thinking back Shadey, the problem i had with my driveshaft was caused by a split boot allowing water in and the ball joint rusting
General Swop Stilo for Alfa ..
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General Swop Stilo for Alfa ..
Shocked to hear about your partner being attacked Shadey. Have the Poilce caught those responsible?
Good luck with the Alfa, that 5-cylinder diesel is a lovely engine...
Good luck with the Alfa, that 5-cylinder diesel is a lovely engine...
OP
OP
Yes the Old Bill have him, I made sure of that.
Ultimately it will be the missus's decision if I sell the Stilo and buy an Alfa as she will be using it more than I. Told a friend how the missus felt and he told me about his fathers 2003 Alfa 156 that was forsale. I do like the 2.4 JTDm and the only "real" downside is the driveshaft problem, as ratty said, caused by worn boots, but all cars have an "achilles heel".
Hi Stu, sorry 2 hear about that incident. Make sure the 156 wagon's boot is big enough 4 you, its very small, not really a proper estate. Also I think its an engine out job for the cam belt, 156 JTD wagon 16v 150bhp may be a better bet all round, much better MPG in real life. see u David
its not an engine out job but do make sure the water pump is/was done at same time. Think it cost me 500 to do.
OP
OP
Just got back from veiwing a 2005 2.4 JTD 159 Sportwagon, nice car.
I'm starting to like the idea of swopping the Stilo now.
I'm starting to like the idea of swopping the Stilo now.
Well you gonna jump ship?
The 159 is a fantastic car, esp with the 2.4 unit, I've not seen a stilo multi up close but the boot on my old 156 (saloon) was quite big.
The 159 is a totally different car to the 156, only some drivetrain components in common, the suspension is far more grown up, and is clearly aimed at the german dominated market, the 156 is a lighter more??? hard to describe really, involving drive, super fast steering 2 and a bit turns lock to lock, a lot more basic in terms of trim too, but for me a purer car.
I had never really sat and tried to work out where i needed to go just as an excuse to drive my car before, and always stopped and looked back at the Alfa every single time I parked it, even after 3 1/2 years of ownership, it never lost that "new Car feel"
The forum to check out these cars (any Alfa) is Alfaowner a fantastic bunch of guys and very helpful and friendly, any questions or pitfalls things to look for or avoid, youll get it all on there.
http://www.alfaowner.com/aohome.php
The 159 is a fantastic car, esp with the 2.4 unit, I've not seen a stilo multi up close but the boot on my old 156 (saloon) was quite big.
The 159 is a totally different car to the 156, only some drivetrain components in common, the suspension is far more grown up, and is clearly aimed at the german dominated market, the 156 is a lighter more??? hard to describe really, involving drive, super fast steering 2 and a bit turns lock to lock, a lot more basic in terms of trim too, but for me a purer car.
I had never really sat and tried to work out where i needed to go just as an excuse to drive my car before, and always stopped and looked back at the Alfa every single time I parked it, even after 3 1/2 years of ownership, it never lost that "new Car feel"
The forum to check out these cars (any Alfa) is Alfaowner a fantastic bunch of guys and very helpful and friendly, any questions or pitfalls things to look for or avoid, youll get it all on there.
http://www.alfaowner.com/aohome.php
OP
OP
Thanks, it is a great forum.
I've been a member there for just over a year, their tuning section is excellent.
I've been a member there for just over a year, their tuning section is excellent.
the steering lock on the 20v jtd is terrible though, a combination of the 5 pot engine and 6 speed box.
The lock is awful on all 156s to be fair, one of the lads on there reckoned the 20v wasnt that much better than the 10v, and he said he'd not pay any extra for a 20v, I'd still go for the 16v jtd if I was looking though.
Oh and when I compared an 8v stilo jtd(3dr) and the 8v Alfa the insurance was grp 5 on the fiat and 11 on the Alfa, even though the performance figures etc are all the same, the 156 (inc SW) weighs about the same as a 3dr Stilo so will be around 200kgs lighter than a multiwagon
I'll jump in here aswell. My colleague has a familywagon 159 JTS 2.2 with 180 or so horses.
It has an incredibly nice sound to be 4 pots, but I think it's based on an American engineblock.
The car is absolutely stunning to look at, drive and sit in, but for me, being 190 cm, the only way to exist in the backseats is in fetal position - on my back.
