Alfa156Melb

I finally got around to dealing with this.. When i first read your comment it registered to me as the sensor plug in the sensor housing, NOT under the interior light as you suggested.. I should read posts more carefully. I replaced the sensor and chcked its little plug - all good, but no difference. I then replaced the Sensor ECU which came from my JTS - someone crashed into it and wrote it off, so I relieved it of some parts for the GTA, this being one of them.. anyway it didn't make any difference. Well it turns out Smaky, once again you are the guru of all things Alfa's as it was in fact the plug above the interior light that was unplugged. All working now! Wooooooo!!!

The bird test huh? :Big Grin: I guess that answers it then. thanks Remind me never to be on the wrong end of your GTA..

hmmm well that was informative

Smaky - did the front and rear splitters on the GTA have any effect on downforce or handling? or were they just eye candy?

Yep.. it would appear so.

I've decided to stop being a tight arse and go ahead and buy some B14 coilovers

I keep on changing my mind from Bilsteins to Koni's to various coilovers... I can get my hands on a cheap set of barely used Koni FSD's with Eiback Prokits.... what are they like on the GTA??? are they better, stiffer, softer? than the B6? I have B8/Eibachs on my 156 JTS and they are magnificent.. but a little firm for every day use. Given the GTA is heavier, maybe that combo would be perfect? Anyway, I'd love to hear feedback, especially if you have FSD's fitted!

Yes that's what we originally thought too.. However in my case it turned out to be a symptom of a previous repair job... Before I owned the car, the diff blew and the muppet replaced it with an OEM... it didn't take out the gearbox though, oinly punched a hole through the diff housing. That hole was welded up.. not a bad job, but there was some weld protruding into the housing. The crownwheel, after the Q2 installation, ended up rubbing against the weld when under load. Those metal flakes were alloy.. Looking at the old weld, you can see evidence of the original diff scraping against it, but after time, it would have sorted itself out.. I wonder why nothing was done about it.. So mostly all sorted. Having said that, we went on an Ausalfa.com drive yesterday - epic! but now I'm noticing a whine coming from 6th gear and some other strange noises coming from the box.. so i fear damage has been done.

Turned out to be faulty bushes on the new lower wishbones New bushes, problem solved. Moral of the story - 'new' is not always the cure all we often think it is.

So the shimming was out and one of the bearings ate itself to pieces.... Metal chunks in burnt oil tells me the gearbox is no doubt damaged as a result.. so not had a good day! I have access to a spare box thankfully, and hopefully I'll know the extent of the damage sometime tomorrow.

Thats exactly what happened with me... But all bolts checked.. And tight. New swaybar bushes, new tie rod ends, new uppers... Just dampers and top mounts are old.

yep.. new drop links..

So I had a Q2 fitted a couple of weeks ago and went on a spirited drive yesterday with some other Alfa friends in the hills.... I noticed a strange mechanical noise - a sort of grinding, or a resonance under power around tight bends - left hand bends It's at a frequency that seems to vibrate the whole body of the car causing an audible vibration that you can also feel.. At first I wondered if it was tyres slipping under the torque bias.. but it's not that - at least I don't think it is.. It's not the power steering - totally different noise. Are the Q2's known to be mechanically noisy like this? Or should i get the mechanic to check it?

I've got an annoying knock in the front suspension, driver side. Mostly it clunks as the wheel drops down, not up and on sharp bumps.. Thing is, everything is new in there.. The only thing I havent replaced is the Top mounts and the Dampers. Even the tie rod ends are new. Could top mounts or dampers make this noise?

Oh well, I had a full tank, but no weight in the seat other than the receipt for the fuel - weighty enough! Even so, the car feels great now. Praise the Q2!!! Praise! :Big Grin: