Alfa 90 "issues"

[Typhoon90]

I plan on bending all the pedals on my car closer to the firewall, they're all WAY too high and have plenty of travel to achieve this.

Jeez, I'd think very hard before doing that.  I've had brake pedal to the floor at least once (coming into turn one at Sandown granted, but still, it could happen on the road), and some extra clutch travel needed once to get me to the mechanics before it failed.  My first 90 had the accelarator bent over and down a little bit, but I didn't notice until I got the second one.  I found those pedals really comfortable, even on Melb-Syd trips.  An extra carpet helped also, for long freeway trips only of course.

I personally find that because the pedals sit too far from the firewall, it forces my feet into a bad angle with my lower legs when I rest the heel of my shoe on the floor and pivot off the heel.
With the brake pedal fully compressed HARD on my car, I have around 8" of clearance to the firewall, way too much for any car. I believe it's because of the torque tube assembly for the RHD conversion bringing the pedal pivot out from the firewall, but haven't looked. It may be I don't need to bend the pedals, I might be able to fit a turnbuckle into the linkage or similar.
Anyway, we'll see how it feels now I've dropped the seat 50mm and moved it back 25mm, might be enough to restore proper leg geometry!

Regards, Andrew.

[Rocco166]

Hi all,

I had a poke around in the engine bay on Friday night and discovered that the majority of the hoses on the engine are the originals and not in the best condition (despite an invoice stating that i've paid for a couple of sets of new hoses)     so rather than use up a few weekends which I don't have to spare I took the car over to Cileberti's with a list of problems and will let them sort it out - I know it's not the best solution but at the moment I just want to drive the car I first drove 24yrs ago and enjoy it - they're experts in the field over here in Perth and I am confident that they will get it back to it's best within the week.

Will let you know how it goes - so far no phone calls from Cileberti's so I am guessing that there are no suprprises just poor workmanship that needs sorting.

[Rocco166]

An update on the 90 - it's been back at Cileberti's for a couple of days, so far the news is not that good,  :'(lots of worn parts in the camshaft assemblies which explains the excessive tappet noise and knocking, the buckets were all badly scored and need replacing and contrary to the invoice there is no evidence that a lot of parts I've been charged for ever made it onto my car
The injector hoses are all split/perished and the throttle body is filthy (black and sooty), the sensor for the speedo is earthed onto the diff (which is as good as no earth at all given it's insulated from the body) which might explain the intermittant speedo reading (fingers crossed).

To say I am devastated is an understatement, I mentioned some of the problems to the guy who worked on the car for 7 months and he's refusing to accept any of it claiming that it's sour grapes between competing mechanics, but having seen the parts coming off my car in such poor condition I know who it is that I am going to believe    I don't want to get caught up in the middle of a feud between mechanics and having already handed over many thousands of dollars (way too many to admit  )

I am prepared to walk away and never return... the upshot of this is that the primary mechanic who did all this substandard work still has a final bill for me - it's not been mentioned recently but there was some work done (front brakes/ exhaust /electrical) that I have not been billed for nor has there been any mention of a "ball-park" figure for the work - at the moment I am expecting a pretty big bill for all the remedial work from Cileberti's to fix all the stuff that either has been done incorrectly or not done at all and this is all at $100+ an hr just for the spanner work not to mention the parts at genuine AR prices.  I am hoping that my years of Alfa loyalty to both the brand and the mechanic will account for something and that I will not be forced to sell off a kidney to pay for the work although this time I know it will be done correctly and that the car will be as close to perfect as a 25 yr old Alfa can be (which IMHO is pretty close)

[JOHN G]

An update on the 90 - it's been back at Cileberti's for a couple of days, so far the news is not that good,  :'(lots of worn parts in the camshaft assemblies which explains the excessive tappet noise and knocking, the buckets were all badly scored and need replacing and contrary to the invoice there is no evidence that a lot of parts I've been charged for ever made it onto my car
The injector hoses are all split/perished and the throttle body is filthy (black and sooty), the sensor for the speedo is earthed onto the diff (which is as good as no earth at all given it's insulated from the body) which might explain the intermittant speedo reading (fingers crossed).
(
(why do you name Cileberti's But not the prick of a mechanic  you should be naming and shaming?)

