[alfa] Front-end maintenance?

[Jon Pike <jhpike@xxxxxxx>]

> Well, I once had a Rabbit GTI where one certainly did separate - this,
> with only the slightest hint a couple of days earlier of a bit of
> looseness in the front end.  Just a "hey I better look at that this
> weekend" kind of looseness.  Unfortunately, it fell apart before the
> weekend came, ruining a tire and a CV joint along the way.  Luckily no
> body damage but I was on a tight corner on an on-ramp to a highway.  30
> seconds later I would have been going 75.  BTW, 5 days earlier, the car
> had passed an (obviously useless) state inspection.
>
> Chris
> 84 GTV6
Yow, Chris!!  Very lucky indeed...  OK, everybody replace all bushings 
now!!  ;-)

I had a experience sorta like that.. in my first Alfa.. in the first 
week I drove it from the used car lot,  I notced a bit of vibration at 
certain speeds.. was slowly getting worse.  Drove to the local Alfa 
dealer, they didn't have anyone free to give it a look, said to come 
back in 3 hrs or so..  it got worse faster.. till all hell broke loose 
during a 2-3d shift.. The driveshaft bolts were loose and falling out, 
and finally the last one went,  leaving only one holding the two flanges 
together. 
The rear end was hopping and jumping,  horrific banging noises.. I 
looked down and my handbrake handle was jumping around loose..  luckily 
I was only going 25-30 on a residential street. There were cuts thru the 
driveshaft tunnel,  the handbrake was cut loose from the body,  and I 
noticed cuts on the foam cladding of the GAS LINES!!  Inside the cuts 
there was the slightest scratch on one of the lines...  I shudder to 
think how few more MPH it would have taken to slice open the gas line..  
or if it went on the freeway my legs could have been on the "cut off" 
list...  Got some welding work done, new bolts,  everything was fine 
from there..

Needless to say,  I tend to keep an eye on the driveshaft bolts.. and an 
ear on various clunking noises..
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