156 4th gear

[Beetleman19]

Hi guys!
After owning a few 80s mercedes benz and Volvos and selling my 1969 beetle this weekend just gone the hunt is on for a new car!
I inspected this 156 quickly this afternoon - http://www.carsales.com.au/dealer/details/Alfa-Romeo-156-2002/AGC-AD-14125647/?Cr=2
The car had many thousands of dollars worth of receipts at various alfa dealers/ specialists!!
Two things caught my eye 1) lack of recent timing belt replacement 2) an invoice near 110,000 noting something about 4th gear and another invoice 13000 Kay's later stating "unjam 4th gear and clean out all broken teeth and replace clutch" or something similar.
Is it reasonable to assume that the damage to 4th gear will drastically reduce the life of the gear box?
Also the oil was quite black and had a fuely smell to it !
Any advice on the 156 or this car greatly appreciated.
Beetle man

[Domenic]

I'd stay away from it. I'd look for another example if it was me personally.
If the gearbox wasn't removed and 4th gear replaced, then there will still be little fragments of the actual gear floating inside the gearbox. Sooner or later it will float around, get jammed in between other gears and stop you from selecting that particular gear.

Then you might drive it without being able to select 3rd for example. Then all of a sudden you drive over a bump and out of no where you can select 3rd gear again. Have seen/heard this happen many times especially in the 156/147 manual gearboxes and people thought the selespeeds give problems.

Just something to think about.

[shiny_car]

Somewhat interesting that the dealer/seller kept the invoices for buyers like yourself to see!! Well done on noticing it too.

Did you notice what workshop/dealer fixed that issue? You could ring them and see if they recall the problem.

But as advised, I would look elsewhere for a 156.

[Beetleman19]

It was all dealer Robert lane till 50k and after that it was monza for a few services and then Bennica all the rest

[Beetleman19]

I will admit I am slightly smitten by the car

[extraball]

haggle him down, but there must be enough other examples for the same or less money.

[giulia_veloce]

The  4th gear issue is common on SOME 156-147 models being manual or selespeed,as they both share the same gearbox
Its an easy fix for those who know how to fix it the easy way.Those that dont know,,do it the hard-expensive way.
Once fixed,there have been no more problems with the gearbox or gear selection.   1-2 hour fix usually

Beetleman,dont be scared of the other responces.If you like the car,consider it.
Monza Motors and Bennincas are very reputable Alfa  repairers  who can tell you lots about the service history of this car.

Robert

[colcol]

Slightly worrying is the dirty oil and fuely smell from it, the JTS has direct injection and the oil can become contaminated with fuel by products, which means your engine is being lubricated with petrol, the first casualty of this is the camshafts, as the lobes will wear off, and it will still idle ok, but because the valves are not opening all the way, it will lack power, only remedy is new [expensive camshafts], before you buy, have the camshafts checked for wear, and have it checked over by an Alfa Romeo Specialist, such as Monza Motors in Bayswater, Marranello Pursang Motors in Brunswick or Mauceri Motors in Clayton, Colin.

[Steve S]

I would look at the car as a whole and not worry too much about any specific issues like the gearbox where it may not be an issue at all. Another car may of had more significant, higher risk work done that you may never know about.

[Beetleman19]

Also inspecting this soon - http://www.carsales.com.au/private/details/Alfa-Romeo-147-2002/SSE-AD-2158269/?Cr=9

[extraball]

nice example that

[Steve S]

147s are such good value now. I sold mine 18 months ago and prices seem to have crashed since.

[Beetleman19]

Yes seems overly cheap for what it is,
Only thing is that it hasn't been serviced at a specialist only a euro specialist

[colcol]

Check to see its had regular oil changes and filter changes and the correct oil, see how long its been for a cambelt change and every second cambelt change, you should look at changing the waterpump, the oil to use in the twin spark is 10-40 fully synthetic racing oil, drive it and see if there are any knocks from the front suspension, Colin.

[Beetleman19]

Thanks Colin and all others who replied,
Spoke to an alfa specialist today and have done a lot of research on these cars and will be meticulous in which one i choose (156 or 147). I am also reasonably handy with a spanner.
I believe armed with these qualities I can choose the best alfa possible !!
Wish me luck
Mike