New 156 GTA owner! Pic's included

[Afkap]

G'day guys,

Been obsessed with the Alfa Romeo 147/156 GTA since watching that famous Top Gear episode many years ago. Wanted to buy one very badly, but work at the time had me barely using the car I had at the time. So I relented. Fast forward to 2008, believe it or not, but on a visit back to Sydney, it turns out Mum is keen on getting a 156 GTA?! I go with her and Dad, it's a black 156 GTA at a small garage on Paramatta Road. Walk in, and immediately fall in love again. Even take it for a test drive, whilst difficult to fully experience the GTA in Sydney traffic, I was still suitably impressed. As it turns out, Mum didn't buy it, simply because she was worried about the front spoiler ground clearance... Dad nearly bought it anyway, lol. Little did I know, the seed had been sewn...

Fast forward to August last year, the parents have flown in from Sydney to stay with us down in Adelaide. I can't remember how, but for some unknown reason we find out there's a black 156 GTA for sale in Adelaide. Was the cheapest as well on carsales. So we go for a look. In short, the car needs work, but I fell in love after taking it for a test drive. Even with the issues that I'll go through shortly, it still drove incredibly well, and I loved the whole package. Bought it the next day, much to the missus shock..!



Now work has kept me quite busy with travelling overseas and interstate. Been meaning to get work done on it! Now I'm back for a reasonable amount of time, plus it's time for a service. The guy I bought it from had been using ItalService located in Bowden, Adelaide. Took it to him for a service the next day after buying. Now the car appears to have been a weekend toy for the guy I bought it off. Mostly stayed in the garage in the final year leading up to the sale. It had a cam belt let go, which needed an engine rebuild which was done by ItalService, this was done about 1.5 years ago. Other than this incident, it appears to have been serviced correctly. Although I do believe the previous owner didn't get the Cam belt done when it was required, and suffered the consequences!

Now onto problems with the car:
Has a knocking noise coming from the front of the car. Upon talking to ItalService, they've advised that the suspension lower arm's are gone and need to be replaced. It's been a while since I talked to him, but I believe I essentially need new suspension. I do remember him recommending two Koni options. One was FSD, and the other was luxury? One option had adjustable settings, but more sporty. The other couldn't be adjusted, or factory refurbished, but was more comfortable, and a little cheaper? Please correct me if this sounds wrong! In short, can you guys give me your recommendations, the Koni FSD's do seem quite popular. I want something that is comfortable on the crappy Adelaide roads!

The passenger airbag cover has come up on the left. Whilst it doesn't look very serious, I'm not very happy about it. My understanding of an airbag is it's meant to punch through the plastic cover upon activation? It looks like on mine it might actually simply dislodge the cover and fire it at high speed into the passengers face... Can I play around with it? I'm not keen on touching anything to do with airbags.



The front right headlight appears to be fogged up whilst the left one is nice and clear? Doesn't appear to be any moisture in it? Seems to be just wear and tear with lot's of little scratches...





Now what's more of a concern is the left front headlight doesn't work. I have the Xenon HID lights, the right one, whilst faded, works fine. When I bought it I knew about this. It did work occasionally, but rarely! When I had it serviced, Mario at ItalService told me the ballast had gone. He ordered me a used one from the UK, and fitted it. When I collected the car after the service, I checked and both headlights worked. The next day upon leaving work late at night, I noticed that again, the front left headlight wasn't working... I'm a little annoyed about this as I spent a bit of money to have it fixed, and it doesn't appear to have worked. Any thoughts on this one?

The front rim's have clearly been washed very little in the cars life time! They are pretty dull, even after a good wash. Any suggestions on this? Anywhere good to get the rims' redone in Adelaide? I'm also tossing up the idea of having them turned into a matte black. It's a little hard to see in the below picture.



The front left wing mirror freely moves. It's a little difficult to describe, but the left wing mirror can be freely moved by hand and doesn't stay in it's position. For example, if you happened to gently brush against it whilst moving past the car, it'll just move in or out, not like the right mirror which won't move unless you put a fair amount of pressure on it. Any idea's on this one?

