Couple of Alfa 166 questions

Hi all

I just jumped into the deep end of the pool and traded my Hyundai Elantra '2000 with a 1998 V6 Alfa 166 Automatic.

Now i'm not even going to tell you the difference between the two, but one thing i can tell you the Hyundai never broke down, well .... exept having to change all 4 wheel bearings at around 50k

Now i have a couple of questions about the 166!

First as it's a automatic (without the paddles). When it's cold it does downshift quite hard, even so the engine revs alittle, but not so hard that it seems to be damaging anything. Now as this is abit more of a cruiser than a sportscar i'm quite amazed at this. Has anybody a similiuar experience with this? Is my Automatic going bad or is this a "feature".

Second question is that on the right side of the engine compartment there seems to be a motor "cusion". It's connected to the top of the engine and then to the upper part of the wheel house on the passenger side. The rubber on the part that is connected to the engine is damaged and it's abit loose. Is this a big worry? Does one have to change the whole shaft or just the rubber/bearing?

Third question is if anybody has a workshop manual or part manual that i can download from them via torrent or whatever. I just bought one for 12 Pounds from workshopmanuals.uk and the damm thing wont install. I'm not spending more money on the internet for manuals that don't work.

I'm abit lucky that my dad is a mechanic (doesn't work at a shop thoug ) and his experience with Alfas is limited. What i can tell you though is that i borrowed him the car and he didn't want to give it back

My love affair with this 8 year old car is quite fragile so please be gentle

Fistly welcome and great choice of cars. I cant help with the automatic as i have a manual. Im not sure about the shaft/bearing but it soinds like the engine stabalising bar if it bolts onto the top of the engine. If so you have to buy the whole thing but its only £35 and very easy to fit. Ebay have some good cds on the 166 although ive not got one. Good luck with the car and ill say it before anyone else posts. We all like pictures of new member cars so get clicking.!

The auto is usually lazy in D mode, mine is quite stubborn to change, especially on kick down, it will often start off in 2nd! But changes to mr jekyll on S mode
It could be your ECU has learnt a "sporty" map if the previous owner was heavy on the gas pedal. Try an ECU reset. (search for threads on this)
You can get the EPER and DTE discs off ebay for £3 or 4. The interface is crap and will only work with IE not Mozilla, but you get used to it.

Sounds like your dogbone is broken. You replace the whole rod-10 minute job but you do need plenty of 17 and 19mm spanners/sockets if I remember rightly.
HAS YOUR 8 YEAR OLD BELLA HAD CAMBELT/TENSIONERS CHANGED? IF SO, WHEN?
NEEDS DOING EVERY 36K MILES

Thx for the reply guys i'm amazed how friendly this "little" community is, i'm guessing most of you are from GB, from what i've read from the threads.

Actually i'm from Iceland, so i'd rather download the manuals if possible, don't trust the postservice all to much here anymore

Funny enough it's called the dogbone, and im sure your correct there as it's is in a similuar shape. Also when i checked it out i was quite sure it was easy to change.

My repair booklet that came with the car say's the belts were changed at 71k and the car has done 79k now so i hope i'm ok for now. I've heard that the V6 is better though in that department. The MAF was also changed two months before i bought it, i found a bill for that in the glove compartment much to my delight

Wish me well when it get's colder

Originally Posted by FleX

Thx for the reply guys i'm amazed how friendly this "little" community is, i'm guessing most of you are from GB, from what i've read from the threads.

Actually i'm from Iceland, so i'd rather download the manuals if possible, don't trust the postservice all to much here anymore

Try this link for the downloads ftp://blesna.nnw.net/pub/cesare/

Originally Posted by CrispDust

HAS YOUR 8 YEAR OLD BELLA HAD CAMBELT/TENSIONERS CHANGED? IF SO, WHEN?
NEEDS DOING EVERY 36K MILES

Not a V6, these can still be done at 48K & some specialists still say 60K ( back from 72K origionally specified)

The twin sparks have to be done at 36K though.

My auto can be a little slow to change in Drive but it's great in Sports mode. No really heavy clunks in either mode mind.......

Originally Posted by Mitch166

Not a V6, these can still be done at 48K & some specialists still say 60K ( back from 72K origionally specified)

Well my bank account less £3,000 would say otherwise! Cambelt tensioner let fly at 59K miles. Well and truly shafted top end. The "new" tensioner gave up at 8k later/10 months later. Fortunately I caught it before it was terminal.
Don't say I didn't warn you....

I think everybody agrees that the cambelt is a problem with Alfa's even your tensioner goes again after 8k's, so even that doesn't help either of you in saying if 35k, 50k or later is the correct figure

Originally Posted by CrispDust

Well my bank account less £3,000 would say otherwise! Cambelt tensioner let fly at 59K miles. Well and truly shafted top end. The "new" tensioner gave up at 8k later/10 months later. Fortunately I caught it before it was terminal.
Don't say I didn't warn you....

So it would have been safe at 48K then..........

I know how you feel, mine went at 69K, before I knew of the milage recommendations. £3K worth of work although Alfa GB paid half as a goodwill gesture.

Still love the car though!!!