Non Merc.........Alfa 156 issue

[MarkJunedd]

Hope someone can help throw some light on this one. My sons Alfa 156 2.0 tspark has been sat outside my garage for the last 3 wks and today is the first time since my spine op that i've been able to get near it. Basically it will start instantly and idle smoothly but it wont rev past 3000. If you put your foot to the floor it will go to 3000 then sounds really throaty and splutters and dies. Then it takes about 10 secs of cranking to get it to start. Even on gentle throttle it does the same intake throaty roar then splutters and dies near 3000. I also noticed that when I started it up first and sat there listening to it ,that the temp gauge rose quite alarmingly , from stone cold to centre of gauge in about 45secs which is really alarming. In the olden days I would have said that the timing was massively out but of course this is a 2000 Alfa, and if the belt had jumped then it would have destroyed the engine. I have ordered a reader today ( which I wanted anyway) but my thinking is cam sensor or similar. Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

 

[BlackC55]

Could be a head gasket issue. Is the cooling system ok/ pressurised?

I put an air mass sensor on one recently for a missfire issue but that does not explain the engine temp.

 

[jorjXmckie]

Deleted as embarassingly badly spelled!

 

[MarkJunedd]

Didnt think of head gasket but i did check the oil and water and all seems to be where it should be. My boy put new plugs in it a month ago but the issue had started and with his limited car knowledge ( hes a computer nerd) he blamed the plugs. I'll check the cooling sys tomorrow and hope my reader comes the day after.

 

[jorjXmckie]

My guess would be MAF; I had the same symptoms with my previous W plate 156 2.0TS
I take it he put in the eight platinum tipped plugs recommended?
Cam sensor is usually a problem only when the engine is warmed up; but then if it's really overheating??

 

[MarkJunedd]

I thought about the MAF but if i disconnect it then the car runs worse, so kind of rules it out. Yes he replaced all the plugs from our local ECP who are very good at supplying the correct kit, but it developed the fault before the plugs were changed. Also i did say to him a few weeks ago that it sounded like the variator was on its way out as it sounded like a diesel for the first few seconds after starting, Seeing as the variator alters the inlet cam timing,is it feasible that it could have failed in the max offset position thus throwing out the timing?

 

[sweeper]

Disconnecting the maf on a petrol engine has a different effect to disconnecting a diesel so could still be at fault, but i would hook up a fuel pressure gauge, it sounds like classic fuel starvation to me, blocked filter? faulty pump? could be too much fuel, faulty fuel pressure regulator?
As for the engine temperature, the engine will not be able to heat up this quickly even if it didn't have a cooling system, i would double check? are you sure you were looking at the correct gauge?

 

[flango]

Variator on these should be changed at the same time as the cam belt which IIRC is 72k ? These have been known to fail throwing out the timing and causing symptoms similar to those you describe, the other known major failure on this engine is indeed the MAF and you can't really tell if it has gone or not by disconnecting it. As Ollie says check the cooling system is not pressurising and check for the usua head gasket symptoms oil in water etc..

The temperature issue may be a red herring and not related, if its happening after 45 secs then check the water temp on the hoses or header to see if it really is up to temp but I doubt it.

Variator or MAF would be my guess

 

[andy_k]

I'd pop in here

The site for Alfa Romeo Owners

 

[MOR8A]

Call this guy. He did the cambelt and variator on my 155. I will be honest I can' t remember his name (although I think it may be Paul). He trades as ''A for Alfa'' Tel: 07745233472

 

[ca-uk]

Variator on these should be changed at the same time as the cam belt which IIRC is 72k ? These have been known to fail throwing out the timing and causing symptoms similar to those you describe, the other known major failure on this engine is indeed the MAF and you can't really tell if it has gone or not by disconnecting it. As Ollie says check the cooling system is not pressurising and check for the usua head gasket symptoms oil in water etc..

The temperature issue may be a red herring and not related, if its happening after 45 secs then check the water temp on the hoses or header to see if it really is up to temp but I doubt it.

Variator or MAF would be my guess

back in the day when i had my 156 then they (on the forums) recommended a 45k cam belt and variator change - from memory then also there was a 'newer' variator that wasn't plastic, whereas if replaced with another plastic one then it would still be likely to fail..

 

[MarkJunedd]

I will have another look at it today, went out yesterday and the battery was flat! ,so thats been on charge all night. Its due for a belt anyway so I will probably change the belt and variator as it needed anyway, when my son returns from working away so he can buy the stuff!

 

[ca-uk]

It's not a pleasant bill - was about £500 - £750 for a cambelt change back when i had mine.. or are you mechanically minded enough to do it yourself? Seem to remember it was a pig of a job that required either front suspension and wheel off or a sharply turned wheel and some contortion of the body..