Inside the car, the wing mirror adjustment knob appears to have broken somehow and fallen down through the plastic console it's set in. Not critical or anything, the switch still works when adjusting the mirrors, just makes it a pain in the arse to do so... You can see what I mean in the below picture.



A week or so after I'd bought the car, one coldish morning on the way to work, I received an engine warning alert on the console display. The engine temperature gauge never climbed above 55 and on opening the window, the fan could be heard running at full pelt. Now this happened on and off for another couple of weeks, then hasn't occurred since. Engine temp's always go up to about 90 (mid way) and stay there +/- 10 degrees. Might thinking its a faulty thermostat? Although it hasn't happened since..?

The glove box works fine, but is hanging slightly down on the left side. You can see what appears to be the hinge mechanism below it looks damaged in the below picture. Thoughts on how to go about fixing this?



When using the brakes the yellow light bulb with exclamation light comes on generally steady, although sometimes it flashes randomly. What does this mean? Something to do with the ABS? Also, I occasionally get the yellow light flashing in time with the indicator when on. A bit weird. I do need to get the brake pads replaced, does this have any bearing on that?

Finally, the gearbox works well with nice clean gear changes. Although when accelerating hard in third and fourth gear, there is noticeable clutch slip. This is less prevalent in third gear, and non-existent in first and second gear. It only really affects the higher gears. I also get some shuddering on taking off in first gear, although I've easily adapted to this so it's not such an issue. Reverse gets shuddering as well. The mechanic told me to keep driving the car as it's not that bad. In a year or so, when it starts getting worse and affecting my driving enjoyment, he told me to bring it back in, they'll do the clutch, and also the Q2 diff at the same time.

Lastly, I'm using Italservice in Bowden. They seem really nice, although sometimes they miss deadlines which has annoyed me in the past, plus the supposed fix for the headlight didn't seem to do anything... Still, they know the car, so I'll get the next service done with them at this stage along with the suspension work. Any other mob's I should be looking at? I've noticed there's a Eurosport place in Kent Town. They actually have a website, and look like a professional mob. The owner even drives a 147 GTA apparently. Their location is very close to where I live in Norwood, so thats a plus as well. Anyone used them in the past?

I apologise for the long post. There are a large number of issues with the car, although most are fairly simple and superficial. The headlight is my biggest concern at the moment, so any advice is much appreciated! Even with all the above described issues, the car is still sublime to drive, everyday I get in it, I smile. I also have a Mercedes C32 AMG. I find I rarely ever drive it now, the GTA has become my everyday car. It's surprisingly practical, love having the four doors. Whilst the C32 is bloody quick in a straight line thanks to it's supercharged engine, the GTA is much more rewarding to drive. The steering is so precise. And the noise it makes is intoxicating. Once I get all these niggles fixed (I'm a perfectionist with cars...) I believe I'll have a great car that I'll be keeping for years to come. Overall, I'm very happy with my purchase!

[TFJ100]

Hi Afkap,

Welcome to the Black 156 GTA club!

Your car looks great! Just a few cosmetics to do.

I am a bit of a GTA nooby so am learning some of the ropes myself, and based in Melbourne so can't help you with the Adelaide dealer question.

Most of the basics of GTA ownership can be found on the web either through this site, or Ausalfa.com.au or Alfaowner.com.

Most commentators on your post would have similar advice to me...which is to consider a couple of things first up:

1) Have you checked the last cambelt change date? It sounds like you know who serviced it before you so that should be easy. Cambelts should be changed regularly
2) I recommend a Q2 change earlier rather than later. I once owned a GTV 3.0 and lost a diff in normal driving...the repairs cost an additional $2k over and above the diff upgrade cost, so getting a Q2 is like an insurance policy, as well as providing better handling. You can get easier access to the clutch while you do it...sounds like you may as well change that while you are in there
3) While doing the cambelts, check you have a metal-impeller water pump and change the thermostat as well if there is any doubt about how good it is

On to your specific questions (at least the ones I can help with!)

