[chris p]

Hi there,

A week ago I bought myself an Alfa 75 2.0 TS (1990). When I bought It, it had a clicking noise from the back and the clutch and gearbox seemed a bit... well tired. It looked like the clicking noise came from a broken exhaust pipe bearing. But that wasn't it. I drove it a bit hard yesterday, and of course everything went wrong.

The entire car shakes quite violently when it is standing still in neutral and when driving below 3000 rev.
It accelerates very poorly below 3000 rev., but when it's above 3000 rev. the shaking seems to go away.

The clicking noise from the back is worse, than when I bought it. When I put the clutch down the clicking noise seems to go away, or at least it isn't that loud. (But the the shaking doesn't go away).

My engine temp is around 85-95 c and has been since i bought it. It doesn't matter how I drive the car. But the meter changes all the time, so I don't know if I can trust it. Also if I turn the display light op or down the temp and gas meter does the same. I have checked the cooling system for leaks and it seems to be okay. I haven't flushed the cooling system, course I don't know were the bleed screw is located.

Please write if you have any idea of what could be the problem, or problems.

Thanks a lot.

Chris Petersen

 

[slyalfa]

The first thing that comes to mind is the ruber flex joints on the drive line.
inspect the drive line ther is 3 ruber flex joints check for any cracks or cuncks missing.

 

[alfahaka]

The entire car shakes quite violently when it is standing still in neutral and when driving below 3000 rev.

This could be a lot of things. Reading your post I initially assumed drivtrain related, but given the number of separate symptoms, its hard to tell from the other side of the planet. I mean is it even firing on all cylinders? Compression on all cylinders? What have you checked/eliminated?

It accelerates very poorly below 3000 rev., but when it's above 3000 rev. the shaking seems to go away.

Ok - so you have some sort of engine problem, otherwise it would accellerate just fine. So one would naturally suspect that the shaking stems from the engine fault. Shaking "going away" as revs rise doesn't mean much.
Does the engine shake at idle? Have you checked the usual stuff (plugs, compression, injectors)?

The clicking noise from the back is worse, than when I bought it. When I put the clutch down the clicking noise seems to go away, or at least it isn't that loud. (But the the shaking doesn't go away).

Does it make the clicking noise when in neutral, or only when actually in gear and moving?

My engine temp is around 85-95 c and has been since i bought it. It doesn't matter how I drive the car. But the meter changes all the time, so I don't know if I can trust it. Also if I turn the display light op or down the temp and gas meter does the same. I have checked the cooling system for leaks and it seems to be okay. I haven't flushed the cooling system, course I don't know were the bleed screw is located.

Ok - so you have an electrical fault that makes the guages suspect at least - could cause other problems too depending on where the problem lies. You MIGHT have an overheating problem - does it show any other symptoms aside from the guage reading hot?

Basically, you have at least 3 faults, but you have the advantage of anyone here in that you have direct access to the car to diagnose! Try to find someone local to you to take a look at it, but I would be trying to sort of the engine issue that is killing power and probably the source of the vibration first.

 

[chris p]

Thanks a lot for the replies.!!!


I know that I'm properly not that good when it comes to explaining. But i's quite hard for me to explain it in English. I do apologize for using the wrong names and spelling it all wrong.


I have been under the car to check the 3 rubber flex joints and they all seem to be alright. I don't have a lift, so I cannot be a 100% sure, but it felt like the were intact.


The shaking is worst at idle and the clicking noise is there at all times. But when I'm driving it, it doesn't seem to be quite as loud. (But that could be because I just can't hear it that well).
When I'm driving between 1000-2500 revs, it feels like the engine could cut out at any second. Like if you try to start a car in 3 gear or something like that. The entire car jumps!


I don't know if the car is showing other symptoms of overheating beside the guage showing that it's hot. I have seen the fan running, but only one time. So I guess there could be a loose connection somewhere.


I tried to check the ignition yesterday, but I'm not quite sure what I'm suppose to do/check or how the engine is suppose to sound or go. But I will try to check it again.



Friendly regards
Chris Petersen

 

[alfahaka]

I know that I'm properly not that good when it comes to explaining. But i's quite hard for me to explain it in English. I do apologize for using the wrong names and spelling it all wrong.

