Re: 155, 145 & 146

[Zamani Zambri <zzambri@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I can't comment much on the 145/146. I have seen many in the dealers and
other workshops. They seem to snap their timing belts pretty often. I dou=
bt
the problem is with the cars. I think most owners forget that the timing =
belts
(especially on boxers) do not have infinite life.=20
=09
	The 155s, at least my '96 V6, up till now has been very reliable. The th=
ings
that are now broken include:

1-electric passenger seat refuse to work after some relay under the drive=
r's
seat clicks, when the key is turned to start position
2-driver's door has problem opening from the outside after rain
3-faulty BOSCH O2 sensor (well on my Milano Gold, I had one fail right in=
 the
middle of a SMOG test)
4-hanbrake/E-brake warning light comes on intermittently during hard acce=
leration.

	The car handles really well and the V6 sounds great. Unlike older V6s fo=
und
in early GTV6s, this one has higher compression pistons and updated
headgaskets that don't leak like the old ones. Car is also very reliable.
Never overheats even in humid Kuala Lumpur mega traffic jams at 12 noon. =
And
the coolant is still full after 2 years! And, when I changed the oil, the
mechanic overfilled (a little over max). I thought the excess oill will b=
urn
away, but it's now 4000km since the oil change and the oil level is still=
 the
same!! Is this an Alfa? (knock on wood).
=09
	The problem with the first generation cars is while power output stayed =
the
same or decreased the weight of the car had increased. For example, the s=
eries
3 33 16V has around 132-137 (EC or was it DIN) bhp and is lighter than bo=
th
the 145 and 146 which only has 129 bhp (EC). These boxers certainly do ha=
ve
their share of quirks. Keith is an expert on this. It might be better to =
get a
good 33 16V which is quite cheap and have it sorted out. I once saw a '92=
 33
16V with SZ look-alike wheels selling for on =A32995 at Inverness, Scotla=
nd in
the Auto Trader.


Zamani

------------------------------