millervet

Thanks everyone for your advice, especially Smaky. I was seriously tempted to take the car over on the ferry to Poole, "break down" at the harbour, and get towed up to Oxon and visit Smakyville. However, my head has overruled by heart, and the 156 has been sold for peanuts to a local enthusiast who plans to get it back on the road. My other half was glad that I've finally stopped going on about the car, but she's annoyed that I don't seem to be able to stop reading the forum posts!

Will a 147 gearbox fit a 156?

Gotcha ;-)

Thanks, just bought the one on Ebay from a 147.

Any idea how much it would cost to get it towed from Poole/Portsmouth to Oxon? The ferry across would be £130 odd one way.

Out of interest, I obtained a quote from the local licensed alfalfa garage to replace the gearbox- £2640. :-!

If Smaky has the patience to guide me through the gearbox replacement, I would be keen to give it a try. I have a BMW owning friend who thinks Alfas are rubbish, but who is mechanically minded (he owns 24 cars so he'd better be), and he said he's happy to give me a hand. I do really miss driving her, and I keep thinking how she pulled me through the snow last March. I can't just send her to be crushed after that.

Just curious as to how things turned out, plus did the clutch get replaced at the same time? Who did the work for you?

Did they use the same ones on fiats, like the punto? Might have more luck at the scrapyard if I know where to look. No Alfas there at the moment, but mine might end up there soon if I can't get it sorted. The other half is moaning about the space-occupying immovable object in the drive.

I had a look and found one off of a 147 in Wales for 15 squid. Looks a bit rough though.

Does anyone know where I can order a clamp for the positive battery terminal? I need the unit including the red plastic bit.

Smaky, Would I be crazy to think about ordering a recon gearbox from, say, Autolusso and asking a friend to attempt replacing the old one? Is it something that you advise to someone who hasn't worked with a Selespeed system before? I assume the clutch should be replaced at the same time. I have advertised the car locally for spares or repairs, but there hasn't been any interest. https://www.jtinsigh...rtwagon-Estate/

Naturally, I meant the Selespeed system, not just the gearbox, but the dilemma remains. I asked the local garage who are the 'official' Alfa mechanics a while back if they could perform a clutch push rod adjustment, and they didn't know what I was taking about. But thanks for trying to help. One final thought, would there be any point in testing the sensors on the actuator for a fault?

Ok, thanks for the reply. I would love to keep the car, but it sounds like it won't make financial sense if your estimate for gearbox repair and clutch replacement is accurate. Plus I doubt anyone in Jersey knows much about selespeed boxes.

Smaky, you there?

The other question I have is why would taking the gearbox end plate off stop making it possible to select gears manually and make the car put itself itself into gear at startup?

Can't see any damage to the end, but then again I don't know what a normal one looks like! The end appears smooth and unmarked, and covered in a thin layer of oil. I took a photo of it before replacing it, if that might help. So what's next?

I have checked the cables and connectors to the gearbox housing, thinking I might have disturbed them, but they all seem ok. Lacking any other ideas, I readjusted the clutch rod position to 28.01. During the EOL calibration I got an error message, and the gearbox light came on. Tried it again and same result. Has the gearbox been damaged? Don't think I can afford a new gearbox and clutch, so what's next? Is she a scrapper?

AlfaDiag has the following error code: P0725 Failed Component Code: Engine Speed Fault Symptom: No Signal The clutch position is 27.78mm Also, The gearbox warning light on the dash is flashing. The car starts fine, then seems to put itself into gear (although the indicator reads N), leading it to then stall. I can't manually select any gear with the engine off. Pleas help Smaky! The car is just sitting in my drive, a monument to my mechanical ignorance.

see below.

I wasn't able to remove the 17mm bolts due to my somewhat feeble constitution, so i dropped the car down and started it. Although the indicator reads that the box is in neutral, the car began to inch forward until it stalled. This happened repeatedly. Any suggestions? I will hook it back up to Alfadiag in the meantime and check for errors and recalibrate.

The feed hole on the inside of the end plate appears round. Just need to refill with oil and then will tackle the 3 bolts.

Ok, the end case is off, and there is no debris or swarf present. Anything else I should look at before putting it back together?

ok, I exaggerated; that was what I thought was happening when I couldn't budge the 10mm bolt more than 1/2 a turn. I think that it had been cross threaded as after an hour of pulling and pushing etc I could only get it to come out about 6-7mm before the head stripped. I don't have much mechanical experience, so what is the best way to remove a bolt? What if I just cut off the bolt head? Or does it need to be drilled out?

Ok, so what's the plan now that I've accidentally sheared the top of the 10mm bolt off?