[casesensitive]

Put Serena in for a full service, timing belt renewal today at an Alfa Specialist, and Dave from TI Autos sent me some pictures of the oil cooler and pipework, which are corroded, leaking and in need of replacement. He's looking at prices now, but I've asked Professor Google and been pretty shocked at the cost of the OE items.

The pipes alone are ~€100 each. Does anyone know if you can use 'normal' overbraid lines with the old or similar fittings?

1M X 14mm AN10 10 AN Stainless Steel Braided Hose FOR OIL Cooler OIL Catch Tank | eBay

I got Venhill to make me up a 6m set of brake lines for a project car that look the mutt's, and they weren't much more than the lines in the picture above.

 

[halftone]

Autolusso do aftermarket Mocal cooler + hose kits for some models ~£250, though I don't know whether they can help with the 159.

 

[casesensitive]

Autolusso do aftermarket Mocal cooler + hose kits for some models ~£250, though I don't know whether they can help with the 159.

Yeah, I did go down that route with them actually, enquiry form on their website, and follow up call. They don't have one for the 2.4 159, but the cooler for the 3.2 is jury-rigged into service with some custom pipework. The real saving isn't in the rad, that's about the same price, it's in the pipework, which is ~€40 and not €250 (seriously, for two pipes??). The challenge is that the mounting lugs are for an upright position, whereas the 159 mounts flat.

156 3.2 oil cooler (see the lugs at the bottom)
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Rome...ipes-Kit-With-Optional-Bracket-/252297074600?

And the 159
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Alfa-Rome...ne-Oil-Cooler-Radiator-60692244-/181511819122

TI have ordered me the AutoLusso kit, and will spend a few hours making a bracket match the mounting up properly.
They're having AutoLusso's modified intake manifold without swirl flaps, so while I'll be into them for €1,600 for this 'service', there's lots of preventative maintenance being done.

Full Service
Timing belt, aux belt, water pump
oil cooler and pipework
new glow plugs (3 of existing ones were 1cm shorter than the others! don't believe the NGK website)
refurbished, spotless, swirl flap-less manifold

Poor Serena, I do love her, but loving an Alfa can be a pricey business. This service cost about the same as my first car (1.7 Puma Black Edition)!.

 

[richydraper]

out of interest... ask Pirtek. they'll do very similar solid and flexi hose combos. will make them up while you wait if you have the old ones off.