just got s2 thema on road after mot

[dalsthema16v]

hello,i have just got an s2 thema auto back on the road after buying it with a 2 days mot left on it last year but due to the previous owner having it 10 years it had a lot of money spent on it so the engine is very strong all it needed for the mot was new calipers on the front a indicator bulb and new wipers so £250 well spent,however since its been on the road it seems to crash and bang on the rear suspension a lot speed bumps are a no no and its got so bad the rear exhaust hangers broke so as i am new to this car whats gone wrong? and does anyone know what alloys are suitable for the thema many alfas and fiats seem to share the same offset but i need to replace the tired originals and there seems to be a lot of fiats and alfas wheels to choose from mine are 4 stud.thanks a lot for any help.
darren

[Angle Grinder]

Hi Darren,

I think your problem is unlikely to be your wheels, but if it is then contact the Thema Dedra Consortium as they have a stack of 14" alloys for Themas. www.lancia-tdc.co.uk although they will need refurbishment.

I would suspect that the rear suspension crash is the bushes in the trailing (panhard) arms. Usually they go at the front bush and you can detect this by jacking up the car and grabbing the arms. If they are really bad you will be able to wiggle them by hand, but try inserting a large flat headed screwdriver and see how much play you get.

Other bits that might cause the banging would be worn dampers, unlikely if you passed an MoT, OR the bush at the top of the strut.

These bushes are getting hard to find these days so you might need to get Nylatron inserts made.

[HF_Dave]

Hi Darren, Any  fiat 4 stud 98mm offset will fit a thema. all series 2 and some series 3 Themas ran on 14"x6". The seris 2 turbo and series 3 turbo were fitted with 15"x6". I still think the origional design from the series 2 looks best and you can re-furb them yourself, it takes abit if time to remove the peeling laquer and then sand the alloy and polish them with metal polish. I did this wth my own Thema series 2 withgreat results. If you like I could expand on this further. David.

[dalsthema16v]

thanks mike and david for your help,turns out both the top mount bushes are shot and 1 shock absorber on the drivers side is leaking which also explains where the annoying rattle was coming from! i have managed to find a supplier for new bushes so heres a shameless plug to zagato lancia in london,i have 2 spare alloys in the garage so i will give the refurb a go on those first.
thanks again
darren