G'day Everyone, i just bought an Alfa 156 Sport wagon

[GrumpyBastard]

So we have been in the market for a while for a replacement for our 2nd car, our primary car is Landrover Discovery and she is very much part of our family just like an old faithful dog, but she is starting to show her age and so we needed a pup to keep her going.

Now the selection criteria for our new car was as follows:
Price: Around $10k
Shape: Station wagon
Kms: lowish 100k
Fuel: Something relatively economical to run, LPG or Diesel.

Now the practical part of me went "to easy a Ford BA wagon on factory LPG"

But i just couldn't bring myself to do it and so happily we have ended up with this instead!

There's a couple of things to fix, the thermostat needs replacing and one of the electric window switches is broken, is there an online workshop manual available, and any suggestions where to buy parts?

[colcol]

Welcome you Grumpy Bastard, Your Car is a JTS, which means Jet Thrust Stoichametric, which is Alfa Romeo's version of high pressure direct injection, it uses 10-60 fully synthetic racing oil of your choice,[lets not start another argument on which is the BEST oil!], because of the direct injection, it uses a bit more oil than normal, so check the level every week.
As far as workshop manuals go, you can buy one from the UK in hard copy for a few hundred dollars, or purchase a disc off ebay for about $20, or do what i do and just google what you want to do, and someone will have done it before, and then just print it off.
I have purchased parts from Italian Automotive Spares in Melbourne, they are a club sponsor and know their stuff, and one of the boys drives a 156, so he must be a good bloke, phone [03] 9036 1606.
I have had a JTS for 5 years and i am on to my 3rd thermostat, of different brands, they seem to be as bad as each other, replacement is about an hours work.
The Cam belts have to be replaced every 3 years or 50,000klms, when the 156 first came out in 1997, the replacment was 4 years or 80,000, after engine failures, Alfa reduced it back, also replace the balance shaft belt, because if it breaks it will tangle up in the cam belt and break it as well, and you will have a ruined engine, and while you are at it replace the 1 idler and 2 tensioners as well, also every 2 nd timing belt change throw in a new water pump, as it forms part of the timing system as an idler, and if it leaks or seizes, you will ruin your timing belt, when the timing belts are off, the pump is just sitting there and is easy to replace, and they are about $80.
For a replacment power window switch, have a look on ebay, i will post more hints as they come to me, Colin.

[Davidm1600]

Hi mate, well done it looks sweet.   I have had my '03 JTS Sportwagon since Nov '07 and it still is going great.  Mine has around 125,000Km on the clock.   

I would agree with what Col suggests.  If you receive an engine management system error message (and you will over time), then this will most likely be one of the four Lambda sensors failing.  Over time you will need to replace them all.  It is normal stuff for this model.

In terms of where to get parts, while you can get stuff here, you will generally pay extra for them.  I have always used EB Spares in the Uk, though there is another online site as well which is competitive with EB.   EB have a website, it is easy to use, parts arrive normally in around 3-5 days and are tracked.   They are also pretty decent at responding with advice to any questions. 

I normally order what I need, and then give the parts to my mechanic to fit up.  Couldn't be easier.

You will find just how comfortable and economical the 156 is as you get to use it.  Also being a sportwagon, the space with the rear seat folded down is pretty decent for a mid sized wagon.

[poohbah]

Great choice Grumpy, and welcome to 156 ownership. There can be no question the 156 sportwagon is one of the most beautiful wagons ever built. Black on tan is a great combo too.