1) Suspension - there are a few options available here - Koni FSDs have some recommenders, and Bilstein make shock absorbers which combine well with slightly lowered springs. However the majority seem to prefer coilovers, KW V1/2/3; Zeatek Z8 or Z9 or Bilstein B14/B16 kits. Check to make sure your preferred option doesn't lower your car too far, or make your suspesion too firm for the road. You can follow the debates on the forums above, and read different experiences. A lot of people also recommend Eibach anti-roll bars. As well as keep the car flatter in turns, they appear to stiffen the car over bumps. Expensive to fit (esp the front). Others say to keep the front stock and stiffen the rear. I haven't done my suspension yet (that is next), so can't offer specific experience. If you do buy an upgrade, check what other items you should buy as well. One of the Ausalfa members just upgraded his suspension and did the following:  upper and lower wishbones, drop links, trailing arms, transverse arms, hub nuts, shock absorber strut mounts, rear anti-roll bar and all new bolts. Most people import themselves and save $$$, asking their mechanic to fit.
2) Mirror - there is a screw inside the mirror which can come undone. Mine failed and I would love to tell you how it was fixed, but my mechanic took it "out the back" and fixed it before putting it back on...only took 5 minutes.
3) Electrics can be a bit finicky (leading to either accurate or inaccurate messages on the screen). Battery should have full charge, and any hesitations while accelerating could be any number of issues relating to spark plugs, coil packs, lambda and oxygen sensors, and Air Flow Meter. The on-screen messages sometimes help but also sometimes don't, so make sure your mechanic is experienced enough to fix the fault rather than literally follow the screen and replace all the expensive stuff when it was just a poor-performing battery flinging off faults
4) The light bulb with the exclamation mark in it is telling you about a bulb failure - http://www.fiat-lancia.org.rs/Manuals/AlfaRomeo/156&156GTA/GTAOwner'sManual.pdf - see p94. There may be a faulty bulb somewhere (other than headlights) or else there is an electrical short somewhere.
5) Wheels - the preferred approach is repair to remove any scuffs, full clean and then clear coat to keep them shiny and free from brake dust - in Melbourne that can be done for under $200 a wheel...not sure about Adelaide.

Ok, that's it...I'm pretty much out of suggestions. PM me if you want to discuss more offline or compare notes.

Good luck and enjoy your drive!

Torben

[Evan Bottcher]

Gorgeous.  I think if you're going to spend any money on the wheels, matt black would definitely look fantastic and be worth the investment.  Or a very dark grey.

I'm mostly useless on your other questions - TFJ's given a good overview.  I would have got the bulb warning light one though!

Looks like you're on the right path with independent specialists, both Italservice and Eurosport are club sponsors by the look of it (http://alfaclubsa.org.au/).  If you haven't already, consider joining the club and get in touch with the right technical register for some advice.

Parts supply in the UK is quite good - I've used EB Spares, and recently also http://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/ - they're quite good with parts and advice for the modern Alfas.

[155 lover]

Hi afkap. Firstly nice car!

I have had my 147 GTA and bought mine 2 years ago with low kms and have experienced most of the usual maintenance stuff you're talking About. First,  I use mario from veloce Motors at hindmarsh.  Hes fantastic - knows his stuff and is very honest and accurate when quoting work. He was with italservice but as they're looking at  moving to ridgehaven or some where near there he branched out on his own.

First:
1. Get your water pump checked if its been upgraded to a metal impellor. My plastic one  broke and th e fan was stuck on full blast etc. So got it changed with the timing belt.
2. Radiator fins are known to last about 7-10years before rust caused small leaks. Get it checked and changed if its a problem. Do the thermostat at the same time.
3. I got koni fsds and love em. They are firmer when you really plant it around the corner but are a bit more comfortable on crappy roads. Note that these will not give you a super comfy ride though if you're lookng for a
ctouring t type ride. Do the upper lower control arms and bushes at the same time. Go to ebspares for all parts amd save a fortune.

