Spider clutch pivot lever WARNING!

[JeffreyOlson@domain.elided]

Just a heads up...there seem to be a bad batch of OEM 
Spider clutch pivot levers going around!

I installed a BRAND NEW one from IAP and the weld BROKE 
the FIRST time I pushed the clutch in.  

A local Alfa Romeo mechanic also installed another new 
one that same day in a customer's car, this one ordered 
from Paul Spruell in Atlanta, and it also broke while he 
pulled the car out of the shop.

I ordered ANOTHER one, this time from Vick's in TX and 
decided in the meantime to take my broken new one to a 
welding shop.  

Guy did an INCREDIBLE job welding the piece the way it 
should have been done at the factory.  Looks awesome, 
very strong, fits perfectly, only charged me $5!  
Installed without problem and clutch pedal is PERFECT!

Car is ready to go for the sunny weekend!

I definitely suggest reinforcing even a new clutch pivot 
lever in this way before installation just for piece of 
mind and reliability.  The original design seems very 
weak and obviously has a high failure rate.  

The new one I had did not completely break but when 
under load, the shaft would move inside the arm.  I 
marked the proper angle, the welder used a ginder to 
clean up the joint between the shaft and arm, and then 
put a beautiful high-strength bead all the way around.  
The weld was only 1/8-1/4" in height so there were no 
fitment problems with the pedal box.

Later!

Jeff

------------------------------------------------
Get the award winning ISP, AT&T WorldNet Service
http://download.att.net/webtag

--
to be removed from alfa, see /bin/digest-subs.cgi
or email "unsubscribe alfa" to majordomo@domain.elided