[richiel_7]

Hi all!

Just after a bit of advice. Never owned a GT and have seen a cheap one due to 'running' problems and just wanted any advice as to whether to steer clear or not.

Basically, the seller says he was driving along and had a sudden loss of power. He tells me that a mechanic /friend (?!)came out and diagnosed a problem with the intercoller pipes and it would cost £250 ish to repair. my worry is, he tells me that as a consequence there is now a rattle in the engine whilst idling, which has only appeared after the breakdown - does anyone know if this is a consequence of intercooler pipe problems? Or could this be something else more severe.

Just wondering whether to steer clear or take a chance.

Thanks all.

 

[Durty dog]

Hi, the oil cooler pipes are a problem on the GT's, they corrode on the unions. If the pipe/s have failed whilst driving along the oil was more than likely dumped out of the engine and the oil pressure dropped which would explain the now noisy engine. I personally would walk away from it as there are more to choose from.

At least you now know what to look out for when looking at them :thumbs:

 

[richiel_7]

That makes perfect sense! I know nothing about diesel tubo's etc so hadn't seen the link between the pipes and rattle. Thanks for the advice. We all know alfa with no oil in engine = run away!!!

 

[joeymannero]

Walk away unless its really cheap.

A badly maintained one of these can cost thousands to put right.

And there are plenty of good ones to be had.

 

[_The_Editor_]

Am I being stupid here...

Oil cooler and Intercooler are completely separate items, on separate sides of the car...

Burst/leaking intercooler pipes would cause a loss of power (and some smoke from the exhaust!), but usually no lasting damage... Engine can sound a bit rough when running without any boost so that could be a contributing factor...

Leaky oil cooler pipes will cause loss of oil at high pressure, but no loss of power until the engine grenades itself due to being run dry of oil...

Need to find out exactly what the problem is....

Also £250 is expensive for repairing the IC pipes (new full set of uprated silicone pipes from Autolusso is £115), and too cheap for an oil cooler repair...

 

[Durty dog]

Am I being stupid here...

Oil cooler and Intercooler are completely separate items, on separate sides of the car...

Burst/leaking intercooler pipes would cause a loss of power (and some smoke from the exhaust!), but usually no lasting damage... Engine can sound a bit rough when running without any boost so that could be a contributing factor...

Leaky oil cooler pipes will cause loss of oil at high pressure, but no loss of power until the engine grenades itself due to being run dry of oil...

Need to find out exactly what the problem is....

Also £250 is expensive for repairing the IC pipes (new full set of uprated silicone pipes from Autolusso is £115), and too cheap for an oil cooler repair...

Its the engine rattle that threw me to the oil cooler pipes. Yeah i suppose loss of power could be down to intercooler hoses but then like you say £115 against the £250 quoted wouldnt be just new hoses????

I think this gt should be walked away from unless its gotten dirt cheap??

 

[_The_Editor_]

Its the engine rattle that threw me to the oil cooler pipes. Yeah i suppose loss of power could be down to intercooler hoses but then like you say £115 against the £250 quoted wouldnt be just new hoses????

I think this gt should be walked away from unless its gotten dirt cheap??

Not sure what price Alfa would be quoting for a brand new set of genuine parts... Add an hours worth of labour for fitting and you might not be too far off the quoted price...

It's hard to ignore a failed oil cooler... The massive puddle of oil is a giveaway...

For the sake of a potentially cheap and easy fix (intercooler hoses are probably the easiest fix there is on this car), it's at least worth verifying the problems!

 

[gtv160]

Am I being stupid here...

Oil cooler and Intercooler are completely separate items, on separate sides of the car...


Need to find out exactly what the problem is....

Also £250 is expensive for repairing the IC pipes (new full set of uprated silicone pipes from Autolusso is £115), and too cheap for an oil cooler repair...

Was thinking that myself (not the you being stupid bit). Also repair of oil cooler and pipes is likely to have cost more than £250 at a garage.

 

[richiel_7]

Thanks for the input chaps. I've made the exact same error and mistaken the oil cooler with the intercooler when I initially said it makes perfect sense! I'll find out if the car ejected oil. He maintains intercooler pipes and the rattle started after. I don't understand why intercooler pipes would make an engine rattle? It could be that the rattle was an existing fault and he is being less than honest - who knows. Seems strange to sell a car cheaply for a fault that in itself, is not an expensive fix... I'm getting the old warning adage in my brain. If something is too good/cheap to be true, it probably is.aranoid:

 

[Durty dog]

Thanks for the input chaps. I've made the exact same error and mistaken the oil cooler with the intercooler when I initially said it makes perfect sense! I'll find out if the car ejected oil. He maintains intercooler pipes and the rattle started after. I don't understand why intercooler pipes would make an engine rattle? It could be that the rattle was an existing fault and he is being less than honest - who knows. Seems strange to sell a car cheaply for a fault that in itself, is not an expensive fix... I'm getting the old warning adage in my brain. If something is too good/cheap to be true, it probably is.aranoid:

Something is definitely off with this seller, suspicions have served you well and i think its a wrong un. I bought a GT a few yrs back, heart ruled the head and mine cost me £2700 in one year alone on repairs.....it was a pup.

If you like the car then why not get an independent inspection done on it :thumbs:

 

[richiel_7]

Would there be any loss of oil if it was the intercooler pipe or not at all? Apologies if thats naive but never had one of these turbo types. He said there was a little oil loss but not much?

 

[_The_Editor_]

Would there be any loss of oil if it was the intercooler pipe or not at all? Apologies if thats naive but never had one of these turbo types. He said there was a little oil loss but not much?

Possibly...

Not uncommon for the intercooler hoses to get a little oily inside.. The Crank case breather vents into the intake system, which can leave an oily film inside the hoses.. Also if the turbo oil seals are leaky you can get oil buildup inside the hoses...

TBH i'm not filled with confidence on this one.. Something feels a little off...

I might risk it if I could see/inspect/listen to it myself... But as it's being described I wouldn't trust it!

 

[alfafrv]

if there's a rattle in the engine then steer clear
bursted intercooler pipes wont cause any rattles in the engine

 

[joeymannero]

Sounded like an oil cooler issue when you described it for both symptoms and price.

Intercooler boost leak would not be the cause of an engine rattle and oved £ 200 for upper and lower hoses is alot of money.

Oil cooler yes if you assume its dumped its oil and run on little for a short time.

Either way things don't add up.

Stay away from this one unless its dirt cheap and money you are prepared to lose.

 

[richiel_7]

Cheers guys. Think I'll bin the idea unless it's going for a song and I pay as though it needs an engine...

 

[ALFADOIT]

Cheers guys. Think I'll bin the idea unless it's going for a song and I pay as though it needs an engine...

The GT jtd can be a nightmare mate.. Bin the idea with this one, if you want one buy a good one..:thumbup:

Damien.

 

[Durty dog]

The GT jtd can be a nightmare mate.. Bin the idea with this one, if you want one buy a good one..:thumbup:

Damien.

Mine raped my credit card