[colcol]

The Lambda sensors, i think should all be replaced in the one hit, as you have to pull off the exhaust shield to do it, so why not do all 4 at once, when i did mine, they were all as dirty as each other.
The oil does get contaminated with petrol over time, so if you do a lot of city driving, get the oil replaced more regulary.
The oil filter at the bottom front is quite easy to replace, as its tiny [compared to a Alfa 33 filter], i would replace it at every oil change.
The JTS were known for wearing out camshafts, due to oil contamination, as the engine is being lubricated by crap instead of proper oil, the camshaft lobes wear out and the car lacks performance, but idles ok.
There is a plastic coolant pipe at the front of the cylinder head that takes coolant from the coolant reservoir, to the cylinder head, to the lower radiator, this is black and is made out of plastic, and after a while it cracks and leaks, it also leaks at the seal, where it enters the cylinder head, these are about $170? each, and there is a lot of work to replace one, the serpentine belt, airconditioner pump and air conditioner pump bracket has to come off, quite a bit of labor involved, look for coolant leaks on the undertray, and a coolant loss in the reservoir, uncle col being the tight ar5e he is replaced it with a o ring, but Alfa Romeo have sneakily designed so a o ring won't work properly, so you have to buy the whole coolant pipe, my o ring solution worked for 12 months and then it started to weep, Colin.

[Craig_m67]

I love mine, just refinished the wheels and have Bilstein B6's to go all round in the next week or so.  Aircon is a bit crap in 43 degC heat but then I could help it by tinting the windows


I use EB spares or Autolusso in the UK for parts
My new shocks are coming from shop.alfisti.net (Germany) who were the cheapest by far.
When I redid all the wishbones and bushes I used OEM from EB.
I've also bought bits from OKP.de, although mostly for the Duetto

I'm on the lookout for a tow bar if anybody has one they don't use, want to sell or can recommend

Craig
'03 1.9JTD Sportwagon

[GrumpyBastard]

Sorry for the tardy reply :-(

The day after posting I left for family holidays in Mallacoota and the internet has been utterly unusable up here this year! I guess enough tourists have left now and its okay once again. :-)

I did my research before buying I have been looking on and off for about 12 months now but manual wagons at a reasonable price don't seem to come up very often in Vic.
The timing belt at 50,000kms was one decision that I had to consider because truthfully it is a bit rubbish and I'm surprised no one has engineered a better belt to replace it with? Thermostats didnt worry me, but I am surprised such a basic piece of engineering should fail? O2 sensors failing is common in any car but I suspect faulty  thermostats would contribute to there early demise? I haven't looked into it but am surprised there's 4 o2 sensors, I can understand 1 pre cat and 1 post cat, but another 2?

So about the car, for a 9 year old car it seems pretty honest, not a perfect history but generally good. It was originally a Tooowoomba Qld car up until about 2 years ago and was always serviced at Lance Dixon up there. From there it was bought by a guy in Tassie and driven down and finally he moved back to Geelong Vic, where I bought it from. He did about 10,000 kms and ended up spending a fair bit of money on it in that time, I don't have the receipts on me but big things that I recall were clutch, brakes, tyres and suspension.

I only got to drive it for a couple of days before tucking her away in the garage and heading up here, I will contact Lance Dixon and see if I can find out when the timing belt was last changed, although I suspect I will be getting it done in a couple thousand kays. I have Monza motors in Bayswater which is close to me so I will get them to check it for piece of mind. The coolant level was slightly down when I inspected it so that coolant pipe could be starting to leak.
Whilst it was in for a Rwc certificate and new windsceen at European Affair in Geelong I got them to do a minor service on it, which was really cheap because it was already there :-)

I'm a little concerned about the cam issue, because it does seem to be down on power, but it could just be me worrying about nothing?

Sorry it appears I have just written a small essay! :-)

[colcol]

The Factory reduced the cam belt change down to 3 years or 50,000-60,000 klms, now i have read that if you are doing a lot of freeway work in good conditions, then the belts can go to 60,000, however if the driving involves a lot of traffic with extended idling and conditions are dusty, then the change is 60,000, 3 years is non negotiable, as the belts become hard and brittle with age.
There was a story a few years ago that the belts would last a lot longer with an asterick, [ * ], and that was the belts had to be taken off and inspected at 3 years, and the labor involved in checking the belt, well taking off the belt and inspecting it, you may as well put on a new one.
I agree, the thermostat shouldn't be a consumable, but something that gets replaced every 10 years, but i have used different brands and they all fail, one brand i used was still opening and closing ok after 3 years, but it started to leak, the thermostat itself is quite small, but you are paying for a new housing as well as all the pipes that come out of the housing and in some cases a new sensor, shop around, as thermostat prices vary.
If you are concerned about worn cams, these get checked every cam belt change, as the cam cover has to come off, to put the cam locks in, when you change the cams, you would notice a knocked off lobe, Colin.

