Re: Oil filter change - Spider

[Scott Fisher <sefisher@domain.elided>]

For the benefit of Rob Jackowitz (who asked) and other new Spider owners
who may not have, I'll pass along a recommendation for an easy
oil/filter change.

First: where it is?  The oil filter on 2L Alfa engines is just behind
the front of the engine, on the left-hand side (US driver's side).  It's
more or less directly underneath the #1 exhaust runner.

Now, having said that, how the heck do you get at it?  The best way I've
found is from underneath.  On my '74, there's a battery tray and an
exhaust header pipe that make it tough to get to from above, and if I
recall correctly, the Bosch Spiders have the fuel injection distributor
mounted on that side (which is most likely why Rob couldn't see the
filter).  So I lay down a sheet of cardboard, plopped myself down on it,
and slithered under the car.  Easy to get at from that angle.

In addition, I raised my Spider very slightly with a floor jack, not
enough to lift the wheel off the ground but enough to have clearance for
me to reach over my oil drain pan when pulling the sump plug -- on my
first oil change I dumped about a quart of used oil on the driveway.  If
you look just in front of the left-hand front wheel, you should see an
orange filter.  (At least if they've used genuine Alfa ricambi originale
it'll be orange.)  Oh, and note also that the Spider takes 6+ quarts of
oil, which also means it *dumps* 6+ quarts of oil -- you won't be able
to empty the whole drain pan into a gallon jug for recycling purposes.

I barely managed to get my strap wrench to fit -- that is, I have the
perfect sized strap wrench to go around the filter, but it uses a lever
and there's very little room to swing that lever, so it took a little
fiddling to get the filter off.  I might consider one of those cap
wrenches, the kind that fit over the end of the filter and use a
square-drive hole meant to be slipped onto a ratchet.

Note that the oil that leaks out of the filter runs toward the rear
because of the way the oil sump is shaped, so if you're particular about
spills you'll want to place your drain pan at the rear of the oil sump's
wing.  Or just use some shop paper towels to sop up most of the spill
and then clean the rest with engine degreaser and kitty litter.

I think that pretty well covers the Alfa-specific things; remember to
oil the new filter's gasket on the way in, and fitting the new one is a
lot easier than removing the old one (assuming your hands aren't too
slippery, of course).  Final point: use a torque wrench for tightening
the sump drain bolt, as it's a bronze bolt going into an aluminum sump. 
I seem to recall that the torque value is 55 lb/ft, but don't take my
word for it -- look it up (most service manuals will have it, and the
value *is* in my '74 Spider's owner's manual -- it's just not in my
long-term memory.)

 -- Scott Fisher
    Sunnyvale, CA

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