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[illich]

This is probably extreme ignorance -- and, I know Alfa's have quirky ways about them - but my afla seems to be extra tight when shifting gears - can anyone tell me what I should have looked at in terms of the clutch or that area? Changing gears sometimes it crunches a bit or just won't go into gear. I have just bought the Alfa and I LOVE it -- but Im scared something might be wrong with the clutch/gears etc...HELP!!

[Eddie W]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Alfas are notorious for wearing 2nd gear synchro but there may be other factors involved so more details of its behaviour would be helpful. They are also a bit prone to wearing the fingers on the pressure plate. It all depends on mileage, year etc. You can also buy a kit to rebush the linkage and this can make a big difference, also a change to a quality synthetic oil in the box will improve it .
Regards Eddie
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A LITTLE FURTHER A LITTLE FASTER

[Guest]

Thanks Eddie,

I just bought the Alfa two days ago -- these are the things Ive noticed - a strong petrol smell in the car, the clutch has to almost touch the floor and it seems a long way from the beginning to touching the floor when pressing down on the clutch. The break goes further down as well - its breaking but almost touching the floor. In order to change gears it seems I have to almost touch the floor with the clutch - otherwise the gears crunch. The thing thats annoying is that the car is from a very reputable dealer who advertised it as 'immaculate' which I took to mean in every way and which I just trusted - because its used and a 1994 alfa theres no warranty - although I think there are some basic 'rights' I have. Its done about 63000 miles/96000kms[?] and looks in really beautiful condition - just those few probs. Any advice would be really helpful.

[Rob (Perth)]

If both the clutch and brake pedals are going down too far, there is a likelihood that your (combined) hydraulic system has some air in it which needs to be bled out. Easy to do yourself - just takes a bit of time. Even if that doesn't solve your problem, it is worth replacing the hydraulic fliud which should be done every two years.

The petrol smell in the car could be caused by a leaking petrol tank (do you see any dampness under the tank or car?) or by a leaking gasket at the fuel take-off plate/ fuel gauge. I had the latter problem for a long time with my series 1. You can get to the connection point either by dropping the whole tank (a real pain as it is incredibly dirty, and you also have to syphon off the petrol first), or you may be able to get to the connection point via an access plate in the floor of the car directly under the back seat. That's assuming your series 3 is the same as the series 1 - I'm not sure about that. Once you can get to the connection plate, check for petrol lying in the recess that the plate sits in, and check the tightness of the 8 (?) small bolts which fix the connection plate to the tank. In my case, one bolt wouldn't tighten - the thread in the tank was stripped (from new!) and I had to resort to using a Tek roofing screw to ensure the gasket was completely compressed. It is amazing how easily petrol will find its way out, especially when the tank is full.

If you are lucky, it might just be a leaking hose in the filler line, or near the fuel pump, but that would normally be more smelly from outside the car rather than inside.

Good luck.

Rob

[illich]

The dealer who sold me the car has asked me to take it to an alfa mechanic here in Wellington [the dealership is in Christchurch] so Im going to do that on Monday.

thanks Rob!

[quote="Rob (Perth
Good luck.

Rob[/quote]

[Guest]

[paulhide]

Definitely sounds like air in hydraulics. Probably a leak somewhere, but may just require bleeding. Good luck.
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