Hi all.
Been on this forum a while but mostly as a non-contributor - my apologies!
However I just wanted to thank Predator for the original post - his clear pix & instructions and the comments of all subsequent contributors certainly helped ease the pain of an urgent F1 fluid top-up.
The LEVEL light has been lighting up the Gransport dash on occasion for a while now (ever since before the last service - my thanks to the main dealer for yet another half-arsed effort!) and now the cooler weather is here it has been lighting up at each morning cold start. A few days ago there was also a reluctance to select first (or reverse) gear when starting from cold - past time for a top-up!
Bloody ****, that is a tight squeeze for my fat little fingers to get access the reservoir cap but fore-warned is fore-armed and all went like clockwork - 30mins start to finish! But what on earth were they thinking in placing the fluid reservoir in such an inaccessible position - surely a remote tank and a few centimetres of pipe would have made more sense? One of the quirkier Mazzi design decisions, it seems.
Bought a litre of Tutela CS from my pals at Cileberti Motors (local Alfa specialists) - I prefer they get the benefit of the $58 (ouch!!) rather than the ferrari/maserati dealer. A small $10 chinese oil syringe from Supercheap! and, I am ashamed to admit, 3 syringe-fulls or about 180mm of fluid to top up... the tank was nearly dry!
I topped up to 1 finger knuckle depth from the top of the filler neck (= ~20mm) - seemed about right and no leaks on subsequent test run - smooth & quiet gear changes are back - what a difference!
No idea why the fluid was so low. It must have occurred very gradually over a few years. There are no obvious fluid leaks at all and no puddles on the floor. Perhaps just a microscopic leak/misting from one of the pipe unions, I guess. I will get my (new) mech to check at the next service - he will probably be replacing the clutch at the same time, I expect. Current clutch is about 50,000km old and obviously worn - but still not slipping.
Thanks again, folks! Great resource!
cheers
phra