To say I am devastated is an understatement, I mentioned some of the problems to the guy who worked on the car for 7 months and he's refusing to accept any of it claiming that it's sour grapes between competing mechanics, but having seen the parts coming off my car in such poor condition I know who it is that I am going to believe    I don't want to get caught up in the middle of a feud between mechanics and having already handed over many thousands of dollars (way too many to admit  )
(7 months to work on a car, alarm bells should have been ringing then)
(Feud between mechanics Don't think so.Feud should be between yourself and the unamed mechanic)

I am prepared to walk away and never return... the upshot of this is that the primary mechanic who did all this substandard work still has a final bill for me - it's not been mentioned recently but there was some work done (front brakes/ exhaust /electrical) that I have not been billed for nor has there been any mention of a "ball-park" figure for the work - at the moment I am expecting a pretty big bill for all the remedial work from Cileberti's to fix all the stuff that either has been done incorrectly or not done at all and this is all at $100+ an hr just for the spanner work not to mention the parts at genuine AR prices.  I am hoping that my years of Alfa loyalty to both the brand and the mechanic will account for something and that I will not be forced to sell off a kidney to pay for the work although this time I know it will be done correctly and that the car will be as close to perfect as a 25 yr old Alfa can be (which IMHO is pretty close)
(Many years of loyalty went down the toilet when you changed mechanics Leo will charge like a wounded bull  )
(People live with one kidney all the time )
(Seriously, you mention exhaust work - go to an Exhaust shop,Electrical go to a motor electrician,Even Brakes go to a brake shop -why spend $100+ an hour at Alfa specialists?)
(Parts like injector hoses and plenumn couplings, air filters don't buy original-buy after market from suppliers like HIPERFORMANCESTORE.COM they are cheaper,better and last the cars life time)
If you need any advice on where to obtain the cheapest and best parts for your 90 send me a message or post on the board.Cilerberti's don't mind fitting after market parts, but they will never tell you about them even if they know they exist.

John

[Typhoon90]

Mate, contact consumer affairs with your story below, I wouldn't be surprised if you get some money back in the end, and I would most certainly NOT pay any final invoice those guys furnished.

Regards, Andrew.

An update on the 90 - it's been back at Cileberti's for a couple of days, so far the news is not that good,  :'(lots of worn parts in the camshaft assemblies which explains the excessive tappet noise and knocking, the buckets were all badly scored and need replacing and contrary to the invoice there is no evidence that a lot of parts I've been charged for ever made it onto my car
The injector hoses are all split/perished and the throttle body is filthy (black and sooty), the sensor for the speedo is earthed onto the diff (which is as good as no earth at all given it's insulated from the body) which might explain the intermittant speedo reading (fingers crossed).

To say I am devastated is an understatement, I mentioned some of the problems to the guy who worked on the car for 7 months and he's refusing to accept any of it claiming that it's sour grapes between competing mechanics, but having seen the parts coming off my car in such poor condition I know who it is that I am going to believe    I don't want to get caught up in the middle of a feud between mechanics and having already handed over many thousands of dollars (way too many to admit  )

I am prepared to walk away and never return... the upshot of this is that the primary mechanic who did all this substandard work still has a final bill for me - it's not been mentioned recently but there was some work done (front brakes/ exhaust /electrical) that I have not been billed for nor has there been any mention of a "ball-park" figure for the work - at the moment I am expecting a pretty big bill for all the remedial work from Cileberti's to fix all the stuff that either has been done incorrectly or not done at all and this is all at $100+ an hr just for the spanner work not to mention the parts at genuine AR prices.  I am hoping that my years of Alfa loyalty to both the brand and the mechanic will account for something and that I will not be forced to sell off a kidney to pay for the work although this time I know it will be done correctly and that the car will be as close to perfect as a 25 yr old Alfa can be (which IMHO is pretty close)

[Rocco166]

Hi John / Andrew and others, thanks for the advice,  I contacted consumer affairs about the work done on my car by Euromotors Repairs (there I've named them  ) and have been given some advice on how to go about getting back some of the hard-earned dollars I've spent on the 90 so far...now that I have arranged to get a detailed list of the mistakes they made in the time they had the car I'll take a harder line and see how that pans out...

On a more positive note I got a call from Cileberti's last night and the 90 is purring like a kitten, all the problems I knew about have been fixed as well as some that I didn't and according to Leo and Rhino the car is running and driving perfectly. I'll collect the car on Saturday and can't wait to take it for an extended drive (maybe up to York for a day trip) and re-live my glory days as a P-plater with an "exotic" car 

[Typhoon90]

I'm glad you've talked to consumer affairs. Even if you don't receive any money as a refund, you will at least flag the business as unreputable and they are now on consumer affairs' radar.

Regards, Andrew.

[JOHN G]

I think I saw your 90 at Cileberti's if it's the one with the home of the America's cup plate.

Nice looking car.

John

[Rocco166]

Hi John

yes that's mine    I picked it up on Saturday and the change in the performance and handling is amazing!!  I have two boxes of parts that were replaced by Leo as they were worn out or broken - I am going to take them along with me to Euromotors and see what response I get from the mechanic 

I did not get a chance to drive it on the weekend  so I am planning on taking it out next weekend for a long run and see how it goes - from the short drive on Saturday it should be as good/better than it's been for a long time.