Replacing the open differential and the final gear for my Alfa156 were two major upgrade items sitting long on my list. Among the two, replacing the final gear was the one having the higher priority. In my opinions, the gear ratio arrangement for Alfa 156 2.0 and above is designed to achieve a better fuel consumption figure on long haul trip and a higher top speed figure for marketing purpose.
My mechanic suggested me replacing the engine mount on my Alfa156 as the mounts are slumped, the engine sat a bit low and gave pressure to the bush of the top mount. As a result, I decided to have a lot of things underneath replaced. That include the 4 mounts, clutch, final gear and a LSD:-) Well, don’t ask me the logic behind, I guess that I’ve just found myself an excuse.
As usual, not everything went smoothly. engine mount replacement was the one went well……at least at the beginning.
Since I was not in the garage when the task was done, not many pictures I can share. But the replaced old top mount deserves a closer look. It bended due to the engine sagged.
All the replaced mounts look really tired
With the new mounts, I can feel in the cabin that vibration is very much reduced. Dipping of the engine bay while braking hard is also improved. Considering that the engine mounts are the consumable components, the money is well spent.
Another replacement work that went well was the new clutch fitting. While it is a very labour intensive task, it is not a challenge to my highly skillful mechanic. Some of my friends suggested me replacing the clutch with a more sporty one. I have given it a thought and decided to go with the stock version. I really don’t think that I will launch the car hard very often that requires the extra grip from a sport clutch nor I would modify the engine heavily to add a lot of torque. The stock clutch should do the job well with the desired comfort and the time proved that it does.
November 2014
Since I replaced the head unit with a really nice one, I have been thinking of upgrading the speaker set to match it. Though the factory-fit speaker set is made in Italy, the magnet is really small.
