Re: My Alfa (Spider)

[C2slayman@domain.elided]

Sam,
       Congratulations on your new (to you) Spider!

> Date: Thu, 13 Mar 2003 11:02:20 -0800
> From: Sam Kass <samkass@domain.elided>
> Subject: My Alfa
> 
>   Greetings,
>     I am a relatively new Alfa owner out here in Sunnyvale, CA-- a black 
> 1988 Spider Graduate.  

   The List (edit to what I can answer):
> 
> 3. The passenger's side seat won't slide forward or back.  It seems 
> stuck somewhere underneath... the shop manual says that to work on it 
> you should remove it... and to do that you should slide it forward and 
> back to remove screws...
> 
The tracks tend to rust and collect gunk.  Hit both tracks with WD40 or 
antiseize compound.  Then have someone sit in the seat and pull the releas up 
while you get behind (with the top down) and push the back with your feet.
      
   4. One bolt is missing in the soft top frame.  I don't know the spec on 
> these bolts to get a replacement.  Would OSH have such a thing?  The top 
> works but is sometimes squeaky near that point.
> 
Yes.  Or Mr Metric in San Jose has a large metric selection.

  > 7. Heater fan switch broken.  I opened it up and it's a really stupidly 
> designed switch inside... I assume they must break a lot.  Is this the 
> type of thing a repair shop will have a bin of?
> 
Yes.  Spider switch gear is not bullet proof.  But I've never had a problem 
on my '89 with 190K miles.  Sometimes you can take it apart, clean it and 
reassemble.  If broken too badly, you'll need a new one.  It might be a 
generic three position rocker switch, I'm not sure.  Check out the shelves at 
AutoZone or PepBoys.  Otherwise, APE should have plenty of used ones.  Or new 
ones local to you at
    Alfa Romeo Parts in Berkeley 510-525-9435
    Rosellis in San Jose 408-297-0303
    Silicon Valley Performance  in Palo Alto 650-494-1785
   
   8. "Clunk" when shifting into 1st and 3rd sometimes.  It seems to come 
> from under the car a little rear of center, and I can feel it in the 
> stick.  Is this just me being a heavy-handed newbie, or something more 
> ominous?
> 
Probably being a heavy handed newbie.  The Spider syncros are weak at best.  
Linkage is positive and precise.  But syncros are underdesigned.  I always 
shift briefly into 2nd before putting in 1st at a stop.  I also use the 
gearshift lightly to feel the syncros between gears.  They don't like to be 
man-handled.  Develop a feel for how they are working.  

Make sure you've got the right fluid in the transmission.  Drain the 
transmission and refill with factory specified Shell Spirax HD 80W/90 to be 
on the safe side - available in cases of 12qt bottles from local Shell 
retailers.  Redline synthetic MTF or ATF will give smoother shifting - but 
watch for leaks.  Some on the digesti swear by Spirax, some swear by Redline 
MTF.  You can try both out.  It's not a big job or expensive to experiment 
with one and then shift to the other.

Also, make sure the clunk is not coming from slop in the driveshaft or (very 
likely) differential.  If it's the syncros, you'll feel it from the gear 
shift.  If its ring gear backlash, you'll hear it in the rear parcel shelf 
area.

   9. I noticed blue smoke one day accelerating out of stop and shifting to 
> 2nd, but I can't reproduce it again.  It doesn't seem to be the seals.  
> (I can accerlate hard, lift my foot off the gas a bit, then floor it 
> again and no blue cloud, which I'm told is the test for this.)  Is this 
> just normal sometimes?  Was I driving it too cold?  (The car had been 
> going more than 5 minutes but not much more)
> 

If you can't reproduce it, don't worry about it.

  10. Brakes squeal.  Guess I need new pads.

Pad replacement is easy.  Check pad thickness.  Make sure  recess in pistons 
are correctly oriented.  I think there are diagrams in the Owner's Manual  
that you can use to eyeball the alignment.  Jim Steck might have alignment 
plates left over from a build he did about a year ago if you want more 
precision.  Sometimes antisqueal compound between the pad and piston  
eliminates squeal.  But I've never found this to be necessary.


> 11. Floor lights.  It gets kind of dark at night or in a closed garage, 
> and the only internal lights that work are the gauge lights in the dash.
> 
Get new bulbs for the driver and passenger footwell.

    12. Glove box cover is separating into two parts and sometimes doesn't 
> close securely.
> 
Yep.  Mine too!  Check APE  in Tracy.  Not sure if any of the Digest 
Adertisers carry new parts.

   13. Sun visor on passengers side rotates down too easily.  Doesn't seem 
> to be an obvious bolt to tighten to fix

    Yep!  You've got a Spider all right!  I think someone from the Digest has 
posted a fix-it technique, but I cant find it.  If you remove the visor and 
pins from the header and then remove the pins from the visor, you can crimp 
the metal brackets that hold the pins.  Don't overdo it or you won't be able 
to fit the pins back in.

Good Luck,
Charlie
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