Back In The Saddle!

[Beatle]

I took a few days off and spent the afternoon tinkering while I await delivery of all the suspension components.

Installed a new exhaust stud.

Made a tool to hold the wheel hub when undoing/torqueing the front axle nut.  I'm not a fan of rattle guns....

[Beatle]

Bought a 6-spoint 36mm impact socket and had it turned down to 48.5mm OD but it still needed some linisher work to fit fully inside the hub.

Using the hub holder it was really quite easy to undo the nuts so a normal thin walled 12-point 36mm socket would likely do the job, though I wouldn't risk it if using a rattle gun.

[Beatle]

Got to undoing hardware to drop the centre tunnel to allow the subframe to drop.  On my car the tunnel overlaps the subframe considerably so I had to remove all the tunnel fasteners except for the two at the very back.  Remains to be seen if this is sufficient to get the sway bar out.

[Beatle]

The previously mentioned spinning tunnel bolt was toward the front of the floor so I managed to remove the passenger footwell trim, pull the carpet and deadener back to expose the captive nut, removed the bolt, removed the nut, tapped it out and refitted it.   The carpet is a single piece across both footwells so I had to cut it in the centre to peel it back.

These nuts are loosely captive using folded sheetmetal tabs, I guess to allow for some wiggle room when reinstalling the tunnel.   WARNING:  Don't use force when lining up the tunnel with these nuts as it's too easy to dislodge them from their captor!   I'll be using lube on all these bolts on re-installation.

[Beatle]

Managed to fully R&R the subframe.  First time it's ever been removed.   The two PS rack bolts galled on the way out so I had to spend some time with a thread file and wire brush to remove all aluminium from the bolt threads.  Cut two grooves in the first few threads of the bolts with a hacksaw to act a thread chaser and carefully cleaned out the threads in the rack.   With copper lube, both bolts threaded in by hand, so hopefully no future issues there.  On re-installation the bolts were torqued just over the minimum (wasn't going to push my luck).

Replacing the anti roll bar bushes was a cinch with the subframe on the bench.

RH axle refitted with new boots and grease.  The aftermarket outer boot seems hard and kind of plasticky, so I doubt it will last for long.  A smear of sealant on the inner flange to help keep the grease from flinging out (should there be a gasket here?) and the allen key bolts/nuts loctited and torqued.

Made a replacement disk retaining bolt from one of the spare exhaust studs as original was snapped off.

The biggest issue so far has been realigning the tunnel section...... lots of frustration but finally got it all tacked back into place.  Again, didn't overdo things when doing up the bolts given previous issue with the wayward captive nut.

BTW, on my car there was no PS pipe bracket holding the pipes to the subframe, only a curved retaining plate that the hose simply slips behind.  I spent ages looking for that bracket before dropping the subframe.

New greaseable UCAs are in place. 

Hopefully this weekend I'll finish the LCAs and reassembly of the front suspension/brakes plus re-installation of the forward exhaust sections.

I'm SERIOUSLY going to install a hoist in the shed as a Xmas present..........

[Beatle]

Work completed and passed rego.

New upper control arms, lower control arms, sway bar bushes.  4-wheel alignment and balance.

Drives straight, but running poorly.  Maybe I shouldn't have washed the engine...........

Be sure to wave if you pass me on the Warrego Hwy.

[bazzbazz]

Drives straight, but running poorly.  Maybe I shouldn't have washed the engine..........

DOH !   

[Beatle]

DOH !   

Despite the little Alfa Angel whispering in my ear, I simply couldn't help myself.....

Next step is to hook up my new OBD reader to check codes, then pull it all apart to access the sparkplugs.   Hopefully it's just that the tubes are full of water.

I'll also pull as many connectors as I can access and dry them out.   

[Beatle]

So I did find water in the sparkplug tubes  .

Plugs were definitely overdue for replacement, as was the air filter element.  I can see now why the filter is often ignored, it's in a bugger of a spot!
I see Alfa even went to the trouble of placing smooth plastic caps over the relay block retaining studs so as to reduce the risk of tearing the element on installation. A bit of a bandaid solution though.

I took the opportunity to slot the relay bracket for easier removal when changing the filter, and discovered my relay positions don't match the relay cover diagram or the handbook.  Luckily someone has taken the time to mark the relays. 

While it was apart I cleaned the throttle body, plenum, and sprayed the MAF unit with the proper cleaner.

New filter element retails at $28-$30 from the Alfa spares suppliers, Repco wanted $130.00 for a Ryco equivalent....... 

[bazzbazz]

Plugs were definitely overdue for replacement, as was the air filter element.  I can see now why the filter is often ignored, it's in a bugger of a spot!

Have you changed the oil filter yet? 

[Beatle]

No, but I looked closely at its position while I was doing the front end.   Can't be more awkward than the GT...

[bazzbazz]

And you recon the air filter is in a bugger of a spot?   

[Beatle]

All fixed.   New plugs and filter, and everything dried out.
Even with a lot of stuff removed I still drew blood fitting the air filter...........

[Beatle]

Maintenance activity continues.   The coolant hasn't been coming up to temp since I got the car.  Temps had been so low, even in our recent 40+ heatwave(s), I suspected the thermostat may have been gutted by the previous owner.  Turns out the thermostat had simply failed open (typical failure on any 156).  Because I've had the A/C running continuously the A/C condensor fans have been working well enough to keep the engine cool.

Before I drained the coolant I tried adding some radiator flush, but not sure it went anywhere but in the header tank.

After wrestling with some factory-style hose clamps I drained the coolant, flushed (lots), changed the thermostat, and refilled.

Unfortunately, I only managed to get about 6L of new coolant into the system.  No room for the demin water I purchased.  So the system is now running around 60% Nulon Red OAT / 40% tap water..... 

Single use clamps were replaced with screw clamps to make things easier next time around.  Engine now comes up to temp correctly and the fans come on with the temp needle bang on the middle of the gauge (90 deg C).

BTW, 6L of Nulon concentrate is currently $38.99 at Supercheap.  2.5L is $36.99







   

[Beatle]

While I had the electrical connector box loosened to access the thermostat I disconnected the connectors and gave them a spray with Inox.  Not sure if it was this, or the new thermostat, but the hard erratic miss at idle is now gone!