Alfa Romeo automobiles have always been engineered to be some of the finest handling vehicles in the word. The 164 is no exception, and was generally lauded by the automotive press as the best handling front-wheel drive sedan when first introduced to North America in 1990. Time, inclement weather, and good old-fashioned hard use all contribute to the demise of shock absorbers of any kind, and the original Boge struts used on the 164 are not immune to this gradual decay. This article will discuss the steps involved in replacing the original struts and springs.
Of course, you could replace your stock struts with original parts. The Boge struts are quality units, and wouldn't be a terrible replacement solution. For those of you with the electronically controlled struts, it is your only option IF you want to retain the cockpit adjustable feature (but hold onto your wallet when you hear the price for these!). The yellow Koni Sport struts I chose are the only externally adjustable struts available for the 164, so this was an easy decision for me. The correct part number for the rear struts is 8741 1149. For the fronts, the correct part number is 8641 1226, regardless of the build date of your car. Ignore the Koni application guidebook which indicates that cars built prior to 12/90 should use part number 8641 1217. This only applies to European cars (chassis number through 06183989). My thanks to Dennis Black and Steve at Centerline Alfa (www.centerline.com), who helped steer me through this mess.
The original 164 springs (especially the fronts), have got Chrysler's late-to-the-game design influence on this car written all over them. Apparently Chrysler thought a European sport sedan should handle like an American 4-door barge, and thus mandated a much softer spring for the North American-bound 164s. When you see the 6" difference in unsprung height between the original spring and a sport spring, it's a wonder you can feel a speed bump with the original setup. A number of after-market spring sets are available for the 164 which are both stiffer and provide a lower ride height. Some of these vendors include Intrax, H&R, Eibach, and Alfa Ricambi. I opted for the Ricambi springs, based on cost, color (red), and positive feedback from others.
Before thinking about jumping into this project, a couple warnings are in order. First, I would suggest an air wrench is nearly essential to complete this project. Go buy a 4HP compressor at Home Depot for $200 and a powerful air wrench for another $100 - you won't regret it. Second, it is critical that you understand the concept of stored energy when removing the front springs from the strut housing. If you don't properly compress the springs prior to disassembly, a flying spring could easily cause serious harm, or worse. Lastly, I would suggest you have alternative means of transportation available if you're thinking about starting this project on a Sunday morning and driving to work on Monday. Things have a way of happening on an Alfa.
To begin this job, you'll want to break the big upper strut nut loose just a half turn or so while the weight of the car holds everything else in place (you did buy that air wrench, right?). Once this nut is loosened (no more than one turn!), jack and block the car up and then proceed with removing the entire strut assembly. This is easily accomplished by removing the four bolts at the bottom and three at the top of the shock tower. The whole assembly will just about fall out at this point. Be careful not to stress the brake flex line.
To remove the upper strut bearing (held in place by the single nut earlier loosened), the springs MUST be compressed. There are a number of tools to perform this task with a huge spread of prices. If you've got a mechanic friend with a professional strut spring compressor, don't be shy about asking for some help. I used an inexpensive manual spring compressor, which served the purpose okay, but not without some heart-stopping drama when one of the two clamps slipped. Always wear safety glasses, put the strut in a vise (don't crush it!) and stand out of "firing range" of the bearing and spring, just in case.
The Koni strut is just an insert rather than a complete assembly, which means the original unit must be destroyed to re-use the housing. This element of the project nearly scared me away from tackling this project, but it really isn't a difficult process as long as you're careful where you cut the housing. The instructions to complete this task are included with the struts, but I'll include some additional points to clarify things a bit.
Reinstalling the front strut assembly back into the car can be a little bit challenging sometimes, as the lower bolts don't always line right up. I've found having both sides of the car blocked up equally does help ease the process, although it's not absolutely essential.
Thankfully, the rear Konis come as a complete unit (rather than just an insert), so the process is not quite so complicated. However, the rear units are a bit more stubborn in their removal, so don't count on this being a quick project either. Those of you living in San Diego and Miami can laugh at me as your struts fall out in ten minutes.
To begin with, get the rear-end of the car evenly up in the air and supported by jack-stands or wooden blocks at the jack points (preferred). It is nearly essential to have the rear end of the car blocked up evenly to effectively R&R the rear struts. Unlike the fronts, there is no capability or need to break the upper nut loose until the strut assembly is out of the car. Those of you with ABS, will need to remove the ABS sensor with an Allen wrench.
Now comes the fun. Liberally spray with penetrating oil the two long bolts securing the bottom of the strut. The nuts will likely come off fairly easily with a 17mm wrench or socket. Unfortunately, the bolts themselves are likely rust-cemented into the assembly. I needed to put a "cheater bar" over my 25" breaker bar and stand on it before they broke loose (a 450 ft/lb air wrench was of no use). An assortment of tools were then used to drive the bolts out; my big 40 oz. hammer was a favorite. Take note of how everything is put together and where the spacers are located. A steady update of penetrating oil as the bolts are twisted and banged outward helps the situation (you might want to think about replacing these upon re-assembly). Once the bottom bolts are removed, the hard work is done. The top bolts come out easily with a 13mm socket after the carpeting has been removed - just yank on it, it's pretty durable.
With the strut assembly removed, the upper bearing is easily removed with our old friend the air wrench. The spring compressor is not really needed here, as the uncompressed height of the rear springs is reached before the upper nut is completely removed. As with the fronts, you may want to consider replacing some of the consumable rubber parts. In my case, everything looked good, so I didn't bother. Koni supplies an optional new plastic ring/spacer for the lower spring perch, but it was 1/2" thicker than the original spacer, so I just re-used the original part.
Reinstalling the rear assembly back into the car can be a little challenging due to the number of items that need to be aligned. I found an assortment of pry bars and tapered drifts made a one-man job possible.
Two final notes... With your newly lowered 164, the suspension geometry will be altered, necessitating a visit to the alignment shop. The "Fred DiMatteo alignment spec" for the 164 is zero toe all the way around. Unfortunately, the camber is not adjustable on the 164 without some arcane measures, so the toe is all we have to work with. Those of you interested in an adjustable camber mounting plate, please contact me at bjanesi@juno.com. Finally, one thing to consider after lowering your car is a sump guard. These are available from Alfa Ricambi, but I've not yet installed mine.