Alfa 75 2.5 V6 automatic.(??)

[aldosud]

Hi,

I'm going to buy a 75 2.5 V6 Automatic. Never heard of a 75 automatic, but after some searching it seems that they do exist... This one is from 1988.

Is there anyone who has experience with the auto-version and is there anyone who can give me some tips/advise, etc, apart from the leaking tank-issues?

Thanks,

Aldo

[purple145]

the silver one off ebay???

all I know is its a ZF system, 3 speed, not many about, even in the US where most other cars are autos, so I imagine some parts for the box may be tricky. That said, the achilles heel of the 75 is the manual gear change, so the auto takes care of that.

I don't think it's hard to put in a manual if it goes wrong anyway, so the condition of the car is most important.

HTH

[aldosud]

Yes, that's the one and I've won it. (were you the one counter-bidder?) Well, so you've seen that the usual rust underneath the rearlights is there and at the windowsill. I believe that the jackingpoints are also a critical point?
Anyway, all your buyer's-advices are welcome, ofcourse..

[Dinocoopay]

Hi aldosud,I have a 75 2.5 auto and its brilliant!,I love it.
The gearbox is a 3 speed auto transaxle with a limited slip differential.

The auto also had self levelling rear suspension which is now defunct on mine,I believe it can be a source of problems,there are a pair of Citroen type spheres on the rear chassis rails inside the rear arches

On mine the previous owner had it all disconnected and normal rear shocks fitted so thats something to be aware of.

Driving it is brilliant,the 2.5 V6 sounds even better coupled to the autobox and kickdown takes the engine to 6300rpm,trust me,you'll drive everywhere with the window open

Performance wise its not as quick as the manual,especially at higher speeds but driving through town between round abouts and traffic lights its pretty quick,and once again sounds

I've never had to try and source any part unique to to the 75 auto yet and that is a worry but all in all ,if its in reasonable condition and been looked after,I dont think you'll be disappointed.

[purple145]

not me counter bidding, already got a 75 , although in a few bits

good luck and enjoy it, looks a good one from the pics

[aldosud]

Hi Jamiegtv, thanks for your enthousiastic response. God, I can't wait, even if I've had four 75's before. (a 1.8, a 2.0, a 3.0 and another 3.0.) Never knew that the rear suspension of the 2.5 auto, was Citroen-like.. Honestly, I hope that this 75 has a normal rear suspension, but we'll see. According to the owner, the speedo is temperamental and that's an issue that I used to have also with a Giulietta. Is this something that is easy to fix, that you know of?
I suppose, you're driving a GTV?
When I was still living in my hometown Amsterdam, I went to the Alfa clubmeeting and there was this 1982, GTV V6, owned by an airline pilot (=****loads of salary) who tuned his 2.5 to a 3.5. Really profesionally done by a famous, Dutch Alfa tuner. We wnt for a spin in it and I just didn't believed what happened to me when he hit the gas.. Went like a missile, but so solid drive! There I was, with my Sud 1.5 Ti QV, proud of my105 Bhp, suddenly feeling very humble...

Anyway, thanks for your tips and anymore are welcome. When I have the Alfa I'll put some decent pics of it on the site.

[aldosud]

Hi Purple145,
Did you knew that the 75 2.5 has Citroen-like, self-levelling rear suspension? The surprises are getting bigger and bigger....

[purple145]

I had forgotten, it is only the auto if I remember right, the feature does get rmoved sometimes as its expensive to fix and there are so many spring/damper combinations for the 75 available that work better eg on track cars.

Most of us have never seen it, so some pics would be great, a first even!

[aldosud]

I'm gonna pick it up next week and will make some pics of the self-levelling feature. What on earth, made Alfa Romeo make the decision to use Citroen-like rear suspension?..... Why did they want to have anything to do with French weenie-cars from that time, like the Citroen DS,GS,CX, BX and even the Xantia is still using it.. It's almost just the same disgrace as the Alfa Arna....... (Nissan Cherry and Alfasud together.....IIEEGGH!!!!)

[purple145]

people towing their race cars to the track?

[aldosud]

That's pathetic... The 75 I'm going to collect, seems to have a temperamental speedo, that should be working after a couple of miles. I did some searching and it seems that the fault could be a corroded connection, to be found in under the backseat. I've read something about this being in a black box, but that the '88 and '89-models don't have that. Anyone some advise?

[Dinocoopay]

Hi aldo

The rear suspension is exactly the same as other 75's,the same de dion A frame,coil springs,anti roll bar and in board rear discs.

The Citroen type spheres are called accumulators,going by what it says in the workshop manual "The two parallel accumulators absorb the pressure peaks maintaining a constant flow of oil to the shock absorbers"

On my car the original rear shocks have been discarded and a full set of EB spares Bilsteins have been fitted and all the original hydraulic pipework and accumulators are still in place but disconnected.

As for your speedo,I'm not so sure about that but keep us posted and we'll help out as much as we can,I thought there were a few more 75 auto owners on here,it can't just be the two of us surely!

[XAR75X]

Originally Posted by Jamiegtv

Hi aldo

<snip>

As for your speedo,I'm not so sure about that but keep us posted and we'll help out as much as we can,I thought there were a few more 75 auto owners on here,it can't just be the two of us surely!

Yep, theres a few of us. My understanding is the speedo sensor has magnets that degrade with age. I went thru the connections etc looking for it on my 75TS and in the end I replaced the speedo sensor in the transaxle to fix it.

daveb

[purple145]

I thought the whole idea of self levelling suspension is to keep the car level when fully laden or towing, which is why it is fitted to so many Volvo estates, hence my tongue in cheek comment.

