[alfa] 164 manual transmission repair

[Linda and Don Brubaker <ldbrubaker@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I read the post from the fellow who had the manual transmission replaced on 
his 164.  I think that there should be a distinction made between and 
expensive repair and an expensive mechanic.  Al Promisco at Italia 
Automobili in Northbrook Illinois did the work.  Although an Alfa/Ferrari 
specialist, he is currently working on my 300ZX as I trust him that much.
A few important points need to be made about that repair.  First, I 
understand that the current owner has had the car for roughly 2000 
miles.  When he brought it to Al, the car could not be shifted into any 
gear.  Al had to remove the transmission and begin the process of trying to 
determine what was wrong.  What he found was a mess.  Apparently someone 
else had been into the transmission relatively recently as all of the 
bolts/connections were easily removed.  One of the case sections was 
cracked and someone had tried to JB weld it.  The "crack" was large enough 
that some of the JB weld was injected inside the case.  Al's analysis 
suggests that some of the JB weld broke loose, began bouncing around inside 
the transmission, and eventually caused one of the ball bearings that was 
part of a sliding gear cluster to come adrift.  I saw the transmission 
after it was dismantled.  Every gear had some chips/chunks knocked out of 
some of the teeth, there were gouge marks in the transmission case where 
pieces of something was grinding away at the case, there were other 
evidence of major damage inside the transmission.
The transmission was for the most part destroyed.  Many of the internal 
gears, etc are NLA from Alfa. As a consequence, repair was out of the question.
As there were so few manual  transmission cars sold by Alfa, and the manual 
transmissions are generally reliable, there are essentially no spares 
available in this country.  Al through his extensive knowledge/connections 
was able to find and obtain what was represented as a good used 
transmission.  Even after getting the transmission, he had to "bench test" 
it to ensure that it was as represented.  He then had to install the 
transmission, reconnect and adjust all the appropriate connections and then 
test the car to ensure that it was truly worthy of returning to the customer.
Replacing the transmission on a 164 is not as simple or as easy as 
replacing the transmission in your Spider.  It is a complicated affair on a 
164.
Please understand that despite his last name, Al has a very Teutonic 
attitude about his work.  He is known as a perfectionist and suffers fools 
poorly.  He is valued by many Porsche owners for his diligence and 
expertise.  He is also honest and reliable.  Experienced, talented 
mechanics are difficult to find.  They deserve to be paid well.  I think 
Al's hourly rate is below average.
At our monthly Alfa owners club meeting tonight, I was relating the story 
to one of our member and he told me that his Ford Probe had almost $3000 
worth of work done on it just trying to diagnose and fix a poorly running 
engine and he thinks the shop lost money on the deal given all the time 
they spent on it.
With all this in mind, I would again say that you have to separate an 
expensive repair from an expensive/overpriced mechanic.
Despite the great price that the owner paid for the car (maybe there was a 
reason!), a 164 is on the same level as a 3 series BMW in terms of features 
and complexity.  It ain't cheap to repair!!!  If you want that mechanic 
there to work on your car in 6 months or answer a question on the 
phone(that you never pay him to answer) then realize that you have to pay 
him enough to survive.  You also are paying to 30 years of experience and 
knowing how to do these things right the first time.  Joe Salami at the 
corner gas station has no idea.  These are becoming rare cars.  Repairs on 
rare cars are not cheap. (Ask a Ferrari owner.)  I would guess after seeing 
the work involved and the trashed transmission that the owner got a superb 
price despite his complaints.
I had told him going in that Al was good, and this was not likely to be cheap.
Don
69 GTV
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