159 Q4 3.2 woes

[sudsy]

Sadly my friend has just sold her beautiful black 159 Q4 3.2 manual.

Yes she had numerous costly repairs, however the linch pin was the third expensive and inconvenient fuel pump failure..
I was with her on the first occasion..melted fuse/relay/ fuel pump failure on a long interstate journey.
Gold coast Alfa fixed it some $xxxx later..
And yet 3 years later she's onto her 2nd/3rd replacement fuel delivery/fuel pump issue.

Is this a systemic problem with the 159 or specific variants thereof.?

I'd love to get a Brera but this sort of first hand horror story is a big concern..

[bazzbazz]

The fuel pump in the 159/Brera series fail no more often than any other car with similar system, your friend has been incredibly  unlucky.

As for costs for such repairs it does vary greatly between the various Alfa specialists, but that is the same for most things in life.

[sudsy]

Thanks for the HU.. I did do some interweb searches and there certainly wasn't any supporting data to suggest the fuel pump is a weak link..

But I thought I'd post here anyway..

I do like the Brera..and was just doing some presearch..

[Stu159]

Hi Sudsy,

Was just reading through some posts and noticed yours. Some good information for you here.
http://www.alfaclubvic.org.au/forum/index.php?topic=18615.0
I still have my 159, same as your friends in fact - manual, black, V6. I am yet to replace the fuel pump, but will get to it. I've opted to never let it drop below a 1/2 tank and I put fuel cleaner through it every now and then. I always use 98 ron and I always have. I bought the car as a dealer demo with a few thousand k's on it, in 2008 and at about 114,000 now. I do under x 5000k's / year. The only other issue that comes to mind is the headlight ballast that has needed to be replaced, which I believe isn't unusual. They're about $1000 each and the front end needs to come off, which will cost you more than the part. Other than that, I absolutely love my car though and after x 12 years of ownership, can't see myself selling it for another x 12, if ever. They're quick enough, handle well for a saloon and are a great drive on a long trip. They don't cost all that much 2nd hand on todays market, considering what you get for the money.

All the best
Stu

[Stu159]

also, I should add that at around 80,000k's + I noticed the handling wasn't what it was when new and it became quite bouncy. They are a heavy car. I opted to replace all bushes with Powerflex, which made a huge difference to the handling. They are very noisy though on speed humps. I believe there have been improvements since that might rectify this? I also went for B16 Bilstein shocks at that time. The combination is brilliant and makes it the perfect cruise machine.

Stu

[bazzbazz]

The only other issue that comes to mind is the headlight ballast that has needed to be replaced, which I believe isn't unusual. They're about $1000 each and the front end needs to come off, which will cost you more than the part.

Eh? 

You can easily get replacement Ballasts (Bosch) for under $500 here in Oz and only the bumper and headlight has to come off, which is relatively simple and cheap to do.

Last year I did a club members Brera Spider (same as 159), removed the Bumper, both headlights, replaced both Ballasts all in 2.5 hours. And that was taking my time and including a few other little items.

I obviously HAVE to raise my prices.   

You sure you didn't have some other work done at the same time??

[Stu159]

no, the only place I can get a "new" ballast was through Alfa Bazz, who wanted $1000+. Another Alfa supplier said they could get it for around $800-$900, said they ordered it, but it never came and I got sick of calling them, after more than a month of follow ups. The labour price was in reference to an Alfa dealership who removed the bumper bar etc back in about 2012-2013 and at that time, couldn't work out how to fix the problem, so I got them to put it back on and got it fixed later on. From memory the whole exercise cost me about $800, back then and without a result. They also wanted to replace the whole headlight bank for a much larger sum, but as noted, couldn't guarantee me that it would be fixed. I actually found out the issue was a ballast, much later, thanks to discussions on this forum, which I always find essential reading!

[Stu159]

Hi again,

Thought I might add this thread that I found on a UK forum some time ago
https://www.alfaowner.com/threads/brera-fuel-pump-filter-faliure.355828/

Heap of good information here to consider, in relation to the fuel pump issue

All the best
Stu

[-Clint-]

A little slow on this one, but forgive me, I've just registered.

Re: the bi-xenon headlamps..
I had an issue where one of mine would flicker a little, then drop out.
Off/on would bring it back..
I replaced the burners (bulbs) from a place in melbourne (Burners/bulbs called ATOM).
6 months down the track, its starting to do it again.

I've decided that my fix will be to ditch the bi-xenons, and replace them with bi-led.
I'll be retrofitting led projectors into the aux high beams too.
Already have all the components, just need to set aside the time.

Rather than go for OEM ballasts, if you have issues, there are some places based in the US dedicated to xenon and LED automotive lighting/upgrades.
The one I use also supplies components, such as bulbs, ballasts, etc.

May be worth chasing up a set/pair of replacement ballasts from one of them. Much cheaper than the OEM prices as stated above.

Not sure of forum rules re; weblinks. Search; The Retrofit Source, or Xenon Depot

[torquemeister]

Sadly my friend has just sold her beautiful black 159 Q4 3.2 manual.

Yes she had numerous costly repairs, however the linch pin was the third expensive and inconvenient fuel pump failure..
I was with her on the first occasion..melted fuse/relay/ fuel pump failure on a long interstate journey.
Gold coast Alfa fixed it some $xxxx later..
And yet 3 years later she's onto her 2nd/3rd replacement fuel delivery/fuel pump issue.

Is this a systemic problem with the 159 or specific variants thereof.?

I'd love to get a Brera but this sort of first hand horror story is a big concern..

Yes its an issue on the 3.2 The Alfa God in Sydney put me straight - never run it below 25% capacity in the tank. The pump overheats. So keep her topped up and you wont have a problem. Having said that I carry a spare in my parts store.