My 1994 164 Q4

[Alfan]

Great that you got the fuel leak fixed, hope I have also done so on mine (still need to fill more petrol in to know).

Nice touch with the key and remote

[louis_hsy]

i would like to change the bulb for my main key as well, could you please tell where did you find the correct bulb? is there a code number that i can refer to?

[AlfaWhiz]

i would like to change the bulb for my main key as well, could you please tell where did you find the correct bulb? is there a code number that i can refer to?

Sure, the bulb you need is a miniature bulb, 1,5 V, 0,06 A, 0,09 W and you can get it for example here on German eBay: http://www.ebay.de/itm/Miniaturlampe-mi ... ki2vvaiptA

[AlfaWhiz]

Guys, long time no see, I've been very busy lately, having moved and a lot on my head.

Head gaskets replacement currently ongoing. Some white smoke started coming out of the exhaust as I was warming the engine up in my garage and I inspected the car immediately, cylinder 4 had the gasket compromised. After my local Alfa workshop took the heads off, both gaskets turned to be nearly completely gone, so job done right in time. I hope I'll be able to post some more updates soon.

In the meantime I went through the wiring loom to the injectors and coils and replaced the insulation, protected the fuel rail with a thick coating as the galvanized finish had already faded and I wanted to keep it from rusting (not 100% satisfied yet, but it's protected for now and more cosmetic work will follow).

She will get 3 brand new coils to the rear bank as one of them is already bad, and some other minor details as well.

Hopefully will be back on the road soon.

[Alfan]

Sounds like you are on the right track for getting it back on the road

[AlfaWhiz]

A lot has happened since last posting: head gaskets done, new coils, injectors replaced with the newer 3.2 V6 type, new crankshaft sensor, new starter motor (separate story), a lot of cosmetics in the engine finally. I hope to post more details on the particular topics in time.

She is running good, there are however a few quirks to sort out. I hear a bearing noise from the engine, auxiliary belt pulleys are suspected as all others were replaced with the cambelt last year. I have a leak from the Viscomatic group (accumulator, etc.) which started with the cold weather we've had here. Probably pipes need replacing, gaskets as well. Will have a look soon.

The car is parked for the winter, so good time to get those issues sorted.

[AlfaWhiz]

In the meantime, this arrived by post:








Pretty much unused, including the briefcase keys, all the original instructions, guarantee letter, and some TSBs. As you see, a rare module briefcase is included, together with the special TSB informing about it. There is I got it locally and was very lucky to hunt it down.

[alfa east]

Very nice indeed! Congratulations on the find!

[AlfaWhiz]

Some of the photos of the work on painting the intake manifold and front row top cover, for more visit my album community/fotoboek/showalbum.php?album= ... 20Manifold

[alfa east]

Very tasteful! I prefer this over red.

[Alfan]

Nice package and paint work

Does the suitcase contain the Q4 specific modules? MA10A for Motronic, MA12A for 4WD, M30A for ABS (also for 33 Q4).

Any other work left on the car?

[MikeCZ]

Your engine bay is really nice now - I will be aming for tha same colour combination.
What tape did you use for electric harnesses? I would also like to tide it up but I don't want to use something which will "erode" glue from engine heat that it won't be possible to remove it.
And also, what paint? It seems like with texture, not completely smooth - which is interesting and I kind of like it

[AlfaWhiz]

Thanks guys.

Does the suitcase contain the Q4 specific modules? MA10A for Motronic, MA12A for 4WD, M30A for ABS (also for 33 Q4).

No, unfortunately I'm not that lucky. I only have the following: M8B/GB, M1C/IN, M3B/IN, M6B/GB, M7A/IN, M8A/GB, M10A/GB, M12B/GB, M14A/GB, M2A/IN, M21A/GB, M24A/GB, M19A/GB, M12A/GB, M1B/IN, M23A/GB, M25A/GB, M2B/IN, M29A/GB, M11B/GB, M28A/GB, M25B/GB, M50A/GB, M21B/GB, M33A/GB. I'll probably have some reprogrammed though, I know user alfisty here can do it, I'm just wondering if anyone has source with English language?

