it into your browser it's good for a laugh and then some.

Cheers,
Andy (The Luddite)

cranberry

There's a 156 Selespeed for sale locally with this in the description:

"There is a recent problem with the gear selection when in city mode. When stationary it sometimes drops down a gear."

Does anyone know what part of the Selespeed system this sounds like?

pasey25

thats a strange description. When stationary the car should go into first gear after arriving at a stop.

perhaps they mean that it is dropping from 1st to neutral when stopping. I'm not sure what part of the system that would relate to though.
Current:
1969 Lancia Fulvia 1.3s Coupe
1967 Lancia Fulvia Berlina GT
2017 Abarth 595 Competizione
1991 Alfa SZ #440
1967 Fiat 850
1966 Fiat 850
1969 Giulia Super
1989 Alfa 75 Twin Spark

Past:
1967 Lancia Fulvia Berlina GT
2005 147 GTA Monza Sele 59/100
2001 156 Monza Sele 2.0TS
2010 159 TI 2.4 SW

morphbill

I found that if you are not getting pressure from the pump as long as you know your getting power to the pump nine times out of ten it is the carbon brushes sticking, which is a simple fix just give the pump a tap with a long extension bar and this frees up the brushes, if that doesn't work then the carbon brushes need replacing at a cost of seven pounds from the UK and a couple of hours of your time. Mechanics will not tell you this they will say the pump has failed at a cost of $1000. I know several people who replaced pumps only to find later that it was the brushes at fault. I hope this can save people some money as Alfas can be expensive to maintain but if you source your parts from the UK the money to be saved is phenomenal. All the best.

Meng

#19
Quote from: cranberry on November 07, 2012, 10:27:08 AM
There's a 156 Selespeed for sale locally with this in the description:

"There is a recent problem with the gear selection when in city mode. When stationary it sometimes drops down a gear."

Does anyone know what part of the Selespeed system this sounds like?

From first to neutral? Sounds like a accumulator issue - if MES/alfadiag is giving you high pressure readings then likely you'll need a new one.  From memory the fiat accumulator by itself is $400ish, plus costs for installation.
Alfa Romeo 156 GTA 3.2 V6

Alfa156Melb1

#20
I know this is an old post - Actuators are serviceable, although a dealer would never tell you.

Wanksi touched on it earlier in the thread, you can replace the o-rings in the Electro valves for about $5 or the Electro Valves themselves... There are three: Clutch operation, Gear selection for even gears, and selection for odd gears. (EV0, EV1, EV2) It would be very rare to have to replace the whole thing.

In anycase, as long as the system is maintained, they are reliable.  I've had mine for 8 years and all I've ever had to do is replace the EVO seal which operates the clutch, cost about $10 and took 30 minutes to replace it.

Other than that, a calibration twice a year and 189,000kms of reliable motoring :) Except for a cambelt destroying an engine.. New engine now.

The unreliable bits in these cars are the cam belts, suspension arms and the sway bar bushes.. not the selespeed!  :D  Even so, I adore my 156 :)

colcol

The timing belts, suspension bushes and anti roll bars are not unreliable, they just need replacing at a certain distance and klms, if you don't then the car will surely break an engine or the suspension will start to get noisy, but the sillyspeed is the most unreliable part of the modern Alfa Romeo cars, if only they had put in a proper automatic and not forced the sillyspeed on us as a substitute for an auto, Colin.
1974 VW Passat [ist car] 1984 Alfa 33TI [daily driver] 2002 Alfa 156 JTS [daily driver]

Alfa156Melb1

I respectfully disagree.. having to replace suspension arms every 3 years as I have had too is hopeless.

Timing belts need to be replaced every 3 years or 60,000kms - woeful. I've had a belt break on me too, only a few thousand over the limit.. So it's a major sore point  :-[

None of this matters to though - I love the 156, I have two of them for a reason :)

I also love the Sele but I've only had good experiences with it, so has almost everyone i know who has one. And repairing them is not the bank breaking, house mortgaging misery that most are tricked into... thanks to forums like this and some indies - most repair jobs on the Sele should be very reasonable.

When my clutch seal went, a very well respected indie and a dealer were both absolutely certain that I needed to replace the Actuator (Cha Ching). Thanks to some google searching and a post on AlfaDriver.com - i replaced the EV0 seal, cost me $10 or something like that, I did the labour and the system is perfect. I don't blame people for hating it when they constantly read about these horror stories of actuators failing all the time..

