[jzee786]

Hello fellow alfamaniacs!

As i said before this is my 1st Alfa Romeo and really to hell with what the logical world tells you about owning an Alfa Romeo :tut:

I have already in the two weeks of ownership of my car had a rollercoaster ride!

Even though she died on me the weekend of the 14th aug when i was getting ready to leave for the meet(which after opening the cam cover coz i was scared the cam snapped PARANOIA! was jus a dead batt )

i would like to share what feelings i went through in smiley form:

Go out to car :inlove: open door get in key in ignition start *no start* open bonnet get out tool box open cam cover *stress* cam belt still brand new (coz i jus changed it but frm rumours frm ppl checked in case) open boot remove spare wheel open batt compartment *nerves praying* reverse other car into position take out jumpers connect up *cross fingers* try again WHOA shes ALIVE :cheese: swear at old batt :rant: *hope everything ok* let her idle take for 45km spin looking really get to destination park off for a couple hours time to go home get in *nerves* start WHOA 1st time go home park her off let her cool down treat the lady to wash polish and engine polish up check all fluids *next day* jump in start *dead* go buy new batt *nerves remove old one fit new one make sure all's tight and in place* start up WHOA!

hope no more surprises occur except good ones lol

i wonder if this happens to all alfa owners....

And just wanted to hear of your own memories or recent ups and downs from owning your alfa romeo.

bye

 

[El 4 Romeo]

None in last couple of months, but here goes:
:inlove:Get my car and start reading manual (autobooks if IIRC) over the weekend. Start reading section on tightening cam chain and think ' How hard can it be?' Engine idling, 14 spanner out, loosen slowly as stated in manual Start her up and she's running rough. Switch off immediately and consult alfabb for the first time. "Never adjust timing chain tension when car is idling".
Fear turns to to:rant:. I've learnt a lot since then...

 

[Ian Lusso]

My beautiful black GTV is my 4th Alfa. It's a bit of a lemon because it's the only one giving me problems (yeah I know you only get that lucky, lol!). I owned it for a month and a half, but it's been at the dealers for half a month having a Q2 fitted. I fell in love with the looks and performance (still worth it!) but one day I take her in to have a thermostat fitted and the mechanic at the dealer tells me about a CV joint that's about to fail. I come from work and inspect it and sure enough there's lots of play on the shaft. They fix it for me, "phew lucky break, could have broken while I was driving!" I think. Motorite pays all except the R65 charge for grease!:wow:

Two weeks later I turn into the gate at work and crunch, diff decides it's too tight inside the casing, lets go see how Mr Gearbox is doing and punches a hole right through the gearbox casing. This time I end up having to pay a lot more than R65... PLUS Motorite wants to know what's wrong with me? I first break a CV joint and then blow the diff?:tut:

A week later I'm out adjusting the front shocks a tad stiffer (Got koni's) and while I'm at it, I'll adjust the bonnet cable and attempt to adjust the bonnet catch. Simple, turn this thingy here, close the bonnet and check... Nope, till today the bonnet still hasn't opened!:lol: I'm thinking of taking it back to the dealer that did the diff and telling them "please help, since you did the diff I can't open the bonnet!" :lol:

Final rant: Over this weekend I stop in front of the beer shop to buy beer for the Boks game. I open the door but it doesn't open fully, so I try to open it again and it won't open. People are staring at the car. I pretend to be on the phone till they go away but as some people walk, more people approach and look at the pretty car. I pretend to end the call and in my mind I'm thinking of how to get out in a dignified manner (can't get out at the passenger side!), the game starts in 20 mins and I need my beer! Finally I think I'll try to open the door from the outside so I have to open the window, push on the knob from the outside and push the door open from the inside. It opens and I get out a bit embarrassed. This morning I call a dealer to find out if they know anything about adjusting the door handle, they say I need a new "bowden cable". Quote me around R1700 for the part!

I calculated how much I spent on the car after a month of ownership and besides the diff, the most expensive bit was stopping at the pumps: I drove around 5000km in this month (taking the car on two short holiday trips) and spent R8750 on fuel! That works out to 12.5 tanks at R700 per tank. That also works out to an average fuel consumption of 17.5L/100km... Groan...

Next week I'll park the GTV and dig a hole and every time I feel like driving the car I'll throw lots of money into the hole till I'm broke!

My other Alfas have been dream cars, always behaving, always starting first time, always performing very well (except that one time the blue GTV parked on the side of the road with me due to broken maf and my fingers were too fat to be able to pull the maf plug out!) and they never cost me an arm or a leg except at service time sometimes when belts were done. :thumbs:

 

[scrgdk]

Yes, like using grey sealer on BOTH sides of a NEW tappet cover gasket on a Nord motor is NOT a good idea...
how ever (sorry to jack), El, hows about an extra 20kw for less than R4k

 

[jzee786]

lol ian i smiled the whole while reading your memoir sorry i just cudnt stop picturing the beer jammed door story classic i hope your gtv turns out to be a swan! that will be the icing on a very audible 3.2 motor

 

[El 4 Romeo]

Beauty is always going to be high maintenance it seems. Guess not-so-good looking cars try that much harder to please and given how freakin' gorgeous your car is, Ian... Maybe you should use your other cars more to fool her into believing she's not that important.
@scrgdk - man, my fingers need to get used to typing your handle again - R4k for 20kw sounds awesome, but I'm saving for suspension parts and some bodywork now. Where my car is now, it's difficult to get extra kw for cheap. Maybe you can pm me details or start another thread? I am interested!