Any other work left on the car?

Yes, burning points are not working ABS (spare from Alfist laying in a box), serpentine belt pulley bearings, Viscomatic hydraulic pressure pipes (have a leak, will make new rubber hoses). Nice to have things on my list are removing dents after hale damage 2 years ago, refresh underbody coating, refurbish side mirrors. To do in the future will be slight (at the moment) leaks developing from the oil pan and the rear diff (only wet, no dripping), and some other minor points.

I just remembered that I've also fixed my erratic right turn signal, which was sometimes working and sometimes not. Hazards were OK at all times and left blinker too. So I figured when I hit the dash in the area under the steering wheel it would make the blinker to function briefly. I've read this is a common and known issue with our cars, and that the relay is at fault. Correct, but caution: in my car, and probably in other Q4s, separate left and right blinker relays are nowhere to be found in the area right and below of the steering wheel, where they are in other cars together with a group of other relays. Instead, there is a combined, multifunctional relay in the main fuse box area. Can't miss it, it's the tallest one in the left lower corner, has 7 or so legs. Just open it (have to leverage equally from both sides) and reflow the base soldering joints, your problem will be gone.

What tape did you use for electric harnesses? I would also like to tide it up but I don't want to use something which will "erode" glue from engine heat that it won't be possible to remove it.
And also, what paint? It seems like with texture, not completely smooth - which is interesting and I kind of like it

I'm happy you've noticed my wiring job. I usually put some attention to details. In fact, if you look closely, you'll notice that I've replaced most of the visible bolts and fasteners with new ones (including the ones holding the false firewall). Regarding the wires, I have actually removed the old wrap, and most of the insulation of the wires was gone, meaning the copper wires of the loom were shorting between the pairs... Probably not helping with your erratic idle. I used self welding tape from Mannol for isolation (wrapped each wire individually) and to patch up all sensitive areas, also connectors. The finishing tape is an automotive electrical tape from Tesa. At some point we are all due for wiring harness renovation (I honestly can't wait to have it redone at some point), but for now I'm happy with what I did, the quality is very good. Yes, I am very patient.

Regarding the manifold paint, it's a wrinkled finish. It's an excellent paint called VHT Wrinkle Plus, one can is enough. It has a fantastic applicator valve, not of the cheap type, so you can lay it down evenly and thick, couple of layers just so it doesn't drip. It then has to dry for 24 hours, and then you cure it with a heat gun, that's what I did. Wrinkles are always good for this extra bit of surface area to help with heat. I did it because I like the finish, kind of how Lancia did it, but also you can't keep the old aluminum in a representative shape to be honest on a normally driven car. I just cleaned and decreased the surface gently, so I can always go back to the original aluminium after bead blasting it if I wish, no wire brush or any other harm done.

Sorry for the essay.

[alfa east]

Sorry for the essay.

Not at all, highly informative and interesting to read!

[MikeCZ]

I nice post - lots of good information, thanks a lot
I have plans to re-do the wiring harness renovation as well + some other stuff in engine bay during the summer - will probably take a week of holiday at work because of it
Anyway I hope you won't mind if I would "copy" your color+finish scheme

[AlfaWhiz]

Anyway I hope you won't mind if I would "copy" your color+finish scheme

Of course not, I'm glad you like it. I'm very happy with the result, during the last technical inspection once the guy saw the engine, he saw no need to investigate the car further.

While you're at it, it's a good idea to renovate your airbox assembly. Mine had broken rubber bushings and some rust. While you can get new bushings from Alfa, most probably you won't be able to get the old ones out of the base plate. I've fixed the rubber pieces with a bit of automotive glass adhesive, or window glue. I've also used the same adhesive to reseal the plastic airbox feed pipe after having the two halves powder coated. Correct rivets for that are 4 by 8 mm. The correct color for the airbox is RAL 9006 white aluminium.













