Alfa Romeo 147 GT rear shock removal and replacement

[@proooooost]

Yes! Drove over a speedbump and instantly got the rotten shocker certificate ! Looked allright earlier on inspection. So when doing so, better give it solid wacking with a hammer like Neil said in another video.

[@Goc67]

Thanks to your videos I might dare to buy a 156. This job is easy enough and straight forward. Keep it up.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Go for it. 156 review coming in the next few weeks.

[@-na-nomad6247]

The 156 is a great car, I've had one for years before getting the 147, I miss the reliability and the stability of the 156.

[@Goc67]

-]Na[-NoMaD Aren’t they more or less the same car?

[@-na-nomad6247]

@@Goc67 Very similar indeed, I had the 2001 156 TS (1.8) and now I have the 2007 147 jtdm, th chassis is basically the same but the 147 although a lot faster than the 156, it feels very light, you can't trust it at high speeds which is why I want to put aftermarket suspension on it, the electronics on the 147 failed me a lot in 6 month while the 156 never did in two years.

[@Imperfectgarden]

Another great video! I see now that this is something that I need to do soon on my GT, I will be watching your video when I change my suspension.👍👍👍👍👍

[@ItaliaAutos]

Good stuff.

[@SuperHell99]

Thanks very much for this video! Best Alfa channel on KZbin

[@ItaliaAutos]

Thanks.

[@doveronefoxtrot4417]

Had both my rear shocks fail on a 2005 147 literally within about six weeks of each other. I found as a warning I got a whistling noise while driving which gave me the head's up on the second one.

[@ItaliaAutos]

oh dear.

[@timcolehan4135]

Brilliant video, Neil. Followed it to the letter on my GT - thanks again for all the great content.

[@jonnyware9061]

Great video! I had my rear shocks replaced for this reason a few years back. The pans had rotted right through- leaving the edges where the springs sat and was only noticed when one finally started rubbing on the tyre as the cup edge bent down. Noticed after 50 miles motorway driving. Was very concerned it passed MOT only 9 months prior! Maybe the drain hole needs to be larger. Mud and Crud builds up too - maybe it's the rubber bit that captures this crud and the damp and slowly eats away...

[@Alfafanatico]

There is a simple and inexpensive solution for this rusting problem. The bottom part of the plate has a draining hole. After installing the new shock absorber, spray several coats of cavity wax, such as Tectyl ML into the draining hole - it's better to use a hose to cover the entire plate and joint evenly.

[@johncat9261]

Great Content .😀 I'm getting scarred on the amount of things I will need to replace when i get my 147. 😬

[@fatwalletboy2]

So it appears the issue is that rubber pad holding water. Usually the strut lower support plate that the spring sits in has drain holes but you dont always have a rubber pad.so you dont get this problem. Im a big fan of copper slip during reassembling jobs on the older cars to aid future maintenance.

[@Zion-jw3gm]

I had NO idea those bolts got so rusty! tOP JOB

[@ItaliaAutos]

those where easy on this one. total time was 3 hours including all the filming.

[@ItaliaAutos]

yeah they sure do.

[@curlymopp]

Why not use an induction heater for those stubborn, rusty nuts and bolts? Works a treat!

[@ErikAnkan73]

I'm about to do this with my GT. Same car more or less.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Enjoy.

[@richardjohnson3463]

A master at work!

[@ItaliaAutos]

thanks

[@Ghostneocz]

nice video, exactly this is awaiting me on my 156 SW TI, but I will change suspension on whole car

[@mwrj4312]

....not a job for the faint hearted but this is a fantastic video, so helpful. Can't thank you enough. ARB droplinks 😝 I'll say no more!

[@JohsBeemer]

Thank you from the Netherlands. On Friday I give it a try. Hopely the 2 long bolds are not to rusty ! I see you did not use a spring compression tool to mount the spring itself.

[@ZwaanAfghan]

Hoi! is het jou gelukt om de schokdemper zonder veel moeite te vervangen? En heb je trouwens een ‘spring compression’ gebruikt? Ik wil achter schokdempers van mijn GT ook vervangen maar ik weet niet hoe ik de veren moet monteren.

[@JohsBeemer]

@@ZwaanAfghan Ja, hoor. het ging allemaal erg makkelijk. Die twee lange bouten heb ik eerst met de luchtsleutel rondgetold, totdat ze schoon waren. Bovenin moet je het geluk hebben dat je een goede dopsleutel hebt. Ik heb hem gewoon losgetikt met een beitel. Ik heb wel een veer compressor gebruikt ( geleend van de buurman). Ik heb er behoorlijk veel geld mee uitgespaard. De schokdempers heb ik bij Mr Auto besteld.

[@ZwaanAfghan]

@@JohsBeemer thnx voor het delen van je ervaring. Ik heb geen luchtsleutel maar wel één slagmoersleutel, maar ik denk die is bijna even krachtig als een luchtsleutel. Ik moet wel een budget veerspanner bestellen dan heb ik, hopelijk, alles om aan de slag te gaan. Ik heb Eibach veren en Bilstein b6 schokdempers van Autodoc besteld.