[155 lover]

Finally
- I had all the gutter rash on my wheels fixed with a new paint job in the original colour but with a high gloss clear coat so they stand out and they're easier to clean. Had welland crash repair do the work. I was very happy with them. Put new tyres on too.

I've done all this stuff (including q2 and clutch) and its made the car like new again. Pm me if you want estimates on costs and labour hours - happy to help as I know what its like.  It may seem minor but all of the above jobs add up.  Worth it in the end though.  Like a brand new car now.

[155 lover]

By the way - if you get the exclamation mark vdc/abs failure message when touching you're brakes its a  faulty brake switch.often the rear brake lights always get stuck on as a reault.... It sits under the brake....costs $7 so easy enough to fix. I know because it happened to me!.

[Afkap]

Thanks for the replies guys. Some great info, it's good to see there's another Adelaide local on the forums I'll try slinging up some more pictures soon, and will update as I get stuff done with the car.

Decided I'll go with the Koni FSD's, will have to give Ital Service a call and start them ordering parts!

[Meng]

Get together a shopping list of what you need and then head down here: http://www.alfaworkshop.co.uk/alfa_156_parts.shtml

[Afkap]

Well Veloce motorsports are busy over the next couple of weeks, plus I don't think they have the records of my cars servicing anymore. So I gave Eurosport Automative a call, spoke to a Peter who seemed very knowledgeable and pleasant. Booked the car in for a service tomorrow and to have the headlight issue looked at. Also he'll be giving me a quote on the suspension. I'll report back with how it goes!

[Afkap]

Ended up using Eurosport in Kent Town. Bill came to just over $1500, which was a bit of a shock. Anyway, they did a fair bit of work under the car. The faulty headlight and brake light was apparently caused by dirty/bad connections. The knocking noise is still there, they couldn't fix it without dropping the whole subframe. They recommended doing that when I bring it in next service for the clutch, Q2 and timing belt.

Unfortunately, exactly like last time, the headlight stopped working the next day. And again is intermittent, sometimes it works, other times it doesn't. Starting to get annoying. Also the brake light is being intermittent again.

In addition I think the clutch is getting close to packing it in. Starting to get a physical burble through the pedal when resting my foot on it. Also, just yesterday, I'm getting a grating vibration noise from somewhere behind the wheel/dashboard? Again intermittent, comes and goes, a little worrying...

Anyone got anymore ideas to my two issues above? Funnily enough, still loving the car!

[Meng]

If the wiring and connections are okay, and the ballast is still working, might be the igniter.  But just check to see that the wiring isn't exposed.

Re vibration, is this your issue? http://forum.alfa156.net/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=32303

[Afkap]

Hmmm, I'm taking it if the igniters are faulty, I'm looking at a new headlight unit..?

And thanks for the link, sounds like that might be my problem, although it's a little hard to tell what sound they're talking about...

[Meng]

If you need the headlight assembly, Mostro is selling the unit

http://www.ausalfa.com.au/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=7910&sid=008ff1a145dfabc2feb4c034f58e271e

[Afkap]

Just found oemxenonshop.com which seem to stock all the parts required in the headlight unit, including ignition modules. Emailed them for a quote including shipping to Australia.

I'll give Eurosport a call back later today or tomorrow and ask what they believe the next step should be. I've had new Ballast installed at ItalService, which didn't seem to fix the problem. Eurosport seemed to think it was bad connections. After cleaning up the connectors, they reckoned everything was good again. That doesn't seem to be the case!

And thanks for the link to the used headlight unit sale, if I'm looking at having to purchase a new bloody headlight unit, I'll definitely give him a yell!

[Meng]

I contacted oemxeshop for a ballast too, but I went for an online retailier I had used before.  Prices were cheap but I paid for the "seciruty" premium for dealing with an alfa specific supplier, who guarantees that the parts are brand new.