Alfa156Melb

Really? Crap - I have two 156's now.. both 10 years and over. That's 12 airbags!

Smaky, are the EV1 o-rings the same size as the EV0 ones?

:He He:

If you're talking about the bracket behind the manifold - I cant - mine's missing.. But in my case it was the exhaust flange just in front of the flex.. the bolts had rusted and broken off... by the time I got chance to repair it, the pipe had fallen away and i had a nice straight through system happening :Big Grin: Happy days really.. now, just gotta find myself a GTA now wooohhooo!

Fixed! Was just a broken exhaust bracket, pretending to be a noisy thrust bearing... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

Hey Smaky, Not sure whats going on here.... I noticed a vibration on idle earlier today which is progressively getting louder. I initially thought it may have been a gearbox mount as there's lost of vibration happening down there. But then I noticed that when the selespeed engaged the clutch, the noise disappeared. When it disengages, it comes back. The noise is more like a grinding noise, you can also feel it through the car. I know the sele keeps the clutch released at all times except when moving, and in my case the grinding noise is constant - it only goes away when you apply slight throttle, as the clutch engages, the noise goes away... Clutch release bearing?

Yep, we are, hence we buy from the UK when possible.

OK well that makes a lot of sense... Up to about 3 years ago, i left the maintenance solely to my mechanic. Since then - well since I left a cam belt change too late and paid the price, I've taken an obsessive approach to doing my own maintenance - as you know. Unfortunately, the mechanic put in his own ATF fluid so I will no doubt experience more issues down the track. But, from now on, only the correct spec stuff will be used in the car. In fact I feel like i should flush the system again just to make sure! Pity it's too late now. For such a problematic system, it's beyond belief why so many people feel they know better than the designers - any wonder these issues arise, then the system gets blamed rather than improper maintenance - oh well. I guess I'm lucky in that in 6 years of ownership, this is the first time I've had a problem with it. Incidentally - Tutela CS is $50/litre in Australia.. so not so cheap... Anyway, appreciate the help as always Smaky - you along with some great ppl in Ausalfa.com have saved me a fortune I'm currently saving for a GTA, still a few months away - but when i eventually get it, brace yourself for the barrage of questions coming from yours truly! :Big Grin:

See, this is what happens when you respond when you've just got back from a 4 hour drive home, after having spent a day under the car and another day chain sawing firewood wood for your family... My sarcasm radar was under the weather... In regards to the fluids, some would have mixed but I doubt very much. Tell me, what is the definitive answer to this - should we ONLY use Tutela CS or would a similar spec ATF fluid suffice? David C from the other place uses a Redline product apparently without any drama's, My mechanic uses a Martini product and for two years that worked perfectly fine (unless that was the reason my seals failed).. I mean, is it really that important? You're not wrong about the so called expert independents - I learnt a hell of a lot this weekend and now I'm very confident that in most cases I can pretty much sort the sele whatever the problem.. with help from the forum of course, but far better than forking out thousands for no reason.

Eh.. unfortunately, you're the goto man for all things Alfa.. It's the way of things Smaky Anyway, i just wanted to know if mixing sele fluids would cause problems down the track.. In the end, i drained as much as I could.. replaced the EV seals.. put it all back together again.... I've read everywhere that its critical that you use tutela cs in the sele system.. yet others on various forums contradict that.. so if you're starting from a base of zero knowledge, sorting through the many contradictions on the web can be challenging.. hence the endless questions :Big Grin: I treated it to new gearbox oil too (Redline 75w90NS).. and she's working absolutely perfectly.. the car is pretty much faultless now.. the clutch is due soon, but its not showing any signs of needing replacement anymore.. so it can wait. You have a point though - a few things have been playing up the last few months - I think it's more that im in the mood to jump on things early too... I'm having fun with it though.

Fitted the new o-rings today - all seems to be up and running.. not taken it for a test drive yet though.. but clutch bleed and calibrations all went flawlessly.

As I will be swapping out the EV0 seals this weekend, I went and bought some tutela CS speed to replenish the Sele fluid. I found a brief explanation from you Smaky on AO, on how to bleed the system - simple, but I may have a small problem... When my engine was replaced a couple of years ago, my specialist put new sele fluid in the system... I check it sometimes and the levels are always good so I've never had to worry about it.. Thing is, the fluid in my car is blue. I just assumed that was the colour of Tutela CS... I suspect, as they use Martini Racing products for their oil (which is blue) they must have used the Martini equivalent in the sele system. That in itself is no big deal, although I'd rather them use the specified stuff in such a fickle system... Anyway, I know most of the fluid will drain out with the EV0 out, I will also disconnect the hoses to the actuator.. my question is, there will surely be some leftover fluid in the system that will mix with the tutela, will that present a problem? And if so, should I flush through some fluid a couple of times? (given the cost of tutela, i really dont want to do that @ $50 per litre)

Fair enough - I'll buy the 75w90 - however the book does say 75/80.. maybe they spec'd a different oil here in Oz?