[GrumpyBastard]

So I'm slowly making progress with the things needing to be done.

Electric window switch fixed
Thermostat replaced, this made a huge difference! Motor more growly and just generally more happy
mp3 input installed onto stock stereo and 2x USB charger sockets installed
I had an o2 sensor fault but that seems to be fixed with elect contact cleaner at the connector
leather cleaned and body cut and polished
timing belt and water pump replaced

I also found it has had a fair amount of suspension work done to it,  koni shocks, eibach springs, heavy duty sway bars etc.

last job is the lower control arms to be done...the passenger side has a slight clunk

[colcol]

Hey you Grumpy Bastard, how did you go about installing an MP3 socket on your standard Blaupunkt head unit?, i play my MP3's through a 12 volt outlet radio transmitter, that broadcasts to the radio.
Thermostats are something you have to keep an eye on, when it starts to fail, you get the feel that at these revs on this part of the road it should be a bit hotter.
The airconditioner has 2 cabin filters under the dash, they should be replaced every 2 or 3 years, mine were clogged up with rubbish, not that expensive to buy and easily available, i purchased mine at Repco, Ryco Brand, just awkward to get at, if you are a wide boy like me, Colin.

[GrumpyBastard]

Hey you Grumpy Bastard, how did you go about installing an MP3 socket on your standard Blaupunkt head unit?, i play my MP3's through a 12 volt outlet radio transmitter, that broadcasts to the radio.
Thermostats are something you have to keep an eye on, when it starts to fail, you get the feel that at these revs on this part of the road it should be a bit hotter.
The airconditioner has 2 cabin filters under the dash, they should be replaced every 2 or 3 years, mine were clogged up with rubbish, not that expensive to buy and easily available, i purchased mine at Repco, Ryco Brand, just awkward to get at, if you are a wide boy like me, Colin.

Basically it tricks the head unit into thinking it has a cd changer attached by shorting the data pins via a switch. I will take some pics and write up a proper "how to" when i get a chance.










Where about's are the cabin filters? I wouldn't mind having a look at how grubby mine are.

[colcol]

They are at the back of the centre of the dashboard, you have to remove the glovebox compartment cover and there are 3 hexagon headed self tapping screws, and the cover is 'L' shaped, the original pollen filter is one piece, as its easy to install on the production line, but replaceing it, you use two short ones as they are easier to insert, the series 1 156's used a pollen filter under the windscreen in the engine bay, i know cause i pulled it apart to look for it, so when you order it you need a two piece pollen filter for the climate control models, you have to put the front passenger seat back and put the backrest down and lay on your back as you do it, Colin.

[GrumpyBastard]

They are at the back of the centre of the dashboard, you have to remove the glovebox compartment cover and there are 3 hexagon headed self tapping screws, and the cover is 'L' shaped, the original pollen filter is one piece, as its easy to install on the production line, but replaceing it, you use two short ones as they are easier to insert, the series 1 156's used a pollen filter under the windscreen in the engine bay, i know cause i pulled it apart to look for it, so when you order it you need a two piece pollen filter for the climate control models, you have to put the front passenger seat back and put the backrest down and lay on your back as you do it, Colin.

Thanks mate,

I will check this out.... possibly another "how to" for me to do

[colcol]

I learnt how to do it by looking on one of the UK Alfa Romeo Forums, and printing off the instructions and photos, otherwise would not known what i was looking for, the climate control is the same on 147's, Colin.