[@JohsBeemer]

@@ZwaanAfghan oke, die moderne accu slagmoersleutels zijn ook prima. De bouten van de wielophanging ( de lange bouten die dwars door de 2 armen lopen) eerst een beetje heen en weer torsen zodat er beweging in komt. dan WD40 ertussen en steeds meer rammelen met de slagmoersleutel. Goed onthouden in welke volgorde de ringen russen de stangen zitten. De veerspanner heb je nodig als je de veerpoot eruit hebt, en op de werkbank hebt liggen. dan kun je dat misschien ook wel met staaldraad tussen de veerwikkelingen heen te spannen... Maar dat is een beetje link. HBM Machines heeft wel goedkope veerspanners. Autodoc en MrAuto halen beide de onderdelen bij hetzelfde magazijn vandaan ( in Berlijn en Mullhause). succes in ieder geval ;)

[@uranusneptun5239]

The UK... where shock absorbers rust before they have a chance to get bad from bumps... :D

[@rupertorgan7749]

Thanks for the tutorial and greetings from northern Finland! I just had this problem occur on my 147, fortunately not far from home. Alfa specialists are non-existent up here and I need to give this job to my local garage, but need some idea of worst case labour time, as I may be faced with a 'love it or scrap it' scenario with this car?

[@ItaliaAutos]

hi thanks for watching.

[@tomrafal3655]

Cheer Neil, top work.

[@hotwheels1997]

Any tips on diagnosing bad strut mounts on the rear? I'm having this annoying clunk most audible on deep potholes. Everything else on the rear looks in order.

[@jonnyware9061]

Looking at my 147 shocks recently - my 'Bump stops' at the top of the shocks (inside the long concertina dust covers) - one has disappeared and the other badly worn. 21 years old mind! Maybe it's because of this? I can get hold of replacement bump stops cheaply enough but it would mean taking out the shock. So annoying!

[@dcm2926]

Put a front shock in and it's now sitting about 40 degrees out of line with forks? Any ideas?

[@Sean-tn5nv]

my GT has exactly this. spring and spring seat fell all the way down. Ripped tyre apart. Was only going slow thankfully. Should I replace both sides spring and shock you think? Any other parts I should order from shop4parts? Thanks alot

[@markwhiting9831]

Hi Sean. Happened to my 147 today. I shall replace both sides. Quite a frightening experience......

[@jonnyware9061]

Oh no! My 147 did this but it was a slow rot. I only realised when one of the shock cups was burning a groove in the tyre. Was doing motorway speeds but had no idea! What I've recently found out that the 'bump stops' (inside the long concertina dust covers at the top of the shocks) one is mostly missing and the other badly worn. Had my shocks replaced only a few years ago and the bump stops hadn't been noticed - maybe they weren't as bad back then but the one that was on the shock that gave way and bent is mostly worn away so I wish it was noticed at the time. If I need to replace them now - I'll have to remove the shocks too! Definitely replace both sides. Always do these sorts of things for both sides. Tyres, brakes, shocks etc. I don't know the condition of your springs but my ones were re-used with the new shocks. Maybe the drop links mentioned here could do with replacing I don't know. my ones seem ok but I noticed the top ones the dust caps are split - probably when mechanic replaced them I don't know. Shop4 Parts - great shop! Very good service from them. They do engine oil at a great price too - half price of most stores and delivered. Join alfaowner.com to get the 10% discount code from them too!

[@joelrohaan2462]

Also happened to my 147

[@johnsaunders410]

These videos really are good. (You did TS cambelt) a few years ago. I need to change my shockers soon as I think they are there from New! I just tried cure a bad clunk by replacing trailing arm.....clunk still there! Is it common for top mounts to fail? I looked in from the top and removed the nut and first rubber disk but all rubber looks good. Bushes underneath are old but look healthy. Very frustrated! Perhaps you should do a video on clunk and rattle tracing?!!!

[@ItaliaAutos]

cant give all my secrets away lol. yes top mounts can go. :-)

[@jimmallinder2507]

Gah my N/S just went, knew exactly what it was as soon as it happened, no warning either, clunks etc, luckily I was at low speed and yards from my house. It would shred a tire in no time if it happened on the motorway.

[@Fs_Media]

Hi Neil, I want to put new springs on my 147, would you recommend re-doing all the top mounts as well?

[@ItaliaAutos]

I would

[@ds1868]

The title should include the 156 as it's exactly the same.

[@ArmySigs]

WHat does that top cover thingy actually do? I thought it was to hold the strut in but on my car it doesn't even touch the bodywok, it just floats above the strut seemingly doing nothing??

