daleyboy

Whats with the, "I'll wait seven years to resurrect a thread " ? This is where we can be really rude about the OP as he'll be long gone !! Im going to take my front wheels off, let the whole car rest on the sump and then post up a picture.........no im not cos thats just silly :camp:

Second dibs, should the first one fall through :thumbleft:

I think its down to too much assistance, the lock to lock on the Corrado is 3.3 turns i think, my alfa is 2.2 so needs more help from the pas. It always feels like i have to turn the steering a lot more in my C to get the same steering input, but it defo feels more "natural".

The first thing i would do is get underneath and do a good spanner check making sure nothing is loose, something is not quite right. Also check your front brake disks are clean and are on nice and flat against the hub, then the wheel onto the face of the disk, when you've got it up in the air give the wheels a wiggle and check your bearings.. Any other symptoms ?

Looks similar, the question is would it fit in the cup on the subframe. [ATTACH=CONFIG]70619[/ATTACH]

I would have said cv as well, the only other thing (i think) it could be is a loose bottom ball joint but that would give you wayward steering or at the very least vague steering.

The first alfa i blew up (my fault, a 145 cloverleaf) and my second the 156 which is 13 years old has been perfect, i paid £820 18 months ago, i suppose the point being if you listen to horror stories you'd never buy one, but they are not true. Alfa's reliabilty reputation was ruined by cars like the alfasud, great car but it fell apart, modern ones are just as reliable as any other car (nearly) but their reputation stuck, which is why resale values are appalling. The same can be said of the mg tf the early ones (mgf) did blow headgaskets too often, but the later ones are no worse than any other car, the benefit of that is they are quite cheap to pick up second hand (good for me) Lots of the problems have been addressed, like dumping hydragas in 2002, the headgasket problems have nearly gone away but not quite, there are mods which come from the freelander which help, but there is not enough capacity in the cooling, as davidwort has previously said. Sometimes you have to buy a car with your heart and not your head, if i used my head i wouldnt have had two alfa's, i wouldnt have bought a 15 year old corrado (5 years ago), im 41 now and want to make the most of my driving life, if that means taking a few risks then so be it, i wont be saying in my wingbacked chair in 30 years, i wish i would have tried this or that, they say you only regret things you dont do.

This is an interesting read for you Wullie. http://www.aronline.co.uk/blogs/cars/mg-cars/mgftf/technical-hydragas-explained/

Dont forget Mr Wort i have had two alfa's on the bounce so things like flickering lights, to me, are just things cars do....... Mr Bowen, i stopped caring what people thought about me a long time ago, the thread is about any experiences or stories had about this car, so i appreciate the story but not your opinion of the manliness, or lack of it, of this car. Im not buying this car for any superficial reason, like how people perceive me, i just want it for the driving experience and to try something new.

What !! you want to use your phone to make a call ?? Are you mad ?? :dance:

Thats the aim clumpy, to be honest i'd already made my mind up, a good story there Mr Bacon quite entertaining, and thanks for the links Wullie, i have already done much research although i hadn't found those links. Thats why the rear wheel drive/mid engine bit interested me you have to keep your self on your toes i don't exactly do a lot of miles anyway, and am a bit bored of front wheel drive predictabilty.

Im not sure many people have driven these cars on brand new suspension, so i based my opinion on what i had with my car when i got it, i have however driven after replacing all bushes with OE on stock suspension. I was expecting people to take what i said with a little pinch of salt, and maybe not accuse me of talking rubbish, although i appreciate your final paragraph Kip. Lets just talk about the money/time factor, what i was trying to get at is that the guy has started with zero so he has to source second hand struts, change the shocks to his choice and maybe renew/upgrade to his choice of spring all new top mounts and bearings, so it'll take quite a bit of work and time and money. Or just get a good set of coilovers for the same price as above, in which case in the future he can set it up however he wants and whenever he wants, point being this is much more flexible. I was hoping this wasn't going to fall into the OE/modifying argument. Like i have said before this is all just opinion based on what you/me know, and im sure the chap can take all opinions and then base his idea on what we all have said.