No need to apologize. I don't think it is your english that is making it hard to find out what the problem is.

I have been under the car to check the 3 rubber flex joints and they all seem to be alright. I don't have a lift, so I cannot be a 100% sure, but it felt like the were intact.

The shaking is worst at idle and the clicking noise is there at all times. But when I'm driving it, it doesn't seem to be quite as loud. (But that could be because I just can't hear it that well).
When I'm driving between 1000-2500 revs, it feels like the engine could cut out at any second. Like if you try to start a car in 3 gear or something like that. The entire car jumps!

There is obviously something wrong with the engine. The TS has good low-end torque and should be very driveable at low revs.
What have you been able to check on the engine? When the car is at idle and you look under the hood is the engine itself shaking in its mounts? Does it sound like the engine itself (not the drivetrain) is running unevenly - does it sound like 1 or more cylinders aren't "working" properly?

If you think it is uneven or you can't be sure, you could try pulling the leads to one cylinder at a time and seeing if there is a cylinder that doesn't make much difference (ie. is already not working and doesn't work much worse without a spark). The other thing to check is whether BOTH ignition coils are producing spark etc.

Have you checked the sparkplugs themselves? Do they all look similar colour? Are they in reasonable condition?

I don't know if the car is showing other symptoms of overheating beside the guage showing that it's hot. I have seen the fan running, but only one time. So I guess there could be a loose connection somewhere.

That might be a good sign, or it might be a sign of a stuck thermostat...

Check if the radiator and the hoses to the radiator are getting hot? Check after the car has been running (not just idling) for a while and the temp is up to 80 or more (to the extent you can tell with the dodgy electrics). If the thermostat is staying closed the engine will be hot but the radiator won't be. I would certainly consider replacing the thermostat as the first thing to try.

 

[chris p]

Hi Darryl,

I checked the ignition system again like you suggested, and I found that one of the plastic things (there are 4 of them) that goes on the “intake manifold”, was broken, so it didn't connect right. Once a pressed it down, the shaking stopped and the engine felt normal again. I remembered that the man I bought the car from, told me that the car had been chipped, but I did get the original chip with me. So I changed the chip and the car drives so much better now. Acceleration has improved, especially between 1000-2500 revs.

However there is still a clicking noise from under the car. I'm not sure it's from the back. Could be it's from the middle area under the car. I thinks it's coming from the drive shaft, but I'm not 100% sure.

I have also tried to bleed my cooling system and I have boiled my thermostat. It did open when the water boiled, so I guess that means it isn't broken!? I have flushed the cooling system and refilled it.
I turned the heater fully on and drove for a while, so that the engine would get hot, but when I unscrew the bleed screw, there was no coolant coming. The hoses are getting pretty hot and so is the coolant. Just to be sure. The bleed screw is located at the front of the engine just above the thermostat, right? It looks like a bleeding screw and it has a little "tap" at the end.

I'm going to check my water pump in a minute, just to see if it's working right.

 

[hughqv]

When i bought my car i put a new thermostat in it as it wasnt running warm.

After that it would run at 80 pretty well and in traffic would head towards 90... I was very concerned and bought a new thermoswitch as i thought the fans were not coming on (which they wern't)... And didnt want to get it any hotter than that to check it, so i eventually did one day and it turns out they come on at 92 or something ridiculas... Makes for a nice heater in the Adelaide winter, but for summer i might wire in an independent switch for the fans, it will be too hard to cool down otherwise once it gets that hot!

I assume this is the normal operating temp for TS, as all parts are new and working...

-> Input Craig

 

[Craig]

-> Input Craig

The thermostat opens in the range 81°C to 95 °C and the fan should come on at 88°C.

Chris, the TS does not normally have a coolant bleed. Could you post a photo of which screw you are trying?

 

[chris p]

Hi Craig,

I Think I'm wrong about coolant bleed screw. I searched different forums about how to change the coolant on an Alfa 75 and in one of the articles i found, someone explained that you could get air out of the coolant system by using the coolant bleed screw. But the article didn't say witch of the models they were referring to. So I guess they might have talked about the v6?!

Best regards
Chris Petersen