Hey all, my mates 1.4 engine in his bravo blew up a few weeks ago. Any ideas on where i can get him another 1.4 engine? You recon i should just rummage threw a scrap yard? lol. How much do you think ill have to pay for it? (just the engine, not to fit it)

id get the 1.2 16v the 1.4 is a dog of an engine- fiats worst engine.

bad luck mate

a 1.4 full engine without gearbox should be less than £100. finding a good one will be hard as they're all a bit old and probably on thier last legs by now. a low milage example is what you want. fitting will be cheap for a direct replacement, approx £150-200

if you decide to upgrade to a 1.2 you'll need to also get the gearbox, and ecu, and many other parts that are different (probably main wiring loom and electrics in general) fitting will also cost more as its a bit trickier replacing with a different engine, getting the electrics working is often a pain.

Thanks for the help. Its an R Bravo SX. I tryed to convince him to get the 1.2 16v instead but hes set on just replacing the 1.4 engine, that way he can fit it himself.

Do you think its best to just go looking around the local scrap yards or something? I doubt i will be able to find any on the net will i?

internet is the worse place for engines, delivery can double the price and preinspection or returns is difficult. local scrapyards will probably have loads of 1.4s in, i see them all the time. if there's one in that isnt damaged avoid it, its probably in the scrappy coz the engine died or it failed an MOT badly. a niced crashed one, preferably rear impact, is the best bet. if you're very very lucky you'll get to hear the engine running before you buy it, but in scrapyards they rarely keep the keys, and then there's no battery, and some places predrain all fluids.

another option is the adtrader, people list cars breaking in there. you can find an engine with proven history and you can hear it working. and its just as cheap as scrapyards usually.

I put an enquiry in at partsgateway and they have two, The cheapest is £365 including delivery price and a 60 day warranty.

Ive spoke to some mates who are in some scrappys good books, probably will go looking on saturday

£365!!! you could buy a full 1.4 bravo for that much. then break the old one for parts or sell it as spares/repair.

my golden rule- if a repair is going to cost more than 25% of the car's value you never do it. its always more profitable to buy another car (same car if you like) and sell or break the faulty car.

i've seen plenty fully working taxed and tested 1.4 bravo's going for £500-750 in the past. thats all his is worth when working. if its going to cost nearly that much to get it back on the road why bother. i'd rather spend the money on something else, especially when the 1.4 engine is so crap anyway.

i bet your scrapyard quotes are a third of the partsgateway price

I totally agree with you. Ive seen tons of bravos for around that price on autotrader lol. Also theres this little sub section of auto trader i found last night and they had one 1.4 engine there and still that one was £250!

Recon i could get a decent one from a scrap yard for around £80 - £120?

i've arranged more than one scrapyard engine purchase in my life. if you can pick it up yourself it should be £80-100 with the engine already removed and ready for collection. they should be happy to load it onto a van or truck for you using their forklift. if you want delivery its hard to say how much it will cost, depends how far. i've got mates with vans so i've never had an engine delivered.

Yeah my dads got a van. Wouldnt the engine be able to fit in the back of my brava if i put my back seats down then?

1.4 12v engines blow up due to the stupid oil pickup design. Some moron designed it so the pickup is very close to the sumps floor, and so it sucks up all the crud. Also with speed cushions, the sump gets pushed upwards and this basically then makes pickup and floor touch one another. What happens is all the crud blocks the pickup and oil spray bar at top of engine, and the cam and bearings run dry.It can if really bad, knacker the crank up to. First symptons is a faint knock from the engine or a slight screech.
Recon engines are around £550 from an engine shop. Personally, i would junk this engine and prob the whole car and buy a 1.2 16v. Plenty will be at auction come sept with the plate change, and for around £600-£800, can buy one easily.

Andy.

Sonic74205 said:

Yeah my dads got a van. Wouldnt the engine be able to fit in the back of my brava if i put my back seats down then?

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fit it in a brava? doubt its possible but i'd love to see you try. it would probably fit in the space, but getting it in and out will be very tricky, if not impossible. get the van.

and i agree with sumplug, the 1.2 is a much better choice, and the small am ount extra it will cost to buy one is well worth every penny.

I agree with you, i know two people with 1.4 bravos and i much prefer my 1.2 brava. he just wants the 1.4 engine back in tho.

Funnily enough i found a 1.8 bravo the other day for just a lil more than hes payed for his 1.4 (plus all his repairs hes had on it etc)

there's no real price difference between any of the models. it depends more on age and milage. i've seen a few HGT's going for the same money as 1.4s, and cheaper than my 1.8 was. in many cases its easier to sell a smaller engined model. not many people are willing to pay for the extra petrol or insurance costs of an HGT so there's more people looking for a 1.6. plus the people who can afford to run an HGT are generally older and looking for something more grown up than a sporty 3 door hatch. its all supply and demand. bravo/as are bargains no matter which model you buy, thats why i bought one. i couldnt find a better car for the same money.

there is a Fiat breakers in Birmingham who can do a 1.4 engine with no gearbox for £125 with 3 months warranty

jug said:

there's no real price difference between any of the models. it depends more on age and milage.

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Only model really holding their value are the JTDs. I personally don't think the reliability between the petrol and diesel versions is that bad. Most Fiat petrol engines (apart from the 1.4 12v) seem well built and good for maybe 200k? Guess people really apreciate the extra mpg and slightly lower tax and consumables.