Alfa 1.9 JTD engine

[CJ]

Anyone any thoughts on them good bad or indifferent? I'm starting to (grudgingly) take notice of GT JTDs in Monza trim, they've been spoken about before in a not too disparaging way on this forum in the past.

CJ

[gfalls]

Welcome to the dark side....

http://www.alfaowner.com/Forum/engines- ... td-and-v6/

[colm_mcm]

Drove one and found it a bit weedy. Don't know what hp it was though.

[Mustang]

1.9 JTD is 8v with 120bhp, JTDm is 16v with 150bhp. I think all the diesel GT's have 150bhp. 8v engines can be found in 156 and 159.
I have flirted with the idea myself -the single biggest concern for me is the swirl flap (engine)failure. It's always hard to know if the incidence of this is as bad in the real world as it is portrayed in the online world.
The other usual modern diesel stuff -dual mass flywheel failure, turbo and egr issues
And the usual alfa specifiac stuff -short T belt change intervals, Relatively short life span on suspension components -wishbones, etc.
Later Q2 cloverleaf cars have 170bhp, but the 150bhp versions can easily be remapped to 170 bhp +
Same engine as fitted to vectra and saab 93.

IMO the GT is a nice package overall, comfy, nice interior, stylish,hatch back praticality, nice bose sound system, solid chassis, good handling -cheap second hand.

My mother has a petrol GT, bought new in January '06, faults to date
-The dash LCD was flicking on and off a few weeks into ownership -a quick hook up to the dealers computer sorted that out.
-The clutch pedal pin recall (minor recall) free of charge with no ill effects noticed.
-Slightly loose airbag connection under the passanger seat -resulting in the airbag light coming on when you move the seat (this is another known alfa issue). Now resolved.

And that's it after 4.5 years of ownership -not one other issue. That said it has a very easy life. GT is effectively a 147 coupe, by the time alfa got around to making the GT, they had ironed out much of the build quality issues that plagued the early 156's which perpetuated the old stereo type of Italian reliability.

I've no first hand experience of the diesel engines though.

[Danny Kierans]

i would never buy an alfa. any modle or engine. sorry.

[Sebastian]

I only had a 1 week experience with a 156 00' alfa . I tick it on my ''to have cars'' now ,as Clarkson says but I would never buy another . just my 2 cent

[Mustang]

i would never buy an alfa. any modle or engine. sorry.

Well there's a valuable contribution if ever there was one

[Myfeckin FTO]

I drove the 159 JTDm in Italy for a couple of weeks and found it quite a nice bus to drive - would def have the diesel over the petrol model in Ireland.

My missus' had a 1.6 Sportivo 147 from new up until last year and it was a very attractive comfortable car with good handling and no real problems to report. Would have one over the "white goods" Auris, Golf, Focus etc every time.

[Mustang]

- would def have the diesel over the petrol model in Ireland.

If we are talking 159 then yes I suppose (assuming you can overcome the diesel reliability issues mentioned above) but that is only because the bread and butter petrol engines you see on the over taxed Irish market struggle to cope with the significant bulk of the car. I've never driven one but the 2.2 JTS is supposed to be a real gem. And if it's anything like the previous generation JTS and TS engines I can well believe it. Of course there is the issue of motor tax as well.
I wouldn't discard the pertol engines though, we have a 10.5 year old (bought new) 156 1.8 TS at home and the engine is a real peach, still as lively and rev happy as day one. The 2L JTS, is even better -real character and a decent turn of pace.
But all this is accademic I guess CJ is looking for a diesel commuter box.

[Danny Kierans]

i would never buy an alfa. any modle or engine. sorry.

Well there's a valuable contribution if ever there was one

sorry but its how i look at it.sort,sweet and to the point

[colm_mcm]

Any blanket statement saying a particular make is rubbish can't be taken seriously without back up. A gt would be more reliable than some so called premium marques.

[Danny Kierans]

we have worked on many models within the alfa range in the workshop over the years and iv yet to see a good one. iv driven many and they are nice to drive and fast to.but give alot of big problems. engine,gearbox and electric.all cost big money to repair to.thats just what i see,and know staff of local fiat/alfa dealers and they say the same.

[Muad_dib77]

Same engine as fitted to vectra and saab 93.

I do believe it's pretty much the same as what lurks under the bonnet of my vectra..
..I've read about all the different things that people worry about..but these days it's much of a muchness really.. any car will potentially have a number of issues..

If I was to go buy one I'd be looking for manufactures warranty (not dealers warranty, they can take that and stick it) - in the UK some manufactures do longer duration warranties. My yoke came with 3 years, so when I bought it there was just about a year left. Well worth it for peace of mind.
Make sure to check terms and conditions (transferrable, covers Ireland (EU) and so forth)..

All I can say is..I'm enjoying driving on the oily-soupy-stuff more than I thought I would..