Still, from what I recall from the original marketing, the auto was aimed more toward comfort and the 3.0 more toward outright performance.

The non working speedo could be several things, first thing IMO is check that the wiring is continuous from the 'box to the dash, then the problem can only lie at either end. You right about the amplifier under the back seat, it appeared on the later cars (manuals for sure) but you can never be sure what a previous owner has done, so do not discount anything.

Unrelated to the speedo, but have a good look round the rear arches and below the lights as this area rots out readily, and if you have plastic arches, remove them and have a good poke with a screwdriver. as the plastic traps the water.

HTH

[purple145]

daveb

did not realize yours was an auto, must be the only one on the 'other' 75 site

[XAR75X]

Purp

No, mine isnt an automatic, misread the post "75 auto" for 75 automobile.

db

[aldosud]

Hi Purple145,

Thanks again for your reply and advise. Regarding the speedo, what do you mean by the 'box' and where can I find it? Yeah, I'd never came accross a 75 without some rot under the rearlights. I even have had experience with a leaking fuel-tank, something that apparently was a common fault of the '88-'90 series. Also, rust in the boot.

[purple145]

all of that to look forward to.....

the speedo box is an amplifer, it situated under the back seat. Pretty easy to get at as the back seat base just pulls up, there are two retaining clips at the front edge, it will become apparent when you look under there. Just give it a firm yank on each side and it will come out. The box had Jaeger on it IIRC and amplified the signal from the sender on the box, its on the late models, but not the earlier cars, but where that leaves the auto, I do not know.

HTH

[Bandit1018]

Hmm...thought I was the only one with a automatic 75 (Milano).

Anyway, I got the car in July over the summer, and it is a joy to drive.

Good luck with it!

Bandit1018

[aldosud]

Thanks everyone for the good advises, tips, etc. Well, like all off you told me, it's such a joy to drive! Very well maintained, all the history is there, and the seller is an avid fan of all the Italian build cars from the 80's. Drives an old Maserati Quattroporte himself. The 75 has a new exhaust, it's rockhard, no rust, no vibrations, uses no oil, but ofcourse, like all older Alfa's, some electrical gadgets work and then don't. But hey, there's always the pleasant surprise if things do work again, like my speedo. When I drove back from Sheffield, I was overtaken by a guy in 156, who kept driving next to me, giving 'thumbs-up' with a huge smile on his face. His wife/girlfriend, or secret affair wasn't enjoying the scene, according the faces she made to the 156-er....Poor girl, she'll never understand and maybe that's a good thing... I'm constantly enjoying even looking at the 'fast-looking, grunty, 'in-your-face'-attitude lines it has. An Alfa 75 looks fast and grunty, even when standing still. Everybody is so right, telling me the sound of a 2.5 sounds slightly better, than a 3.0. And yes, driving with open window, even in the bitter cold, it results in goose-bumps. Go push the throttle down to kick-down, my God, it's like an afterburner.... Fuel consumption is very reasonable when cruising at approx. 55mph, being a 32 mpg. I'm as happy as a little kid and life is good with that piece of art on wheels. Like the series of the BBC, "Ashes To Ashes", I'd like to say: "Fire up the Vee-Six!"

[purple145]

glad its living up to expectations

try to spend an afternoon (tricky with snow and Xmas on the way) taking off every earth you can find and clean them up with emery cloth. Works wonders, some cars even go faster once the fuel injection system grounds are done, Find the earth locations here

Craig's Place, Alfa 75 Manuals and Information

HTH

[aldosud]

Thanks, that's a great site. Printing it out and a nice couple of days reading them.

Now another question: I've heard that it's relatively easy to lower the front, because of the torsion-bar. One of my Dutch Alfa-afficiniados, told me that it's just a matter of 'adjusting it one or two clicks'...

Anyway, thanks all again for your advises and tips. I'm very grateful and it's always nice to know that there's people around with a proper taste of cars, like 'our' 75.

p.s.: Is it me, or are the 156's, 166's, 155's, 145's, 146's, etc., a bit too curvy, sleek-un-Alfa-like? It doesn't give me that typical Alfa-exclusivity-feel...

[purple145]

I think your countrymen has simplified it somewhat, the process is below, and is in theory simple, but often the parts are seized on, and its easy to loose track of the 'clicks'. And once you have done it, you will discover another site that advises running SZ style 'dropped spindles' for the utimate in front end handling as this lowering merely alters all the other angles and just upsets something else.

Confused? you will be, welcome to the black art of making a 75 handle better.

Suspension

[aldosud]

Hi everybody, it's the Dutchman with his Alfa 75 2.5 V6 Automatic again. Well, the first disadvantages of the cherished 75, starting to show.. It started with my alternator that passed away, 2 days ago. Tried to disconnect it myself, but a lack of proper tools forced me to leave it with a garage. Happily, the alternator is ridicilously easy to access, it's only the case of getting another one, which makes it a bit difficult. Anyway, it's there now.
Can someone tell me, if the windscreen from the '88 series is a kitted one, or just in rubber. Why? Well, my windscreen is iced from the inside just as the outside, so apparently there is a leak. The 2 top corners are showing some rust and as it looks, it has been 'repaired' in not such a decent way. Other than that, I'm still in love with the car.. What is it with us Alfa-75 drivers?..... A spell, a virus, an addiction, wanting to get accident-proned?... What the hell..

[fetta head]

i had a 75 auto up to ABOUT SIX MONTHS AGO WHEN NSOMEONE PINCHED IT FROM OUTSIDE WORK. REPORTED IT TO POLICE BUT IT WAS NEVER FOUND! Iloved that car it was so different to any other car ive ever driven it had its own charm and was as smooth as silk.I miss it