So women's insurance rates went up to chaps, rather than the chaps coming down to the women's rates, surely just another example of corporate greed ? Maybe we'll find out that our gas/electric prices have been rigged for years......oh no, hold on, they have.

It was a rather tongue in cheek comment about someone actually wanting six feet of ground clearance. At the end of the day its the op's money and his choice, and he asked the question to get peoples opinions, i have given mine. Standard set-up may not be as compromised as other cars until you have coilovers and a arb's then you realise that you've entered a whole new world of what the car can do, i'd rather open the door for the chap, than say standard is great don't touch it, it isn't great, its good but can be much better.

Point being with any "fairly decent" set up it'll be as comfortable if not more so than oe, if you buy cheap coilies it will probably be appalling, mate its uncomfortable compared to most family cars so i suppose it depends on what you compare it too. I have FK sportline coilies and if you set the dampers quite soft the ride is five times better than OE with a 28mm neuspeed rear there is next to no roll. If the chap want's the 4x4 look, his coilies will (probably) go that high, if he want a comfy ride then get some coilies you can adjust the dampers on and he'll have the best of both worlds. If he spends his money on standard then he'll get the 4x4 ride and be stuck with it. To me its a no-brainer, get a decent set of coilovers to get a world of adjustability, you dont HAVE to set them ultra low and rock hard.

Just tell them they are wrong you are right, and walk round the office with your hands in the air proclaiming your glorious victory, job done. It saves all the blokes are better than women, equality blah blah blah, there are good and bad drivers on both sides for different reasons, its all pointless, just run round the office with your shirt over your head arms in the air saying "i won, i won" works for me every time.........

Coilovers go up as well as down, the original suspension is not comfortable whichever way you look at it, and leaning round corners make you feel seasick. If you are willing to ignore what i have said above, then second hand with new top mounts is the way to go, there was a thread on here a while ago where someone wanted or at least asked about getting new a OE set up and it was the same if not more than some of the most expensive coilovers.

I dont know, i think its just a question of taste, and i just don't find the mx5 appealing, doing headgaskets don't phase me i have done plenty. I think a £2-3k on a mg will get me a newer/less mileage example than the mx5, so maybe yes the mx5 is a bit better but if i wanted the best then i would get finance and buy brand new or at least a 2-3 year old car, so the budget is playing a big part, you can get for that money a 53/54 mg having done 50-60k miles you wont get close to that with the mx5. I think the term "bang for your buck" is whats ringing in my head, the mg with a 0-60 of 6.9 is doing that... My main reasons are as follows; 1) Its mid engined, never had one before, i want one. 2) Its cheap, or at least cheaper than its rivals and almost as good. 3) Its quicker than most of its rivals. 4) I have already made up my mind to get one. 5) Not worried about mechanicals, have a fully equipped garage, and the time/patience to do any work.

You could buy a second hand car that'll last a couple of years for that.....

But if i worried too much about reputation then i never would have bought an Alfa let alone two, i would have missed out on a great experience, sometimes you just have to say feck it im going for it, lifes to short eh ?

Yea MR2 not what i wanted i wanted a rag top, MX5 im not a hairdresser or a girl, and its just not quick enough i'll be thrashing it everywhere. I have settled on the MG TF 160 (manual), after having two Alfa's it can't be worse than them !! All cars have advantages/disadvantages and ive never had a soft top or a mid engined car, i have to say im getting quite excited, but i have led a sheltered life..........

I know what the problems are with the car so im going into it eyes wide open, but so many people as you say love them, im only going to spend £2-3k so i could get a much better mg than mr2 for the money (i think) The manual as in gears or the book ? Or both probably....... :geek:

Been knocked off my bike twice by buses, anyway i thought the definition of equality was the equal bit, so im with you your right (in my view)

Lets hope so Wullie, any one else got any stories ?

With the boot out you'll be able to see inside the thing to see any leaks, that'll be much more important than the boot, presumably the clutch is still working fine ?