Alfa Romeo Forums banner

1994 alfa Romeo 164 LS front struts

5K views 16 replies 10 participants last post by  rsims 
#1 ·
Dear fellow members,
I had some unfortunate news last week. I went to my regular shop for service on my 1994 alfa romeo 164 LS auto black on black, which I daily drive and have been doing so for almost 4 and 1/2 years now. My mechanic advised me that I needed new front struts for the car and I said "okay that shouldn't be too hard." I was very wrong, I do not know if anyone here is aware but no one makes the 164 struts anymore at all. This means unless you have a parts car it is IMPOSSIBLE to find. Just a warning to all of you guys!
Best,
Chris (Italiancarnut12)
 
#3 · (Edited)
Alfa 164 fronts struts parts breakdown



Jason has front struts as does VicksAutoSport and so does Difatta Bros. They also carry the other parts of front struts.

Be advised on the 164 each part of the front strut assemblies are priced and sold separately - items 1-strut, 6-lower spring perches, upper and 5-lower bearings, 9-springs, 8-bump stops and 7-rubber boots.

You probably won't need 14-upper strut bearings.

You also need to be sure the 9- springs are not suffering from thinning of the "bones" on bottom ends due to rusting under rubber sheathing especially if driven in a salted road area.

Also lower, L/R side specific, 6-spring perches can be badly rusted.

Other things you will need are 5-lower strut bearings, 8-bump stops and 7-rubber boots.
PROD. CODE FUR. DESCR. COMP. M. QTY N. C. C. R.
1 SHOCK ABSORBER
60598997 APA - KIB M1 ,M3 02
60593616 BOGE 007 02
60589746 APA - KIB 007 02

2 PLATE
60511568 04
3 LOCK WASHER
11193874 08
4 SCREW
60511565 08
5 BEARING
60501446 02
6 PLATE spring perch
60501443 DS R/H) 01
60501444 SN L/H) 01
7 SHIELD
60544493 02
8 RUBBER PAD
82423607 02
9 SPRING
60593382 M1 ,M3 02
60541189 007,M2 ,M4 02
10 LINER
60545136 02
11 PLATE
60511577 02
12 WICK
60511574 02
13 CONTAINER
60511566 DS (R/H) 01
60511567 SN (L/H) 01
14 PAD
60570447 02
15 PLANE WASHER
60560724 02
16 PLANE WASHER
10732111 06
17 NUT
16104111 06
18 NUT
15503911 02
19 PROTECTION
60562165 02
20 PLUG
60553034 02
 

Attachments

#4 ·
I think it is much more dire than you all realize. All the usual websites show none available. The ebay seller from Germany only has one.

I have a set of new in the box early models, if someone wanted to do the conversion of the upper strut mount to the early type that we never had in the USA. The pair I have are for sale. They are Sachs/Boge Super Touring. I bought them from a seller in Italy. You would have to either figure out a way yourself or do the steps I have proposed in an earlier thread. I know it would work without too much hassle, I just never used these because I found a suitable used set of the regular later models.
Charles
 
#5 ·
I think it is much more dire than you all realize. All the usual websites show none available. The ebay seller from Germany only has one.
- Jason at Alfissimo International might chime in here. His website lists a good assortment, but I couldn't determine if he has them in stock.
- Vicks is out of stock.
- Centerline doesn't list them for sale.

Cheers,
- Art
 
#6 ·
I have the feeling Mr Steve is on this. I highly recommend changing both sets of bearings and everything else case by case. Do this in pairs. Ciao, chris
 
#7 ·
I thought I might have given you that idea yesterday. Let's see what Ms Laura has to say about it. These were her last words to me some months ago: "Waiting for your eventual order."
 
#8 ·
I truly hope they are not NLA. Just a quick search shows that nobody has them except Jason. I just hope he really has them, the only way to know for sure is to call him and also Difatta, since Difatta doesn't have an online store. I think there are some very real used options out there, like APE, Trail Auto, ebay, etc. It is a good thing that these OEM struts last a long time or the used option would not be very viable. It is also a good thing that changing struts out is not a huge ordeal, if you don't mind compressing springs.

These really have gone up in price over the years, Ouch! Low volumes and truly quality German parts does that I guess, sort of a "one, two" punch.

As an aside, I wonder why I can't see anything but USA and Canada on Rockauto, because you used to be able to find Monroe struts (and other 164 parts) in Europe on that webstore. Doesn't give me that option anymore.

In reality, who would have guessed that most parts for this car would be mostly obtainable new, in 2016 for this car? We should look on the bright side.
Charles
 
#9 ·
Well I know that Koni has none in stock. At least one of my Koni's is bad. They have a program where they send you replacements and you send your damaged units back for replacement. But they have none for the 164.

The good news is we can take the bad ones off the car and Koni will rebuild them. This should happen over the winter when the car is off the road to avoid salty roads here in the Northeast.
 
#12 · (Edited)
I think most shops that were willing to work on Alfas used International Auto parts as a source (of course we know here that it is a part of Centerline now, so not really gone gone). When IAP went, I think most are at a loss as to who to call to get parts (especially 164 parts). Most shops generally, do not want to spend a lot of their time looking for parts or sources, so if I was having work done on this car, I would just source my own parts. Partly out of convenience, partly to save the alarm of having a shop tell me that it is "Impossible" to get something. It is truly that way for a handful of items. Don't really blame a shop for not wanting to spend hours looking for something. I'm sure you can save a good bit of money sourcing your own parts as well. No markup and they don't have to be frustrated looking, though I wouldn't put it past a shop to claim something is unobtainable just so they don't have to work on an "unusual" old car. I would just say to a shop, "tell me what I need and I will find it and bring it to you." It would probably make it better for both of you. The added benefit would be that you would have a chance to get a feel for what is and what is not a hard item to get your hands on.
Charles
 
#13 ·
I have the lusso of living in Italy. Struts for a 164, new, are not hard to source. Question becomes: are people willing do the legwork and then, to pay the price? The VAT? Then factor the shipping in.... And, inherent delays getting them to the US/Canada. On the flip side, I've had to utilize US sources to obtain parts for my euro spec 164. diFatta is who I last used. Ciao, chris
 
#14 · (Edited)
"I think most are at a loss as to who to call to get parts (especially 164 parts)"

Don't know why, as I have had little trouble ordering most parts from DiFatta, Jason, and my friends at Alfa of Tacoma, all easily accessible. Maybe some people just don't make that much of an effort., give up a little too easily. I do admit that there are a few parts which are difficult to find or NLA, new or used, and require more digging; however, one does have to actually make an honest effort to contact the other existing outlets and ebay, etc, than just Centerline/International. Seems many good parts just go out the window when cars are parted.
 
#16 · (Edited)
2 in stock, 4 more coming in the next 2 weeks. I find them all over the world. It's a tough and expensive job!!! I don't like just saying I cannot get them because they are NLA! That's not being a good supplier! ;) I will have a few sets of both front and rear while I can get them.
 
#17 ·
Just my 2 cents, but I have always found what I needed, either here or local. ebay, the country,other Countries, you have to LOOK...


Anyway, Im getting a few 164ls this weekend, One might be a parts car so there ya go, more parts,,,LOL.

Rob
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top