[alfa] Water pumps and mechanical tensioners (long)

["AlfaBill.com" <mail@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Dug sed he was having issues with his tensioner...

My real income comes from a Subaru / Alfa dealership.... Now, I'm not 
defending the part, but I have personally installed 8-10 of these and the 
shop has done a bunch and never had a failure. I drive my cars without 
regard to the tensioner (redline sometimes) and have not had a failure in 
any of the 3 Milanos and 6 164s I have owned.

Here's some theories:

The most common thing I hear from other installers is, " I don't trust that 
spring so I torque it all the way and tighten it up".  That could be an 
issue. (ugh)

The Alfa tensioner comes with a bulletin for the install. It is CRITICAL 
that the motor be rotated by hand 4 revolutions. This takes up the slack 
and allows you to re-adjust the unit. I've always done this and never had 
an issue on any of the Milanos or 164s I have owned. I saw one that this 
wasn't done with and saw a bouquet of bent valves not long afterwards. The 
belt had jumped BUT the tensioner had not failed. It wasn't tight enough. I 
also don't use the 5 speed gears as a parking brake.

The concerns I've heard on the Zat unit is the lack of compensation for 
expansion. Not sure if this is an issue or not.

All this being said, can you imagine how bullet proof the Alfa V6 would be 
with a chain? The Subarus have a 105K t-belt interval. But the belt, for a 
four banger, is nearly double the width and very meaty.

Water pumps.

I have had 2 Saleri pumps fail on my 164s with under 13K miles. Other 
vendors tell me this is not typical. Maybe I got lucky... But I will not 
use one again unless desperate. The Alfa unit is about $115 retail, if I 
remember correctly.

Electric water pumps.

I have a good friend who had a pump fail, and asked me to arrange an 
alternative for his 164. I got him the Davies Craig unit with controller, 
(it specs to remove the thermostat and uses pumps speed and a sensor to 
control temps). The first pump failed shortly thereafter. It was replaced 
under warranty and has been ok since. It just doesn't look very durable for 
long term use. There is a another brand that I am working on with a 
manufacturer for a decent enough price to offer on the website. It is much 
healthier design and a more durable design. It is strong enough where you 
don't have to remove the WP impeller for good flow. The latter uses the 
thermostat in place. I like it much better.  Both units retail for approx. 
$400 and install is pretty straightforward. Not for concours types... If 
anyone has an interest, drop me a line.

Happy holidays to everyone, whatever you celebrate, have a safe season and 
enjoy!


Bill Harkell
AlfaBill LLC
Tampa Florida USA
http://www.alfabill.com
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