Aargh!

[poohbah]

Typical. No sooner had I addressed a cooling problem on my 81 GTV, all of a sudden my 156 develops a coolant leak, the day before I have to make a 6am drive out of town.

Worse still, the bloody leak seems to be somewhere  (I assume split hose) beneath the cabin-side of the V6, where I can't get a look. So now I'm going to have to get a truck to deliver it to the workshop.

[Fetta GTV]

Take the GTV

[poohbah]

I may well do that!

[V AR 164]

ALFA stands for:

Aargh,
Leaking
Fluid
Again?!

[poohbah]

Or Alright Leo, Fix-her Again.

[poohbah]

Well Fetta, I am going to have to take the GTV. 156 won't be ready til tomorrow arvo.

Won't be quite the subtle "corporate and business-like" entry I had planned to make, but won't be the first time I've done it either.

And it will be a definitive test that I actually fixed the slight cooling issue I identified last week...

[Fetta GTV]

Will be a grand entry none the less.
Hope the cooling systems holds up and the old girl doesn't get scared by all the business like people and leave a puddle on the ground.

[bazzbazz]

Will be a grand entry none the less.
Hope the cooling systems holds up and the old girl doesn't get scared by all the business like people and leave a puddle on the ground.

We ARE talking about the GTV and not Poohs plumbing . . . . .right?   

[poohbah]

Oh ye of little faith. The mighty GTV didn't skip a beat - 280km round trip to Pinjarra, including 40min each way in peak hour freeway traffic, never moved off 80C. And it made a grand entrance to the minesite carpark.

The 156 however ...

Yes it was just a simple hose that had split. Unfortunately for me its just about the most difficult one to replace. Oil cooler hose - buried so deep in the back of the engine bay half the bloody front end had to be dismantled to get to.

The joys of Italian design.

[bazzbazz]

Ahhhh, what idiot took that route? The easy way is to drop the sub frame to get access, just leave all the suspension connected except for the shocks, and drop the sub till you have enough access. Unless I am having a brain fade and have forgotten something substantial.

Seriously, people spend triple the time involved in an effort to avoid dropping the sub when all that holds it on is 6 big bolts and the back engine mount. From there you just undo what you need to gain access to the part involved, usually the steering rack and anti roll bar links.

(I know, sounds too easy . . . I am obviously forgetting something! )



Baz

[poohbah]

Bazz, I admit I was exaggerating a bit. He didn't remove the suspension, just had to undo quite a lot of plumbing to gain access. Point being it's an awful lot of faff to get to $10 worth of rubber piping...

[Fetta GTV]

Good to hear the GTV is happy, the more you use them the better they get.
I always find we are just getting into a rhythm and enjoying the drive we are back home.
Last drive in my GTV was 6 hrs to canberra and back, could have kept going to Melbourne another 7hrs but sadly had work next day.
Keep using it as regularly as possible.
I really should put in the engine I picked up and get her back on the road

[poohbah]

Cheers fetta, she was actually my daily driver til I bought the 156. I try and take her out most weekends, but don't always get time to give her a proper thrashing!

[bazzbazz]

Afraid it might burst into flames?   

[Mick A]

I've replaced that hose on a customers car before, and the entire heat exchanger in fact. Absolute pain of a job that one!