After our first Spider got crushed in a crash, now our new Spider got its hardtop this week. Makes a big difference.
I've ordered the original rear and middel hooks, because we failed in producing them with the necessary precision.. Even with the beautiful CAD drawing found on the net.
Problems discovered after taking the wraps off :
Some of you already gave me tips, but I wanted this time to give a general overview of the itches.
- no water temperature gauge.
- no odometer ( speedo ok )
- steerings with lots of play
- drive shaft noise with each gear change.
I've placed the items in order of urgency.
- The water temp sensor has no wire in it, and the brown wire is nowhere to be seen. Should I try tot find the exiting brown wire in one of the cluster plugs ? Why would one of the former tinkerers make this wire disappear ? I cannot drive an Alfa without seeing he rise of the coolant temp. Maybe I can install a separate gauge if the one in the cluster is dead ?
- I followed the odometer threads till the last line. In the history of the car I found that the odometer and tripmeter step motor had been repaired and cleaned in feb 2014, by a specialist workshop for 150 euro. So maybe I'll have a go.
- I remember that the steering of our first spider was wobbly and tried to follow tracks in the road. After changing to new tires it disappeared. This one has got new tires but it is a handful to make it go were you want. The PO did put a small beautiful Nardi wheel which reduced the play of course. For that reason maybe. I reinstalled the larger original wheel and with it the play increased. I'll have a look down under with someone at the wheel to see where the wiggle is.
-On the bridge I could wiggle the shaft a good inch, but I was told that this is normal. So I didn't go any further. The rubber disc is like new, and the middle bearing is OK, but the rubber around it is torn. I replaced this support piece 2 days before I had the accident with the first spider. When I release the clutch after changing gears I hear an unpleasant "klonk". If the problem lies inside the LS diff then I'll life with it. Until.
On the whole we are happy with this 160 K km Spider, because it is rust free and every suspension part has been replaced in its career. And it is red, and has a black interior.