156 blows a rod

[tiger]

Last Sunday while driving at about 40MPH my '99 Alfa 156 shuddered and stopped. A piece of engine metal fell on the ground and there was an oil leak. A con rod had blown out through the block.

I had Fiat tow it and examine it - they confirmed the diagnosis.

The car has a full service history and about 75K miles.

The dealer explained that I needed a new engine and they or Fiat bore no responsibility. I called Fiat's customer care line in Dublin and was told pretty bluntly that

1. since it was otu of warranty they had no interest
2. 75K miles was "high mileage" and they could do nothing for me.

I asked if the car engine was only spec'd for 75K miles and got no answer.

I checked with another Fiat garage and a mechanic reproted that they had heard of a number of cases (while on Fiat training courses) of 156's blowing a rod. Has anyone out there heard of this?

Any advice?

Thanks

Tiger

[Kai B. aus L]

There are some known cases in the german forum. Click for one example.

Regards...

[Dave]

Hi Tiger, looks like a bad time for you, it seems that the 2.0 TS is a rather well known engine. It has seen service in Fiat as well, here it has also been known to do nasty things to the block as well. See if your dealer or even Alfa will meet half way, regards the finances.

Dave