RE: My nice new 164 is a POS

["Glenn Wasserman" <glennwa@domain.elided>]

That's a good idea in general, but I'd hate to think of what a used 24v
engine would go for - let alone a new one.

Bottom line, any work on that engine is going to be expensive.
Eventually I'll be able to tell you first hand (knocking on wood
profusely)

-----Original Message-----
From: LLe_2002 [mailto:ltooz@domain.elided]
Sent: Thursday, October 03, 2002 2:15 PM
To: Mcmahonmik@domain.elided; alfa@domain.elided
Subject: RE: My nice new 164 is a POS


Don't fix things 1 by 1 it will cost a fortune. Get a rebuilt engine or
a new one, it would be cheaper in the long run. $1000 here, $500
there... you will still have an 135k miles engine. Find a good used
engine or a rebuilt one and put it on then you know what you have.

Goodluck,

Louis,
91 Spider Veloce,
Sunnyvale, CA.
Mcmahonmik@domain.elided wrote:

>Sigh - advice and sympathy request follows:
>
>I buy 1994 164LS auto w/ 135k mostly all highway miles from its 2nd
>owner. Talk to local ex-dealer, find tech for 1st owner, confirm no
>"major problems".
>
>Within 1 week it dumps the heater core.  8 hrs. labor.  Ouch.
>
>I drive it 6 hours each way to Indy last weekend for the F1 race.  (You

>gotta
>love that sh*t.)  On the way back it loses all AC cooling, and the
display
>for the climate control flakes out so you can't tell what setting it's
at.
>
>THAT'S THE GOOD NEWS!!
>   When I take it in to check for freon leaks they show me the serious
>oil
>leak in the right front region.  Like from somewhere under the timing
belt
>covers where you can't see much.  So much oil that I'm 2 quarts low,
and the
>problem can't be easily (or cheaply) diagnosed.
>
>Question:   Where in the right front would a 164LS leak oil?!?
>The tech's guess was the cam seals.  Ouch.  Expensive.  Any other
>likely
>places?
>
>Question #2:  how dangerous is "waiting to see" how much oil I use or
burn
>from here on?   Sure, it depends on what the problem is, but oil on the

>timing belt can't be good in my book...
>
>Question #3 (rhetorical) : when do I admit that either I bought a
>lemon, or
>that Alfas in the 90s turned into the caricature of the unreliable
Italian
>car?  Maybe Alfa left the US market because the 164 drove it out...
Or
>maybe I'm just unlucky and bitter...
>
>Peace,
>-mike
>86 graduate (a real Alfa)
>94 168 ( a real pain)
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