We just connected FES to it as the engine light came on recently. It was actually the drivechain that had got stretched, so the engine management found the timing to be slightly out - after 70.000 km.
It has an incredibly nice sound to be 4 pots, but I think it's based on an American engineblock.
The car is absolutely stunning to look at, drive and sit in, but for me, being 190 cm, the only way to exist in the backseats is in fetal position - on my back.
We just connected FES to it as the engine light came on recently. It was actually the drivechain that had got stretched, so the engine management found the timing to be slightly out - after 70.000 km.
OP
OP
Stretched?
Can you shed a little more light on it?
Can you shed a little more light on it?
I think it's what can happen to engines with chain driven timing, if the chain tensioners don't do their job properly. After high mileages, chain stretch can alter the valve timing slightly.
Try to visualize a bicycle chain. If you use your bike often (and hard), the chain expands in one direction, and to prevent grinding of the rear gear you must actually cut off a couple of links - until the timing gets way out, and you need a new chain and cogs.
On my friends Alfa, the chain has expanded some mm, and the sensors pick it up at timing is off. Try searching for it, I guess it is well covered. P0016 was the code.
Of course a chain doesn't actually "stretch" the pins joining the side plates and the rollers wear, and the acumulation of all those tiny bits of wear make the total length of the chain longer.
On a machine I used to service we had a couple of pins on the bench that we hooked the chain over to "cut" it to length with, and its surprising how much longer they can get under heavy load.
On a machine I used to service we had a couple of pins on the bench that we hooked the chain over to "cut" it to length with, and its surprising how much longer they can get under heavy load.
Don't forget that the diesel engines run a belt not a chain so its not an issue in Shadey's case.
FiatFleetFamily
Established member
Interesting post here shadey.
I have owned both, ie a 156 2.4 ( 175bhp )and a 159 2.4 ( 210bhp ) sportwagons.
The 159 was nicked in London after a very short ownership, read all about it on Alfaowner.com, shocked a few with the Ti spec.
The 156 was great, had it mapped to 202 bhp, but had to upgrade the driveshafts as the F50 gearbox could not handle 175 bhp in the first place. Upgrades were all done by the tuning arm of alfa : Autodelta.
I miss the 159 SW, though a heavier car than the 156 SW. Other issue with the 159 SW with a 2.4 engine is that the fuel consumption is not that good, 1.9 is better. the latest 2.0 JTDm are the best compromise.
159's are not been built anymore, last ones on a 11 or 61 reg. Production stopped in Nov 2011, so Guilia can be built. Couple of years time, I will revert to a 159, but would like to seek out one with Q4 with Q-Tronic, ie 4WD with Triptronic 7 speed.
I have owned both, ie a 156 2.4 ( 175bhp )and a 159 2.4 ( 210bhp ) sportwagons.
The 159 was nicked in London after a very short ownership, read all about it on Alfaowner.com, shocked a few with the Ti spec.
The 156 was great, had it mapped to 202 bhp, but had to upgrade the driveshafts as the F50 gearbox could not handle 175 bhp in the first place. Upgrades were all done by the tuning arm of alfa : Autodelta.
I miss the 159 SW, though a heavier car than the 156 SW. Other issue with the 159 SW with a 2.4 engine is that the fuel consumption is not that good, 1.9 is better. the latest 2.0 JTDm are the best compromise.
159's are not been built anymore, last ones on a 11 or 61 reg. Production stopped in Nov 2011, so Guilia can be built. Couple of years time, I will revert to a 159, but would like to seek out one with Q4 with Q-Tronic, ie 4WD with Triptronic 7 speed.
It's a heavily modified GM engine: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GM_Family_II_engine#L61
Well i traded up, 1.8 3Dr stilo to 2.4jtdm 159...its a beast.
After remap and dpf and egr removal (including software removal) it returns 41mpg over 90miles at 95mph.
Around town, driven not economically it returns 27mpg. Which is farrr better than a 1.8 stilo.
Oh and 0-60 comes around in about 7seconds
Handles amazingly, only gripe is the stilo was allot more chuckable (hardly surprising tho)
After remap and dpf and egr removal (including software removal) it returns 41mpg over 90miles at 95mph.
Around town, driven not economically it returns 27mpg. Which is farrr better than a 1.8 stilo.
Oh and 0-60 comes around in about 7seconds
Handles amazingly, only gripe is the stilo was allot more chuckable (hardly surprising tho)
