OH's 1.2 Lounge (2yrs old) went in for it's 2nd service yesterday, 11k on the clock.

Usual Oil/Filter change plus Brake Fluid change, safety check etc. £187. On the whole did not think it was too expensive. Very friendly bunch at Middleton Fiat, Middleton-on-Sea West Sussex.

Big profit margin, but worth it for a stamp in the book I suppose. Safety check? Pumped the tyres up?

typecastboy said:

Big profit margin, but worth it for a stamp in the book I suppose. Safety check? Pumped the tyres up?

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yes without the overheads the cost to them was about 30 GBP

Now that you've got the stamp in the service book, personally I'd spend a few extra pennies and change the plugs; I'll bet you'll see an improvement in the cold starting/running. At that mileage, all the other stuff should be fine.

I change the plugs in every car I get, no matter how old or how much mileage. Just try not to drop them into a hole where you'll never get it out.

jrkitching said:

Now that you've got the stamp in the service book, personally I'd spend a few extra pennies and change the plugs; I'll bet you'll see an improvement in the cold starting/running. At that mileage, all the other stuff should be fine.

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Is it an easy enough job and are the plug gaps pre set? The last time I a plug change was back in the late 70's!!!

Any recommendations on plug type/make?

chas379 said:

Is it an easy enough job and are the plug gaps pre set? The last time I a plug change was back in the late 70's!!!

Any recommendations on plug type/make?

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There's a very comprehensive thread on the subject here.

The job is easy enough; just a few tips, all described in more detail in the linked thread:

- take care removing the airbox as the breather hose connection at the back is fragile and easily broken

- consider removing the coil pack for better access (just 3 very accessible bolts and an obvious connector)

- a universal joint next to the plug socket will give the slight angle you need to get them out cleanly

- take care not to knock the injectors, which are close by and fragile.

Modern plugs come pre-gapped; if you decide to fit Iridium plugs (and I'd recommend you do), then under no circumstances attempt to modify the gap unless you know exactly what you are doing. The precious metal tip is brittle and extremely hard; if it breaks inside the engine, it'll probably wreck it. Experience has shown them to last at least 50,000 miles, so if you go this route, you'll likely not have to do them again.

OEM plugs for the 1.2 are NGK ZKR7A-10 and will last perhaps 12,000 miles at most; the nearest iridium equivalent is NGK DCPR7EIX.

jrkitching said:

Modern plugs come pre-gapped; if you decide to fit Iridium plugs (and I'd recommend you do), then under no circumstances attempt to modify the gap unless you know exactly what you are doing. The precious metal tip is brittle and extremely hard; if it breaks inside the engine, it'll probably wreck it. Experience has shown them to last at least 50,000 miles, so if you go this route, you'll likely not have to do them again.

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If you've ever wondered what can happen if you mess with or possibly incorrectly install(me) a modern spark plug


I removed it from our old Micra, going up a motorway hill it suddenly started misfiring did not have a chance to pull over had to keep going with a strange tinkling sound, the sound vanished, and ran reasonably, next day was fine bar difficult starting and hesitation pulling away, months(of running) later changing oil, I decided to look at the plugs, when I got to this one I thought Oh my ,,, , I asked our local MDC guy he said if it was still running it would probably be fine, 40k later we sold it never gave any issue, the broken off part was either blown out or stuck in the top of the piston?
Turned out it was loose when I removed it, must have done it up finger tight only and over heating possibly caused the electrode to snap off, a very lucky escape.

John202020 said:

If you've ever wondered what can happen if you mess with or possibly incorrectly install(me) a modern spark plug

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And that isn't even a modern spark plug - it's a '60's technology copper cored steel plug. Precious metal plug electrodes are much more brittle, and much more damaging if they do break off. Being finer, they're more prone to jam between the piston & cylinder; yours was most likely just blown out of the exhaust port.

A little story from many years ago .............

1966 MK2 Humber Sceptre owned by us in the mid 70's.
Absolutely wonderful car, and I often wish we'd never sold it. 1725cc engine, overdrive, all the "mod cons" you could get in a 1960s car. Plush luxury.

It had a Solex twin port downdraft carburetta, and one day, I found it wouldn't start too well from cold. A few days later, there was a knocking noise at rev speed that seemed to settle down to a loud tick-tick-ing still at rev speed.

Eventually, it was terrible at starting from cold, so I took the air filter unit off to look at the carb. It was then that I noticed what was wrong.

The choke flap had become disconnected from the choke shaft and the screws had gone! THAT was the noise.

I bit the bullet and took the head off. Two piston tops were peppered with little dents and the (4BA?) bolts were planted into the tops! Also, the cylinder head chambers were dented too. (Alu head on the 1725cc engine). I tweesered the bolts out and used a scraper to "clean" up the piston tops and head, then refitted the choke flap - double-nutting the new bolts and crossed my fingers.

The car gave us no further trouble, but the sight of those pistons and the head chambers are seared into my brain.

Happy days,
Mick.