 

[Guili]

AAAAHAHAHAHAAHHAHAAHAHAHAHa IAN lol...people will always look...if I were you I'd get out the passenger side just to hear what they'd say!

 

[KaizerG]

I've had my Spider for a month now...

The only issue I had was when trying to close the hood while at the shops, The 'suction' part right at the end of the closing cycle was just not sucking the two pins down. Checked it out and found one of the bolts was loose and the play was enough to not allow the pin to bury itself enough. Pulled out an 18 spanner and tightened it and Bob's your Uncle it was fine. Must say I had a small panic and flashs of all the posts i've read about people having issues with their hood motors!

 

[scrgdk]

Oh I just remembered another one
We were doing a Cento Miglia (100 miles) run last year and I was leading the pack.
Everything was going great and it was a beautiful day
Then as we were about to pass a truck (all 8 of us) on te dual carriage way I noticed it was going into 1 lane.
So in typical Alfa style I shifted down and gave it stick, sounding AMAZINGLY beautiful she screamed and then the motor died
I crapped myself, not because of the motor dying on me, but 1)being towed about 100+km to my home 2)the truck was 3m behind me and closing...
So i put my hazards on and heard the truck shifting down as I swung the car from fast to slow to yellow lane and brought it to a stop...
I watched as every single member drove past, except the eldest in his 147. he pulled over and asked if he could help and what was wrong.
I was 1/2 crying at this point cause I thought I snapped my chain...
upon inspection the chain was fine, motor was fine, dizzy was.. the problem... now for you that know the older cars to put it simply, the green wire popped out
In my attempt earlier the morning to clean up the engine bay I mustve knocked it loose and the shift down had popped it out :
Oh for those that don't know what the green wire is, it the sender wire the tells the dizzy when to fire...
Popped her back in and bam!
Went on to a brilliant drive further, should post some pics
Just to pee the jhb guys off again
But that can happen tomorrow
@El, I take it you did't miss me much, will start a new post soon WRT the mods.

 

[stefaans]

Sportwagon ran smoothly and trouble free...... until I washed the engine!...... Wet coilpacks are a *****! And to remove the coilpacks and plugs to dry everything a big pain in the arse! Other than that... she's only a joy!

 

[Gertie]

The flexi fuel line between the front and rear banks on my V6 cracked - couldn't figure out where the petrol smell came from because it was so little that seeped out at a time - fixed it with cappuccino machine's high temp / high pressure hose... So my car is pretty much like me - runs on cappuccino's

 

[scrgdk]

So my car is pretty much like me - runs on cappuccino's

:cheese::cheese::cheese:

 

[jzee786]

Sportwagon ran smoothly and trouble free...... until I washed the engine!...... Wet coilpacks are a *****! And to remove the coilpacks and plugs to dry everything a big pain in the arse! Other than that... she's only a joy!

what about the ts hmmm?

@ gertie im getting the same fuel smell after a drive after the car sits for a good few hours perhaps i need to borrow your knowledge of cappucino mechanics lol :cheese:

 

[GTVDAD]

I was warned not to buy a Alfa

About 7 years ago I just traded the Impreza for the 147 Sele .
Just joint the Alfa club :thumbs:and was off to Scribante for a trackday (500km round trip for a bit of fun).

First Gymkana event....off we go.... great time set...stop on the line....move off for next driver....stuck in N ....face turns red...what now....I was told not to buy it, but no......push it off the track with about 50 people giving me the lip about Alfa's....Sunday how will I get it fixed and get back home

it was just a bad connection to the Sele pump :rant:and we enjoyed the rest of the event with no problems. Did manage to come third in my class.

The good thing about all theat was that I joint AO just after that
:thumbs::thumbs::thumbs::thumbs:

......and it was the only real problem I ever had with any of my Alfa's afer that

 

[jzee786]

dirk checked out your gallery your gtv looked sweet! was it dropped and what size was your wheels? vnice indeed

 

[masonGTA]

lol ian i smiled the whole while reading your memoir sorry i just cudnt stop picturing the beer jammed door story classic

Me too:thumbs:

Top post Ian. I know its not funny when its happening but I think alot of us can relate hence the smiles:thumbs:

 

[stefaans]

what about the ts hmmm?

Funny thing, washed the Spider TS's engine the same day.... no problems! Other than the bonnet not wanting to open sometimes, there is no problems whatsoevr with the spider...

Only fear I have is that the cambelt is due for replacement, so I'm not driving it at the moment..... (A bit financially challenged at the moment, what with the V-Rod needing a new front tyre, the '32 Ford Streetrod build eating money and to top it all I went and bought another Sportwagon without an engine!)

 

[corriedw]

Next week I'll park the GTV and dig a hole and every time I feel like driving the car I'll throw lots of money into the hole till I'm broke!

Like girls, the beautiful/willing ones normally need the higher maintenance

 

[Ian Lusso]

actually it's not all that bad. I'm very happy with the car and don't mind the Q2 at all. :thumbs:

 

[corriedw]

actually it's not all that bad. I'm very happy with the car and don't mind the Q2 at all. :thumbs:

I know, as long as she does her bit, you will keep paying the price, we've all been there.