Learn me, or better yet, talk me down! Alfa Milano

ncjay wrote: Alyssa Milano or an Alfa Milano?

When I scanned the title posts I thought of the same thing. That's one HOT 40 year old!

I can't lie I always watched "Who's the Boss" watching her grow up on TV!

So I managed to contact the owner, despite the expired listing. I might be going check it out this afternoon. If I get it, I'll be dumping the SAAB.

I don't know if you guys are good or bad influences.

BTW, am I the only one that thinks it odd that there are two Alfa threads going, and Alfadriver hasn't made a single appearance ?

I hope you get it. If it hasn't suffered too much neglect, it'll be a great car.

What are the problem areas that I should watch out for?

Where does the rust like to hide on these?

How should the gear shift action feel?

Any specific noises that indicate trouble, like gear whine or specific pops, cracks, creaks and rattles?

In reply to HappyAndy:

Rust at the bottom corners of the wheel wells. Behind the fender flares if it's a verde. Under the trunk lid above the rear lights. Others will have to chime in here. I don't have much experience with rust.

Watch out for the AC/Heat fan. Leaves get down into the airbox and land on the resistor. Fire ensues!! Good fans are hard to find. Listen for whining.

Shifter will feel like crap compared to almost anything else. Pay attention to grinding going into 2nd gear.

Timing belt will need to be changed immediately if there is no record.

Good interior parts are hard to come by. Door handles, door panels, headliner, etc are problem parts.

Speedo and tach seem to be problem areas. Mine is highly inaccurate regardless of the work I've done to them.

Power steering pump is prone to need rebuilding and hoses tend to leak due to age. Steering rack seals also go bad. It can be changed to manual steering if you like.

ABS on Platinum and Verdes are a problem. Non ABS is more desirable in my mind.

Noisy clutch throw out bearing isn't so good, other than that bad noises mostly shouldn't be serious. Expect driveshaft vibration, but check the flex discs too. Check for rust behind the trunk reflector strip too. Test the heater fan but do it on high only, that way the resistor won't get hot and start a fire. If its an 87, there was a recall on the headlight switch so see if the high beams work. Someone got creative with mine and they didn't. A faint roaring sound from the back of the car when you restart it when its warm is normal from dumping the fuel in the return back into the tank. The auto parts stores spec the wrong p/s belt (an inch too long) so if the motor mounts are worn the pulley on the p/s pump will hit the metal pressure line bracket and make a terrible noise when you break hard. If I think of more stuff to check I will add it later.