Selespeed Actuator / Accumulator / Pump

[Gotta B Red]

Hi Pasey25,
No I have never owned a selespeed nor am I likely to, to be fair I would not consider any other manufacturers products similar to selespeed either.
For mine it's another level/layer of complexity I don't understand and of marginal benefit to my style of driving. In fact it would reduce my driving pleasure significantly, constantly worrying when the transmission is likely to take that early lunch.
I'm just a Luddite a techno-antihero.
I long for the days of carbies,points and plugs, mechanical clutches and gearboxes it's just what I understand and can diagnose and fix myself. I've never minded getting my hands dirty,happy to accept grease under my fingernails .... that's what a nail brush is for!
For me hydraulics is an innovation, Fuel injection is too techie for me. Just try to buy any car these days that isn't fuel injected.

Black boxes,Logic Boards etc all run on smoke and the main problem being, when the smoke gets out, your stuffed, there's no way you can coax the smoke back into the box or circuit board it came from ..... game over.
In an earlier post, Topic  "Typical Alfa Unreliability" I found an interesting device a friend of mine steered me to when he learned I was looking to buy an Alfa.  
That's what friends are for ..... don't ya love 'em !
I may not have created the hyperlink properly so just cut and paste it into your browser it's good for a laugh and then some.

Cheers,
Andy (The Luddite)

[cranberry]

There's a 156 Selespeed for sale locally with this in the description:

"There is a recent problem with the gear selection when in city mode. When stationary it sometimes drops down a gear."

Does anyone know what part of the Selespeed system this sounds like?

[pasey25]

thats a strange description. When stationary the car should go into first gear after arriving at a stop.

perhaps they mean that it is dropping from 1st to neutral when stopping. I'm not sure what part of the system that would relate to though.

[morphbill]

I found that if you are not getting pressure from the pump as long as you know your getting power to the pump nine times out of ten it is the carbon brushes sticking, which is a simple fix just give the pump a tap with a long extension bar and this frees up the brushes, if that doesn't work then the carbon brushes need replacing at a cost of seven pounds from the UK and a couple of hours of your time. Mechanics will not tell you this they will say the pump has failed at a cost of $1000. I know several people who replaced pumps only to find later that it was the brushes at fault. I hope this can save people some money as Alfas can be expensive to maintain but if you source your parts from the UK the money to be saved is phenomenal. All the best.

[Meng]

There's a 156 Selespeed for sale locally with this in the description:

"There is a recent problem with the gear selection when in city mode. When stationary it sometimes drops down a gear."

Does anyone know what part of the Selespeed system this sounds like?

From first to neutral? Sounds like a accumulator issue - if MES/alfadiag is giving you high pressure readings then likely you'll need a new one.  From memory the fiat accumulator by itself is $400ish, plus costs for installation.

[colcol]

The timing belts, suspension bushes and anti roll bars are not unreliable, they just need replacing at a certain distance and klms, if you don't then the car will surely break an engine or the suspension will start to get noisy, but the sillyspeed is the most unreliable part of the modern Alfa Romeo cars, if only they had put in a proper automatic and not forced the sillyspeed on us as a substitute for an auto, Colin.

[colcol]

My top arms started to knock about 80k, then at about 100k the swaybar rubbers started to rattle, thats what happens, i wish that they would last forever, but they don't, but they are not unreliable and break.
The timing belts have to be replaced at 3 years or 50k under harsh, hot or dusty conditions, 60k under more favourable conditions, if you don't change the timing belts in a timely manner, then the belt will strip the teeth off or break, then your engine will be ruined, then you will moan about Alfa Romeo reliability, but its your own fault if you neglect it.
The Selespeed will let you down  when you least expect it, on the freeway, when its raining, at the worst possible time, adding to the unreliabilty Alfa Romeo myth.
Some people have good reliability with their Selespeed and they really like it, initially was unreliable, but it got better as Alfa Romeo improved it over the years and the development led to Twin Clutch Transmissions, which is a good piece of engineering.
Alfa Romeo could never have sold the Selespeed in the U.S.A., as three faults with say a power train, means the consumer has to be supplied with a new car, Colin.

[RobertRame]

I am having my injectors and fuel pump refurbished Ford 4000. When it comes to refitting, is there any tips, tricks or precautions that will aid the refitting of these items.

[VeeSix]

Ok, ok, selespeed can have the odd issue.....

[Garibaldi]

That is one major accident right there. I hate to think what happened to the vehicle's occupants.

[zippytheclown]

so can anybody suggest where I should start looking for a set of O-Rings to reco the clutch electro-valve on a 147 GTA? I've been told to be careful as they are different from the normal 147 sele part

[suzuiq]

old saying, man with selespeed gearbox will surly go mad !

[psproule]

so can anybody suggest where I should start looking for a set of O-Rings to reco the clutch electro-valve on a 147 GTA? I've been told to be careful as they are different from the normal 147 sele part

You will find a pile of confusing info out there on the O Ring types and sizes used in the actuator solenoids. I ended up buying a set of 1.2 and 1.5mm O rings in graduated sizes from 10mm through 13.5mm and then matched them when I pulled the solenoids out. I got them from the O Ring store in the US and used the high temp Viton types. It was cheap to buy all the sizes and they delivered promptly. I couldn't find an AU based store.

While doing the O Rings I'd suggest swapping out the Magneti Marelli PF2C position sensors too (particularly the clutch) as they are a wear item and will cause most of the shifting issues if they are getting tired.  And from experience, DO NOT put in non-genuine ones. Did that, had to swap them again soon after. I got mine from an online bike parts store in the UK as this sensor is primarily used in throttle position sensor applications.

Pat

[Malcolm]

 What an amazing list of Selespeed challenges many among us have experienced, certainly has this new 2005 GT 2 litre Selespeed owner just a little concerned, however, the positive could be the following. Two of our club members race the 2 Litre Selespeed 156 in our new Super Sprint category, Formula 98 with a great deal of success, drive them to Mallala, sprint, then drive them home. This little black duck can only hope his GT will be the same when he competes in Formula 98 Mallala July 16. Consider this, In 2005 19155 GT were sold, 80% were Selespeed, surely not all those 15324 have been an expensive lemon. However, before our GT turns a wheel in anger at Mallala the GT is currently being given a full check and service at Eurosport Automotive. They tell me Selespeed works a lot better when the Alfa is driven hard n fast, hopefully that is correct, will keep you posted.

[Malcolm]

Selespeed update: Well after a little over two years of circuit sprinting at Mallala and the Bend it's all good news with only one wee hiccup along the way. Track performance of the Selespeed could not be faulted, after all, that's why Alfa Romeo designed it for Ferrari. The only hiccup we have experienced is that dam selespeed warning light coming on, mostly within half an hour of leaving the race circuit, halfway home. No problem changing gears.  Pullover, turn off the engine, whistle Dixy for a moment or three, fire up the engine, warning light out and we are on our way. Have just discovered our accumulator may not be holding the full 50psi of pressure but still ok to make gear changes but of course when the pressure drops it activates the selespeed warning light. Do I still love racing with selespeed, sure do, cannot change gears that quick in a manual g/box.