RE: problem with 1lfa 156 suspension

[Martin Jacques <martin.jacques@domain.elided>]

Mark,

I cannot help with a solution at the moment, but I can say that my 166 3
litre does exactly the same thing. My car does not have the original wheels
either, instead riding on Alfa supplied/fitted 17 inch wheels with the Alfa
recommeded tyre. I have had the alignment checked - all in spec - and the
car up on the ramp and a full checkover done, again nothing found to be at
fault.

My best guess at the moment is that either
a) The rear inner wheel arch liner design is not good, and the liner can
change shape over time
b) The rear springs do not last too long - my car has 51k miles on it.
c) The optional (larger) alloy wheels were a bit of an afterthought by Alfa

I suspect a bit of all three to be honest, and my current plan is to try and
source some harder springs. I tow my race bike a lot, and the suspension is
not up to the job.

The car is in a different Alfa dealer today for a leaking clutch master
cylinder, and I have asked them to have a look at the suspension too. I
shall let you know if they come up with anything different.

Please let me know if you find a solution,

Martin.
1999 166 3.0 Super (UK)



-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Verberkt [mailto:mark.verberkt@domain.elided]
Sent: 09/02/2003 16:29
To: alfa-digest@domain.elided
Subject: problem with 1lfa 156 suspension


Hi,

I have an alfa 156 2.0. Under reasonably normal load conditions (4 adults),
the rear tires sometimes touch the inner side of the mud guard (e.g. in case
of large holes in the road or during cornering). The car has non-standard
wheels (7.5Jx16, ET=25, tires 205/55). To figure out what the problem is, I
removed one rear spring
and moved the wheel up and down manually. It appears that the tires touch
the inner side of the mud guard when the shock absorber is (more or less)
completely compressed.
I cannot imagine that Alfa has dimensioned the suspension in such a way that
the wheels have no more room to travel when 4 adults are in the car. So, I
suspect either the rear spring, or the shock absorber (and not the wheels,
which are 1 cm more to the outside of the car, compared to original). The
rear spring seems to be standard (marked with red paint). The shock absorber
appears to contain gas, which is different from what I've seen so far. So, I
don't know whether the shock absorber is still OK (as I don't know how it
operates when it is OK).
Does anybody know this problem, or have any suggestions to solve it?

Thanks,

Mark.
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