[@capta1nher0]

You make it look easy but sadly as I am only qualified to use hammers I would end up with an even more broken car. Any opinion on aftermarket shocks, I was looking at Koni Special Actives (FSD) with H&R springs on my GT

[@kevinoleary6906]

Just about to have this done on my GT. parts have just arrived from Alfa Workshop. What do you think of the idea I have to spray the spring pan with Waxoyl?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Inside it yes.

[@jonnyware9061]

​@@ItaliaAutos I was just going to ask you what preventative measure I could do for those spring pans/ cups; I thought grease or wax could possibly drop onto the tyre... But looking again the drain hole misses that... Is there anything I can apply/ spray in this area with the shocks and springs in place? Wheel is off and jacked up - I can't really get under the spring and rubber - I haven't got spring compressors. I have got a load of large Zip-Ties though that might work!..

[@gabifilip9976]

Thanks for information!👍❤

[@hotwheels1997]

Hey Neil, great tutorial - I actually decided to tackle this myself after a lot of problems with garages. As I don't have an impact, is it necessary to counter the damper rod while tightening the donuts in the boot? I'm afraid it might loosen the bolt on the top mount itself if I don't do it but it's much more of a hassle to use an allen and tighten the bolt by hand at the same time.

[@ahmet6144]

Did you find an answer?

[@hotwheels1997]

Ahmet At the end a garage did the work for me

[@ahmet6144]

@@hotwheels1997 I'm gonna attempt it myself tomorrow 😑 I hope I dont run into any problems but I'm very doubtful. Omw to Oxford to pick up some parts then I'll get my prep done tonight for my attempt in the morning. Wish me luck

[@medox88]

well i have done everything in the same order extra carefully. the lower arm bolt broken in the middle impossible to hammer out even in 2 pieces. Any idea to get rid of this nightmare (apart from selling the car)?

[@ItaliaAutos]

not an easy one just lubricate and punch it out.

[@sanderdelange4468]

Hi Neil. How long would changing one shock absorber normally take? Yesterday I checked the shocks on my second hand Alfa 147 and the rear left seems to have been replaced already. Rear right has rust on it so I want to have it replaced before it snaps. I was quoted a whopping 420 euros to have one of these changed. I can get the part for around 75 euros which leaves 345 euros. Will it really take 3,5+ hours to change one of these?

[@ItaliaAutos]

If all goes well 1 hour. But I'd happily charge 2 hours if needed.

[@sanderdelange4468]

@@ItaliaAutos thanks for the quick reply! So you'd agree that 420 is a bit much?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Yep.

[@silvertaxi]

Nice vid

[@ItaliaAutos]

thanks

[@peterboot7120]

Mine next week 2 Newe shoks 😳

[@simong8114]

What manufacturer would you recomend for rear shocks, mines just collapsed, on a Ducati corse. Thanks

[@ItaliaAutos]

I always buy mine from shop4parts.

[@chrisrichmond403]

Can I ask .. Did you replace the coil spring as well ??

[@-na-nomad6247]

Alfa family, I would like to get adustable shock absorbers for my 147 (FL, 2007 model), any advice as to what I should look out for ? traps or mistakes I should make sure not to fall into ?

[@ItaliaAutos]

Sorry not fitted many sets. Couldn't really advise.

[@-na-nomad6247]

@@ItaliaAutos Thanks for the reply, I'll keep you informed if I find any information.

[@Tboi2206]

Roughly how much does this cost to repair? I've just had this happen to my 147.

[@ItaliaAutos]

1-2 hours labour plus parts.

[@ikra]

Happened to both my GT and 147 (doing 70 on the motorway). Never buying an Alfa again, piss poor quality suspension components either made of cheese or rust. It's a dangerous failure mode.

[@ItaliaAutos]

ikra yes susp components are not the best

[@milanhanko4749]

Hi, I have problem with my 2004 Alfa 156 SW: Left rear wheel has quite big negative camber, which looks horrible, the right wheel seems to be ok. Do you know how to solve this issue, because camber alignment isn't possible on Alfa 156. I'll be grateful if you know how to solve it.

[@ItaliaAutos]

Milan Hanko prob a worn shocker top mount

[@milanhanko4749]

@@ItaliaAutos Thanks, I hope it will solve my problem.

[@opskier2]

@@milanhanko4749 You can modify your shock mount for get some negative camber. You only have to make the hole of the upper screw of the base a slide to be able to regulate it.

[@alfajohn9942]

Happened to mine a few days ago

[@SmartAutoBodyRepair]

You never put the insulation back in lol,, Ive just spent nearly five effing hours trying to get the nuts off the worst being the bottom one and that stupid thing on the control arm, went and borrowed an impact gun but believe me its worth just paying someone because tomorrow I have to put the new one back on grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...great video though

[@vladimirart758]

147 gtA

[@nguygile5025]

Bad vidéo, no see anything

[@ItaliaAutos]

Video works fine for me

[@nguygile5025]

@@ItaliaAutos ok bro'. Is it good