Transaxle shift lever boot

[Tony Lupton <t.lupton@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi all,

Just thought I'd share the fruits of the weekend's activities with you
all. Task for the weekend was an oil-change on the 90, plus installing a
new boot on the shift-lever to external linkage bushing.

This may not apply to cars with cats, as I suspect the cat changes
things somewhat.

You can do this job without dropping the exhaust !!! I was happy about
that as well, since I'm not sure how my front sections would stand up to
being dropped. I know I should replace them, but there's always
something more pressing (see below). With the exhaust in place, access
to the transmission tunnel is tricky, but not impossible.

Getting the old boot out was no problem, but installing the new boot
looked tricky. For those who haven't been there, the small end of the
boot
is about 10mm in diameter, and this has to fit over the outer linkage
rod fork, which is about 20-25mm across, and roughly square in cross
section. Large things through small holes? My mind entertained thoughts
of obstetrics equipment suppliers, but it was the weekend and none would
have been open. What I ended up doing was pulling the boot inside out
and using it like a funnel and guiding it over the fork. For the last
"push" a pair of screwdrivers levering on the outside of the fork
stretched the boot enough to pop it over. Then simply I simply guided
the boot along the outer linkage rod a bit and pull it back right-side
out again. Relube the bush(wheel bearing grease), attach the boot to the
ball housing, and you're done. Some rubber grease would have made life a
little easier, but I didn't have any to hand.

After cleaning up the bush and relubing, the shift action is better and
the shifter doesn't rattle at 2500rpm in second. The new boot should
ensure that it stays this way.

The more pressing item this time is new front discs and pads all round.
A call to the authorized parts dealer was for AUD 375 *EACH*. Ouuch. Cue
a set of month-old discs off a parted-out 75: AUD 60 each. Non-genuine
new ones go for AUD 155-180 depending on source and currency
fluctuations. Genuine front pads (with the wear indicator) still cost
more than the third-party discs.

BTW in case anybody's concerned, my wife got a good laugh out of the
boot work. Admittedly she was a little worried about it being turned
inside out ...


Tony
1979 Alfetta 2000
1985 Alfa 90 2.5i
The Alfa 90 page http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/7709

- -- 
Tony Lupton                            *           CiTR Pty Ltd
Email: t.lupton@domain.elided         *    *         339 Coronation Drive
Phone: +61 7 3259 2382                  *          PO Box 1643
Fax:   +61 7 3259 2259                             Milton Qld 4064
                                      *            Australia

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