One day, I felt that the clutch didn’t bounce back as sharp as usual. Very soon, I couldn’t engage any gear by depressing the clutch pedal though the pedal still bounced back.
Since the clutch pedal did bounce back, my mechanic suspected that the brake master cylinder has gone. By replacing the cylinder, it worked.
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.
4 new engine mount for Alfa 156 2.0TS
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.
Bended top engine mount
All the replaced mounts look really tired
Replaced old engine mounts
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.