More photos under community/fotoboek/showalbum.php?album= ... Renovation" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[MikeCZ]

Actually I did the air box already - it was in terrible shape - paint was pealing of it all over the place (also inside), so I cleaned it completely and painted in black (I like darker tones in the engine bay ). It's almost perfect - just in few small spots old paint just did't came of no metter how hard I tried Probably will have to re-do it later on anyway.

[AlfaWhiz]

I also considered black or darker gray, or even the wrinkled finish, but in the end, after much consideration and a couple of trials, I went for the original color which works well for me.

I also tried to remove the original paint, but my airbox had only surface rust in just 2 or 3 small areas where I presume water used to collect. Elsewhere removing the paint was impossible, even with a heat gun, it was very strong. In the end it was stripped chemically before powder coating.

[M164]

Superb reading and great to see another considerate owner wanting to save another great Classic Alfa 164. The photos look fantastic, especially the dealer ones. The shape of the 164 truly is timeless. Beautiful from all angles. Well done !

[lucky]

Hi,what kind of material you use for the electrical cables?

[AlfaWhiz]

Superb reading and great to see another considerate owner wanting to save another great Classic Alfa 164. The photos look fantastic, especially the dealer ones. The shape of the 164 truly is timeless. Beautiful from all angles. Well done !

Thanks!

Superb reading and great to see another considerate owner wanting to save another great Classic Alfa 164. The photos look fantastic, especially the dealer ones. The shape of the 164 truly is timeless. Beautiful from all angles. Well done !

I used self welding tape for isolation, wrapped each wire individually, also to patch up all sensitive areas and connectors, something like Mannol 9917. The finishing tape is an automotive harness / electrical / cloth tape, like Tesa 51608 or similar with different width.

[AlfaWhiz]

It's been a while since I posted in this thread, not much time to recap everything I did on the car, but I do keep a spreadsheet with all completed repairs.

I decided to post here since I've achieved a significant milestone of having no warning lights on my dashboard (at least on startup), after fixing the ABS problem. The only one left is Viscomatic "bad piston movement" which appears only after the car is driven for a while, I'll be tending to that next week.

Here's a chronological list since the last update more than a year ago:

Accessory belt idler pulleys replacement
Accessory belt tensioner pulley replacement
Oil change
Brake fluid change
Fuel pump replacement
Air conditioning refill
Alarm siren battery replacement
Trunk hatch gas struts replacement
Rims straightening and welding
Rim center bore enlargement
New rear hub centric/spigot rings
Rims renovation and painting
Tires replacement and balancing incl. new valves
Wheel center caps reconditioning
Accessory belt drive pulley replacement
FR engine mount replacement
RR engine mount replacement
Gearbox mount replacement
Brake fluid bleeding
Current leak from the battery fixed
Front struts upper mount replacement
Front struts lower bearing replacement
Front struts bump stop replacement
Front struts dust cover replacement
Oil pan seal replacement
Oil cooler and pipes seals replacement
Oil change
Steering rack reconditioning
Tie rods (inner) replacement
Power steering hoses reconditioning
New Viscomatic high pressure supply hose
New battery
Front hood gas struts replacement
Driver's seat height motor gears replacement
Gear lever mechanism rear bush replacement
Radio door reconditioning
Ashtray door recontitioning
Radio door mechanism reconditioning
Leather seats cleaning and retouch
Steering wheel cleaning and retouch
Gear knob cleaning and retouch
Center console cleaning
ABS repaired, warning light extinguished

Now working on a battery disconnect switch, fixing the "bad piston movement" error and some cosmetics.

I'll be posting some photos from some of the repairs soon.

[Alfan]

That is a long list! You are going to enjoy driving the car soooo much