Smaky, I've seen you recommend 75w90 GL5 many times for the TS/JTS manual gearbox, however the book says 75w80 GL5... Why do you prefer the heavier grade of oil? is it to compensate for age or something else? PS - I'm considering using Redline 75w90 NS GL5

Forget my last post, I managed to get my hands on some Viton o-rings from a member on Ausalfa.com - solved..

Raxis, can I ask where you bought those sensors? I need one, or at least o-rings.. depending on new prices for the sensor.

Today it worked perfectly.. however I still plugged MES in and: Clutch rod: 28.05 after several gear changes, this number stayed constant with the engine off. So that seems to be ok. Pressure - Max 55, Min (very briefly) 40bar.. system held pressure well when idle, mostly dropped to 45 after 2 gear changes.. sometimes 40. Pump primes every 2 gear changes. I just did a clutch calibration and a box calibration, although I haven't taken in for a drive yet, but both procedures worked fine. I have no doubt this problem will reappear so i want to look into replacing the EV0 - Smaky, can you point me to a guide if there is any? Also, where can I source the valve (or just the seals if you think that would suffice)? Also, having never bled a silly system - I understand the system takes 600mm of Tutula? But when bleeding, how much do you suggest I buy? 2 litres? or would 1lt be sufficient. Cheers Edit: I remember someone else on this forum bought the seals on their own and put a pick up of them in their packaging a while back - but for the life of me I cant find the post.. if anyone can help with that? The part numbers and supplier were marked on the packet...

Oh

I did lock it, and the car has done 5000kms since so.. I didn't get a chance to plug MES in last night, it was dark and wet. So fingers crossed it's just clutch rod! Thanks..

Heya Smaky, Just when I thought the car was good, this has come up.. Today, while in traffic i noticed that the gear change was slower than usual (Changing up) - perhaps about 50% slower... The car sometimes has hiccups so I put it down to that.. Anyway a short time later, as I came to a stop at lights, the clutch didnt want to fully disengage. So when i took my foot off the brake, it started creeping forward... Putting the car in neutral sorted it obviously, but as soon as I selected 1st, the engine struggled and the car wanted to creep again.. The gears are selecting perfectly, this seems to be only affecting the clutch. After a while, maybe 15 minutes, whatever was causing this cleared and everything once again, worked perfectly. That is, until tonight: the car had been sitting for about 3 hours in cold and wet weather, started it up, selected reverse and this time, the clutch wouldn't engage at all. So I selected 1st, same thing. Tried a few monre times and no luck - I was stuck. Turned the car off, back on, and it worked fine again but it didnt feel 100%. So I was able to drive it and the problem didnt repeat. I havent checked diagnostics yet, but last time i checked all the numbers looked ok. That was about a week ago. I had a thought that maybe the clutch rod adjustment nut came off or has altered somehow.. but I cant see how? Otherwise the clutch is due for replacement, might that be the cause? I'm semi ruling out the accumulator, or the pump, as the gear selection works fine. Oh, one last thing, it was pouring with rain today.. could some water have seeped into a connector maybe? Any advice would be great on this, we are meant to be going away this weekend in the car - typical!

So my badge is looking a bit faded and frankly has no place in my car.... How do i remove it? Do i use a heat gun? Or do I replace the whole cover / fascia? Any help would be gladly accepted!

Alright, thanks - I'll psych myself up for that over the coming weeks.. ouch.

Hi Smaky, Long time no post!!! So, I am getting a somewhat jerky selespeed. It only happens in first from stationary when the box is cold. Once its warmed up, all settles down.. Anyway,Ive checked all the numbers, the clutch rod is 28.2mm, pressure is good and fairly constant.. However the clutch is probably nearing the end (I have no evidence of this, just that given its age you'd think it would be).. So I was wondering, would it be possible that this could be caused by old EV seals?

Of course! But Smaky you do a pretty damn good job remotely.. 9 times out of 10 your bang on right.

No worries - the only time i get to work on my car is at my parents house - they have a garage and all my tools are stuff is there.. only thing is, its 3 hours from me. Anyway, it was still a good car session - I found the source of the rattle under load, it was a loose rear heat shield and better still, the thud in my rear suspension that's been there since i installed the B8's, was the rear door loose on its catch. Happy to have those two irritating noises sorted out. I'll buy one of those bendy spanners and play next time I'm up there, in about 3 weeks.