Alfa156Melb

hehe.. I'd not have bothered with the drop links if I hadn't already bought them on the advice of my loony mechanic. Just need to send a couple of invoices out - we need to eat before fixing Alfa,. Damn wife.. Then i'll buy the upper wish's and follow your guide

Had it connected to the wrong Sele ECU.. once connected to the Correct one.. the measurement was correct.. 28.10mm

OK, the engine had not been run all day, I checked the rod length after replacing the drop links.. I did select a few gears after seeing that reading.. but it didnt change. That said, I will go out side now and follow your proceedure and see what we come up with. Cheers.

Smaky.. I plugged in Alfa Diag today and noticed that the clutch adjustment position as reported in diagnostics is 17.34mm. According to your guide in Alfa156.net, the clutch needs adjusting.. However my question is, could Alfa Diag be wrong? I ask because the gears feel fine, the changes are smooth... all seems okish - not perfect... I don't expect perfect. Also my mechanic would have checked this when the motor went back in. he's mentioned to me before how important it is that the clutch ne adjusted to 28.5 mm, So I'd be surprised if he'd miss it..? What do you think?

Well, I replaced the drop links today.. easy job.. Ended up having to grind the top nuts off each side, but that was no worries.. new ones went on really easy.. Knocks all gone, squeak is a bit louder. but thats probably in my mind! Upper wish bones next!

So I have a question regarding the curtain air-bags in the 156 JTS.... I know when there's no passenger in the front seat, the front pax air-bag will not deploy.. Here's there thing, I have a baby seat in the rear left / pax side of the car.. if i get side swiped, does anyone know if the curtain air-bag will fire?? or is it disabled along with the front pax if the seat is unoccupied..?

Another Aussie Welcome!

Better to move to Australia.. we also have sheep, only our sheep are decent conservative fold.. not the sexual deviant sheep they have over in NZ... Our's go 'Baaaahhhhh" Theirs go 'oooh baarrh mmm'

So.. back to the infamous drop links.. anything thing that I should look out for? I'm planning on replacing them this weekend... Just did the thermostat.. engine still works.. so thats good.

So.. back to the infamous drop links.. anything thing that I should look out for? I'm planning on replacing them this weekend... Just did the thermostat.. engine still works.. so thats good.

Sorry, no... You need a laptop, an OBDII/usb cable and either FiatECUScan or AlfaDiag to plug in and read the error codes. Alternatively you could take the car to your local stealers, let them rob you, make an incorrect diagnosis and advise you that whatever part they've decided to sell you is only available as part of a major assembly... At a cost higher than the value of your car... hehe... ahhhh

only Queenslanders drink that stuff...

Bugger me.. that's exactly what I'm looking for... Thanks Smaky, I may have to email you a beer quick smart..

Hi all, does anyone know of a cable that does not need to be rewired to access ABS and Airbags for the 156? I recently bought what seems to be the accepted standard cable from ECUFix.com but without shorting the pins inside the plug, all I can access is the cars ECU..

I considered them, but I'm on a budget... That said, many people have great things to say about the B6's...

*Dribble*

Yesterday I replaced the thermostat.. engine running at 90 deg now, and no smoke on idle Problem sorted.

The car already has Eibach prokit springs.. they were fitted by the previous owner, but he left the orginal dampers in. So I'm considering the Bilstein B6 or B8 dampers. Will get it checked.

OK, this is good news as it happens, I am upgrading the dampers soon.. Ill replace the wishbones then and leave the ARB as is. cheers for that Smaky.

I know.. I fuckin know. He also rebuilt the head on my old engine after the cam belt snapped, and didnt think to check the big end... suffice to say, the big end went 3 weeks after the repair.. twice. hence the new engine. I'f Id have sold the car and used the money I spend on repairs, Id own a GTA now. Anyway, long story. He has a very good rep here in Melbourne, many club members use him, he's well respected.. My old man also used to use him when we had maseratis... But my respect is diminishing. Back to the ARB.. the noise is more a deep creak.. like a bed makes when you're having a shag. Would a creak fall under the squeak category? Or is a whole different kettle of noises?

Was... She's deceased now... But thank you The Alfa bug has filled in the void

To be honest Smaky, I don't know. My mechanic told me after he installed the mew motor, that the car needed new drop links, and possibly ARB bushes or upper wishbones. There was a knock in the front end that sounded like drop links - however that's settled now and the knocks gone.. but only after I ordered the links! He said that once he had the drop links out, he'd get a better idea re the squeak.... I've since decided that I'm spending too much on this car so I'll do the basic work myself (where i can). Which is why I posted this. Given the car has done 120,000kms, they are probably due, as is most of the front end.. then again, it is very very tight, handles very well... apart from the creaky squeak, which is driving me insane. The squeak must go... or I will have to kill the car.

So I'm about to replace the drop links on my 156 - it looks pretty basic, but is there any thing I should look out for? Maybe some advice that will help make the job go smoother? Bear in mind I'm a noob.. I used to work on my Dad's vintage cars as a kid, but that was 100 years ago, and I have a very bad memory

Here's my baby... it pains me to say.. she's a hell of a lot more fun that the Alfa, and cheaper too *Running for cover* I unfortunately redesigned her a while ago.. If I wasn't spending so much on my Alfa, I'd be able to buy a new bike!