Nanglebadger Posted October 11, 2012 Author Share Posted October 11, 2012 Updatethis thing is due a service. keeps going into limp mode on the main roads and motorways when i put the foot down, suspect its the EGR or DPF, gonna have to investigate.price of 90,000 mile service from dealer...nearly a grand.today i picked up an oil filter, pollen filter, fuel filter and k&n air filter for £75 on the bay. score.going to get it booked into an indie alfa guy in the coming weeks for timing belt and water pump. and badly needs some front tires ASAP, plenty of tread, just NO grip, so time to go before the winter hits proper.so once all that is done, that takes care of the 90k mile service, meaning just need to resolve this dopey limp mode bollox.far from an interesting update, will be more of a peace of mind exercise coming up.Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amjad Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 ohh my god!! £1k service? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted October 12, 2012 Author Share Posted October 12, 2012 i know buddy. i've seen that service quoted at £1300 plus on the alfa owners site. its crazy!Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pandamonium Posted October 12, 2012 Share Posted October 12, 2012 Madness. Need to get that boosting properly man Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 yeah, it aint behaving the way it should right now tbh.going up to the folks' tomorrow to meet alan and joel to look at the starlet, and while there i'm going to rotate the tires as the "Wanli" tires on the front are f**king dangerous. plenty of tread, but no grip. so swapping the hankooks to the front, thereby saving £200+.checked with the dealers, EGR and DPF aint covered under warranty...of course, so going to have to fork out to sort those! feck!Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pandamonium Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 Dont worry neither is he big V but got new oil and filter here for her.Yeah warranty aint worth the paper its wrote on Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted October 13, 2012 Author Share Posted October 13, 2012 exactly. if i had £400 i would have the EGR and DPF deleted with a map from J Cargo, however, thats SILLY money, thing is it would increase performance AND economy, and stop this limp mode shite, but £400!!!!! to map the daily! bugger that!what use is warranty when they KNOW FULL WELL what the problem is, and that its common to all 159 diesels, and refuse to just clean it out for u. wankers.Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Pandamonium Posted October 13, 2012 Share Posted October 13, 2012 You would be better off spending the money here>>>>>>>>>http://www.angeltuning.co.uk/alfa-romeo-159-2.4-jtdm-remapping-dpf-removal-tuning.aspx Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted October 14, 2012 Author Share Posted October 14, 2012 lol very true!Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jordan walker Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Been thinking of getting a 1.9 diesel as a daily what are they like reliability wise? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Malcolm GT Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Nice motor, awesome drive and garage. Looks like our folks have it sorted Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 @Jordan - to be honest, reliability on them is a mixed bag. I have only had problems with the 1.9 that i had for a few months, there was an exhaust sensor playing up. My 2.4 has only given problems when the inlet system got coked up. but once i got that cleaned, its been grand. my folks have a 2.0 diesel and have had no problems at all. If you read the forums, they do seem to get the same recurring problems, steering racks, EGR / DPF valve, pins in the brembo calipers, etc. but, by this stage, there are fixes in place for most of the common issues. I'll be honest, I love my 2.4 to bits. but she is not cheap to run. tax is ~£225 and the mpg is not great compared to, say, an Insignia or the likes. but looks wise, nothing touches them in the category IMO. u could get a good one with a good service history and have no problems, or u could get a pig. same as most cars i guess. be aware, the 19" Ti alloys, the tires for these are ~£250 EACH due to their strange size, and the timing belt service / water pump / anti freeze service is ~£1000 from a dealer (or thats what i was quoted), i got an indie specialist to do it for half that. @Malcolm - cheers dude, not that sorted really, just managed to find a good one in the sticks a few years back. I do miss it for the space when cleaning the car, the space down the side of my house just doesnt cut it lol. Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ryan lang Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 no one cares, we want starlet updates Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jordan walker Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 i see, the egr and dpf problems sound an easy/cheap fix but what about the steering rack problem? That doesnt sound cheap at all? And tbf im not that bothered about economy or speed i just want a nice comfy car that looks the part and like you said these are difinately one of the best looking saloons on the marketno one cares, we want starlet updates Lmfaooo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 (edited) a new EGR isn't really that expensive no, some people try and clean them, euther manually or by running cleaner through them. the DPFs some folk drill through the back of them. but alot of people have them both deleted and the car remapped, it is meant to improve performance and economy. steering rack issue would be a concern yes, not a cheap fix, but again, not all of them have this issue. my dad had the 3.2 V6 Q4 version that had steering groans on full lock, but as he got it 2nd hand from a dealership, they sorted it under warranty. some dealerships or even Alfa specialists will offer some warranty, there is a place over here does a free 5 year warranty on their second hand cars, and they often have alfas as they are an alfa specialist. there's also a site that shows u all the 2nd hand stock that official UK dealers have, here: http://www.alfaromeo.r66.co.uk/view-alfa-romeo-models.aspx?crtv=1790242&mview=true best alfa forum about dude, have a read in the 159 section: http://www.alfaowner.com/ Ryan - there are no starlet updates. nor will there be for quite some time i'm afraid buddy. this house buying and wedding lark should come with a big red warning label attached saying "Warning! Project Cars may suffer as a result of this activity!". Phil. Edited March 22, 2013 by Nanglebadger Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Idrees Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Phil, did you get the DPF/EGR issue sorted? I think £400 is a good investment as it'll save you a lot of ball ache in the long run, the DPF filters are nothing but a pain and I'm sure your Alfa friends have already mentioned that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ryan lang Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 awww ghay i know what you mean though, money is tight this end also Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amjad Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Phil if you need your DPF replacing I'd recommend getting it gutted and getting the car remapped. My uncle had this done on his 530d and it's improved performance and economy vastly! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 Iddy - i did mate yes, when the cambelt/water pump service was done i just got a new EGR valve installed and the inlet system cleaned out. as it was so coked up, it was restricting air flow, and kept causing the limp mode to kick in. i would opt for a DPF delete and remap if i had the money, and if there was anyone over here who had perhaps done it to a 159. Angel tuning are the recommended folk, but they are based across the pond. again, if i had the money, i would probably get this done, but i dont want to throw too much money at the car if its not a daily driving issue...or an OEM option lol. speaking of which, i need to update some pics of my boot, i've bought more OEM nets, it looks like an S&M dungeon in there now lol Amjad - thats good to hear about the economy dude, i'm thinking of holding onto this car until my folks trade theirs in, at which point i would try and pick theirs up. the DPF job could turn out to be a future consideration. Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Amjad Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 Yeah it was kind of a necessity, as his was very clogged he was only getting about 20mpg! And a replacement was £1200 vs a £350 job for the DPF removal and remap, kind of a no brainer haha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Idrees Posted March 22, 2013 Share Posted March 22, 2013 I see what you mean, I don't like spending on the daily either! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted March 22, 2013 Author Share Posted March 22, 2013 dont get me wrong, if i had the money, i'd have alloys, a rear boot lip spoiler, and a top spoiler on it. maybe some nice Ti side skirts too. but to do that i'd need to start breaking the Starlet. and whilst this has crossed my mind as it would pay for a good few house / wedding things, i'm not quite there yet. close, but not quite. Next up will be the drivers side transmission tunnel net for holding CDs as there is NO storage space in 159s. terrible!!!! Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted June 26, 2014 Author Share Posted June 26, 2014 Update So, this poor thing is getting on a bit, and has depreciated like a stone in 2.5 years, I wont frighten you with the exact figures. The opportunity to trade it in for something a bit younger, more economical, more practical and a lot sexier has arisen, and the deposit was paid last night, paperwork signing tonight. Costing me a fair whack due to the depreciation of my current car, but all things considered, having discussed it with Mrs Badger and Brother Badger, the financial implications would be NO better in 12 months, and the opportunity to own the car in question is only available right now. Have I bought my 3rd 159 in a row?? Yes. Yes I have. Pics and spec once I have it landed in my drive way, although it will look vaguely familiar to some ;) Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rob_bower Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Is it a white one? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Nanglebadger Posted June 30, 2014 Author Share Posted June 30, 2014 It would in fact be a white one, yes my friend ^_^ Phil. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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