Hello all, I've recently acquired a new V reg Bravo (SX80) and have found a fair few faults with it. (So far)
I got it from a family member who seems to have abused it somewhat.

Firstly, the handbrake rocks slightly from side to side. And when you pull it up it pulls to the side ever so slightly. This has made a piece of metal (what I assume to be the cable adjuster) push up against the gaiter and crack it and push it off. Is there anything I can do from inside the car? I've had a look and there seems to be 2 bolts that hold it in place, but there is no nut that holds the bracket down. They seem to directly screw through the bracket. I have not ventured under the car yet to see what is there.

Second, when putting the car into 2nd from 1st or 3rd there is a slight crunch, I read some posts on the forum regarding this already and it looks like a new gearbox.

Third, the front suspension seems to knock when the car goes over bumps. It doesn't do it over speed bumps as they are raised up, but it does it when going over pot-holes or grids that are depressed into the road. It is more noticable when i am turning as well. Is this a common problem? I'm assuming straight up that I’m going to have to take it to a garage for this.

Overall though, it does seem better than my punto which unfortunately took a trip to the big car park in the sky.

Hey there,

it seems you, like many others, have got worn synchronisers in the gearbox. What kind of mileage has the car got as the syncros seem to go at around 50,000 miles.

You cant really fix this problem without replacing the worn synchroniser or the whole gearbox but you can avoid the irritating crunch if you double declutch, although this is inconvienient and takes quite a bit of practise. If you manage to do it properly then you can carry on with the gearbox you have for now.

Im sorry i cant be of nore assistance with your other issues, i have not experienced them myself so i cant give my opinion on the matter!


Ricky

Thanks for the reply Ricky.
My car is just coming up to 75k. I found that double declutching works but is a it of a pain to do. My passengers sometimes wonder what I'm doing. I'll get that looked at when I take it for the suspension and handbrake.

cheers,

no problem. Yeh i get that too...all my friends asking "why are you doing that? Why not just drive normally?"

i got fed up with one and took him to a car park, let him drive i said, "right get into third then shift up to second without crunching"

that was funny, the look on his face when the gears (rather expectedly crashed!"

but anyway i feel your pain and it is inconvienient.

Its what you get for buying the magic that is the fiat :worship:

haha enjoy...

there is a bolt missing from the handbrake lever mount. replace it.

the gearbox needs changing. on the 1.2 models this happens A LOT!

the knocking will usually be the anti-roll bar droplinks, very cheap and easy to replace. use a haynes if you're unsure.

if those are the only faults you've found you're lucky.

Hi there thanks for the reply.
My Haynes manual should be a few days yet so i think i'll tackle everything next weekend. And I think the knocking sound is getting worse now i've done a few miles on it though it is hard to tell, probably best if i look at that first then.

jug said:

if those are the only faults you've found you're lucky.

Click to expand...

argh, what else should i be looking for then ?

leaking sunroof is common, leaking clutch slave cylinder is too, so is rear wiper failure, and indicator/wiper stalk switches fail a lot, and the instrument cluster has problems such as an erratic speed or rpm indication, also the airbag light commonly comes on and wont go off, and injection system faults are not uncommon on all petrol models, and problems with the throttle position sensor on the 1.2 are common. also winter is here so you'll notice now more than ever if you have a blocked or failed idle speed control valve.
overall the 1.2 is one of the better engines, the 1.4 and 1.6 are far more troublesome. so relax

Well, I took it to a garage and got my car back yesterday. Apparently the knocking was the ball joint on the front passenger suspension arm. They replaced the arm and now it is all fine.
Only cost about 70 quid. Dunno if that is good or not ?

1 down, 2 to go...

the arm (wishbone) would cost £10-15 at your local motorfactors. and fitting is easy enough. but garages always cost so you cant complain about £70, but next time try DIY, you'd kick yourself if you saw how easy it is to do.

jug said:

you'd kick yourself if you saw how easy it is to do.

Click to expand...

Would it not involve some kind of sping/suspension compression to get everything back in place when you have replaced the wishbone ?

There is no pressure from the spring at all, it is self contained by the strut it sits in. The only pressure is from the anti rollbar assembly. Is an easy job.