TYRES & SUSPENSION

18 FULLY-SYNTHETIC OIL

With the oil drain plug tightened, pour 4.25 litres of 5W-40 fully-synthetic C3 oil into the engine. Check the dipstick level, making sure it’s halfway between the ‘MIN’ and ‘MAX’ markers. Run the engine to ensure the oil pressure light doesn’t remain illuminated, switch off and check for leaks then check the oil level, topping up if required.

19 CHECK TYRES

Check the tyre pressures and make sure the tread is evenly worn and at least 1.6mm deep across 75% of the primary grooves (where tread wear indicators are present). The inner edges of the rear tyres can wear and feel like the edges of a 20p piece, resulting in a tapping noise when driving the vehicle.

20 WIGGLE THE WHEELS

With the vehicle raised on a two-post ramp, or raised and secured on axle stands, wiggle each road wheel from side-to-side and topto-bottom to detect play in the suspension and steering bushes and wheel bearings. Spin the rear wheels to listen for grumbling wheel bearing noise.

21 CHECK LOWER ARMS

Use a pry bar to check the three mounting points for the front lower suspension arms. According to Turin Motors, the inner rearmost bush wears the most. Turin Motors charges around £245 to supply and replace a front lower suspension arm.

22 CHECK FRONT STRUTS

The coil springs for the front struts can be visually inspected via each wheelarch (easier with the road wheel removed). Look for fractured coils. Use a soft brush to remove any dirt from around the base of the coil spring.

23 TEST ARB DROPLINKS

There are front and rear anti-roll bars with droplinks on the Giulietta. Waggle the droplinks to check for excessive play and lever a pry bar against the mounting points for the ARBS to check for excessive movement in the bushes. The rear ARB is easier to inspect than the front.

24 INSPECT COILS & DAMPERS

Inspect each rear coil spring from the underside of the vehicle, looking for fractured coils. Brush away any dirt from around the base of the coil spring. Check each damper for leaks and use a pry bar to check the lower mount for excessive play.

25 CHECK TRAILING ARM

There’s a large mounting bush at the front of each rear trailing arm. Lever against it with a pry bar to check for excessive play and wear. While underneath the rear of the vehicle, check the inner and outer mounts for each lower suspension arm, also using a pry bar.