Anyway, we all have different experiences.. I must admit, I prefer a proper manual too - i just don't think the sele is the devil its made out to be.. thats all. :)

I haven't driven one, but I hear the GTA sele system is bullet proof - so they eventually got it right!  8)

colcol

My top arms started to knock about 80k, then at about 100k the swaybar rubbers started to rattle, thats what happens, i wish that they would last forever, but they don't, but they are not unreliable and break.
The timing belts have to be replaced at 3 years or 50k under harsh, hot or dusty conditions, 60k under more favourable conditions, if you don't change the timing belts in a timely manner, then the belt will strip the teeth off or break, then your engine will be ruined, then you will moan about Alfa Romeo reliability, but its your own fault if you neglect it.
The Selespeed will let you down  when you least expect it, on the freeway, when its raining, at the worst possible time, adding to the unreliabilty Alfa Romeo myth.
Some people have good reliability with their Selespeed and they really like it, initially was unreliable, but it got better as Alfa Romeo improved it over the years and the development led to Twin Clutch Transmissions, which is a good piece of engineering.
Alfa Romeo could never have sold the Selespeed in the U.S.A., as three faults with say a power train, means the consumer has to be supplied with a new car, Colin.
1974 VW Passat [ist car] 1984 Alfa 33TI [daily driver] 2002 Alfa 156 JTS [daily driver]

Alfa156Melb1

Yeah, my suspension started failing at about the same kms as yours.. except I do a lot of kms!! so 80,000kms is 3 years to me. I don't think that's good enough as I have owned other cars that do not have this problem - their boring too. so it balances out! haha

You're right about the belts.. i still think they their life span is hopeless.. The Busso is 5 years/120,000km - That is is very reasonable.

As far as the Sele goes - well, we'll have to agree to disagree. Everything fails over time.. to say the Sele will fail eventually is like saying grass is green.. The engine will also fail eventually, so will the brakes, tyres and to be honest - us as well.

Yes, I agree they are more prone to fail than a standard manual or a boring auto. But they have a huge fun factor, and as long as you properly maintain them, the risk of failure is very low and the cost of repair, if one bothers to research, is reasonable too.

I would say that unless your an enthusiast, it's probably not the right choice - perhaps a VW DSG is the best bet - hang on.. they're just as bad!  ;D ;D

They are not the abomination you say they are. Just like many things, they require some knowledge and some TLC and they will give you spades of fun in return. :)

Unfortunately, they are not designed for the consumer that would ordinarily buy an Auto. As they were marketed as a type of 'auto', many "auto" oriented drivers bought them and hated them.  I don't blame them. They are an acquired taste, and only work if you drive them as a manual.

I'll never forget my first Sele experience, i thought it was a joke of a car.  But the next time I drove one, I made an effort to learn the technique and have loved them ever since.  Even though I still prefer a good manual! :)

RobertRame

I am having my injectors and fuel pump refurbished Ford 4000. When it comes to refitting, is there any tips, tricks or precautions that will aid the refitting of these items.

VeeSix

Ok, ok, selespeed can have the odd issue.....
1985 Alfa Romeo GTV6 V6 2.5 12V 
1986 Alfa Romeo 90 V6 2.5 12V
1990 Alfa Romeo 75 V6 3.0 12V Potenziata
1990 Alfa Romeo 164 V6 3.0 12V Zender
1991 Alfa Romeo 164 V6 3.0 12V QV
1992 Alfa Romeo 164 V6 3.0 12V QV

Garibaldi

That is one major accident right there. I hate to think what happened to the vehicle's occupants. :o

zippytheclown

so can anybody suggest where I should start looking for a set of O-Rings to reco the clutch electro-valve on a 147 GTA? I've been told to be careful as they are different from the normal 147 sele part
'03 Holden Commy XYII Work Ute (Monday to Friday Car)
'04 147 GTA Sele (Saturday Car)
'07 Alfa GT V6 (Sunday Car)
'82 Alfasud 1.5 Sprint Veloce (Money Pit)

suzuiq

old saying, man with selespeed gearbox will surly go mad ! :)
it doesn't matter how big your check book is, talent is the limiting factor.