What kills the T-spark???

dunno it was the orginal one so bosch is it?

It is probably the same as on most other european cars, so the fact that it failed on your alfa was probably bad luck.

I am not 100% it is bosch but if it was it wouldn't suprise me. I have had MAFs, crank sensors and fuel vapour recovery solenoids fail on Alfa's and all of those are Bosch.

bosh has been a partner with fiat/alfa for a long time now... some models have electrics by other companies, but on the whole it's bosch...

even the headlights are bosch in the 155...

i was thumbing through the latest autoitalia mag and they've got an article on the twinspark engine.

Originally Posted by bigjim

i was thumbing through the latest autoitalia mag and they've got an article on the twinspark engine.

I haven't managed to get hold of a copy yet. Is it any good?

scan and put online

was looking at it at stanford. i can never find it in a shop.

Ive just had the cambelt, tensioner, idler and variator changed on my 1.6 147. The car is 3 1/2 years old but has only done 18000 miles. I decided to get the work done anyway because the cambelt deteriorates with age.

When the technician took the cambelt cover off and stripped the belts he noticed that the waterpump had been slowly leaking coolant onto the belt and tensioner! Needless to say the waterpump was changed!

After this experience i would say get the belt changed if you have any doubt about its age or condition. The technician told me that a snapped belt not only does the obvious damage to the valves and pistons but can damage the crankshaft but this damage can take up to 6 months to appear, often as a slight knocking sound which gradually worsens.

Your mechanic is correct. There have been quite a few instances on here where people have suffered big end problems after a cam belt snap.

Another reason why the belt needs changing at a set time interval as well as at 36,000 miles is that a lower mileage engine tends to have more cold starts. This is when the belt is under the most load.

Originally Posted by zulu ferret

Again, I think I favour your views, as I reckon the 147's motor is a 'bit of a buzz box' compared to the Themas' two litre plant. The Lancia just felt more solid when revved, sort of difficult to describe really, but smoother as well. When I took her for a test drive, (the 16v T,) I pulled into a lay-by, lifted the bonnet, revved the accelerator,(cable of course) and thought this motor is almost as smooth and responsive as a six cylinder machine! So I bought it and had no real problems with it at all.:

Would that have been balancer shafts?

Cam belts tend to have a much shorter life now due to increased under bonnet temperatures and the UK's awful traffic conditions.

I believe that belts will last longer and/or are less likely to break, if you change gear smoothly!

when i buy a new car (or as i put it "fresh" as i don't like the term s/hand) i ALWAYS fit a new belt kit, plus aux belt (s) filters etc, REGARDLESS of wheather the previous keeper says or even proves they were done recent.... PIECE OF MIND

Originally Posted by alfaspence

when i buy a new car (or as i put it "fresh" as i don't like the term s/hand) i ALWAYS fit a new belt kit, plus aux belt (s) filters etc, REGARDLESS of wheather the previous keeper says or even proves they were done recent.... PIECE OF MIND

Thats not a bad policy on cambelts. I would consider doing the same unless I had conclusive proof that it had been done. Main dealer stamps won't be enough it has to have itemised reciepts as well as bills.
I would always change the oil myself though regardless, you just never know how good the oil they put in was. It might be tesco finest.

Well if it was 'finest' you'd be ok. I put tesco value in the wife's car .

Is that the £3.99 for 5 litres stuff?

You obviously don't like her car much..

Originally Posted by alfaspence

when i buy a new car (or as i put it "fresh" as i don't like the term s/hand) i ALWAYS fit a new belt kit, plus aux belt (s) filters etc, REGARDLESS of wheather the previous keeper says or even proves they were done recent.... PIECE OF MIND

Yep, that's what the old fella did with his car to be sure. Like they could have been changed but as Alfa's are "specialist" cars they might not have been changed correctly or properly Then kaboom

nothing specialist about an alfa romeo anymore... and before only the carburettors were a bit specialist....

Really, even main stealer in cork certainly is useless and I know a lot of people that don't know anything about the TS engines.

it's not about not knowing about, it's about not wanting to work on something new. It IS harder to do the first time, and your profit will go down with the longer time it takes, esp when a price was agreed up front. EVERY brand of car requires some special tools, which you likely won't have when working on it the first time... an added expense which you can't have the customer pay for...

Also, most garages like to work with OE parts, and order from the main dealers to make sure they get the correct parts, again, unfamiliarity makes for a lot more work, and I understand alfa dealers are few and far in between in the UK.

Also, reputations do stick...

I was talking to a mate who does a lot of Alfa stuff. He hates the 16v TS engine (he's old school like me!) but he told me what really happens.

Because the 16v engine is quite small (a shorter block than the old 8v 155/164 unit) the crank is shorter too. This means the actual crankpins are quite narrow. That in itself isn't an issue, but when a piston is travelling up the bore at an immense speed and contacts an open valve, it will normally put either a hairline crack in the top shell (the one in the rod, not the cap) or compress a small flat in the shell. In the first instance the shell, now broken in two) will slowly 'chatter' in the rod and break up. In the second instance the 'flat' in the top shell will result in a major oil pressure drop on that crankpin resulting in a light 'tap' that eventually becomes a knock.

Another possibility is that the valve will 'nip' the top piston ring - that's when the valve smacks the top edge of the piston, putting the squeeze on the top ring. This results in piston slap and eventually a drop in compression as the ring cannot move.

If I were to do a top end rebuild following a belt issue, I would drop the sump and remove all four pistons. The crankpins can be given a very light polish with 1500 grit wet and dry with WD40 before rebuilding with new shells and rod bolts (ALWAYS REPLACE THESE!!! They are stretch bolts to be used once only!). Another tip is to pour EP90 gear oil or cam lube on the crankpins before fitting the shells and before firing it up, spin the engine on the starter with the plugs out to build up oil pressure.

Random failures do happen though. I was working at an Alfa dealer one Saturday and a 145 2.0TS arrived knocking its tits off - and it had plenty of oil. Overall though it's not a bad engine and with the right care it can last as long as a Ford Zetec or GM Ecotec. It's not as tough as the old 8v TS or the 12v V6, but very few engines are. Alfa Romeo set themselves some almost impossible standards to live up to it seems.

P.S Bosch is German for 'crap'. The day the Germans and Italians start using Hitachi for electronic components cannot come a moment too soon. 80% of BMW problems are caused by substandard Bosch garbage.

I am not so sure about the 12 valve V6 being tough. I managed to blow one up.

The 2 litre 145 that came into the dealer probably had a knackered oil pump. Apparently the oil pump suffers if the engine is run low on oil, and usually gives up a few hundred or thousand miles later. By then of course the engine is full of oil.

I think the 16V TS is a great engine BTW especially as a 2 litre, even if it is a bit unforgiving and intolerant of neglect.

The 20V engine in my car is supposed to be bullet proof, but even they can get damaged by running low on oil or by snapped cambelts, as can any engine not just TS's.

For the price of a 2001 BMW 3 Series I can buy three or four 2001 156 2.0 16v TS, making the Alfa a bit of a bargain - I could potentially blow up and scrap four Alfas for the price of the Beemer.

Of course, if I did one a year that might be costly, but one every four or five years wouldn't matter. I would rather drive an Alfa than a BMW personally, good as the German stuff may be, surely it's not that much better than Italian stuff?