Greetings!

Represent!

I am so happy to have find fiatforum.com , I aim to donate when I can afford it to give thanks!

I am 24 & I finally passed my driving test last wednesday!

My Grandma kindly donated me her Cinquecento 899i it is going to be 17 years old in March! I am absolutely in love with this car I can't stop looking at it and I wash and polish it every single day I can!

I have never been into hot hatches but since replacing the passenger side mirror myself I felt quite satisfied and I am investigating the possibilities of various sensible mods that are possible. Are there any mods which are possible to reduce the cost of insurance? such as anti roll bar? Rear disc brake conversion? PSI Monitor?

I am totally new at all this and I don't want to bombard you all with death by 1000 threads so I'm going to try my hardest to post all the questions I have here & now and hopefully be able to get them out of the way..

firstly (I used to be a tyre fitter) the car has been standing for a long time the tyres are cracked and warped and when I went to check my psi this evening I noticed on one of the wheels that the person who dealt with it had stuck the valve through one of the smaller hubcap holes making it very fiddly, I went to wrench the hubcap off in the normal way but it wouldnt come away as if it was attached at the centre, my freind ventured that there is a screw under a cover holding the hubcap in the centre? , is this likely to be correct? I am all for trial and error but really don't want to mistake as I love the car so dearly..

second the handbrake has to be yanked all the way up to engage slightly, local 'reputable' garage when I ask them to tighten the bolt under the handle said it would be that the handbrake had seized at the rear shoes and wanted £60 labour to fix this!?!? The guy told me it is an endemic problem with 95' Fiat Cinquecento and guaranteed me it will need sorting every year! This is not my kind of Guarantee! Can you verify the accuracy of this information I've been given? I tried to get under the car to look at it myself today but my head is way too big.. without a ramp or a pit.

thirdly the car makes a strange creaky noise when it takes a heavy load in the rear I am concerned that it has something to do with play in the rubber bushings or worse but local garage told me it's my exhaust? (wtf) What are your ideas on the possible causes for this noises? (both sides)

fourth the car seems to run cooler with more fuel in it ? Or is this my imagination? Should I be using Paraflu?

five - the gearbox is a little sticky it 'clicks into third and fourth just at the last part it seems to have improved with use but is this something I could imrove with a clutch kit or am I likely to be looking at a new GB at some stage?

6> The car has only 20000miles on it, my brother reckons it is good for 150000 but I am hoping it will go for much much longer.. How far is the limit for the Fiat Cinquecento 1995 899i?

7 - My left hand side speaker (original) is defunct, I unscrewed the cover to take a peek and there is a slight hole in that speaker, for whatever reason? I wish to replace the original speakers and maintain the original covers on new speakers so I am wondering have you had any experience of this if it is possible?

8 - Having washed my car regularly I have noticed moisture in the boot that is obviously from my washing (handwash - no hose) Is this something that can be remedied by replacing the boot seals? Also when I wash the car and spend ages making it pristine it is a bit annoying when i put my sparkly clean window down and it comes up covered in moisture out the door? Is this something that I can fix as well? I have never noticed something like this on any other car, but then maybe I have lived a sheltered life...

9 - There is no aerial for radio on the roof, I am fine with this but would you suggest any stylistic replacement particularly?or is there a way to remove the place where the aerial wants to screw in and have a blank roof?

10 - would you recommend synthetic motor oil over mineral for this model of car will that make her go for longer?

11 - If I put 15" alloys on will I be able to replace the metering unit to make the speedo accurate again?

12 - how far is it possible to mod the interior, are there laws in place about how fireproof stuff has to be?

13 - I would like to fit an alarm and immobiliser and central electronic locking so it goes chiwpschwip! Have you any experience of this and how much is it likely to cost?

14: how do i take the badges off the boot and do I risk damaging my pristineish paintwork irrevocably in attempting to do so?

Thankyou so much for reading my essay (sorry got giddy) and having me here I do dearly hope you can help me find answers to my questions

Many Thanks, and Best Wishes lambontheflag , here's wishing all fiatforum members Good Luck, Good Health & Happiness always

Hi lambontheflag and welcome to the forum.

I'm moving your post to the Cento section as I think you'll get better help there

Don't mod your car or risk high insurance cost

And what they said is correct about the handbrakes, but it's the same in all the cinq / sei.

Normal coolant is fine.

If the engine is looked after with oil change then it should last a while!

Don't put 15s on it, you will lose what ever your power you have just now

As for removing the rear badge, once removed the paint undernerth the badge will stick out like a sore thumb! Be proud tell people what car you drive .

Ming

The hub caps are retained by two of the wheel bolts, so you'll need to remove them all to turn the cap 90 degrees.

Cheers

D

Any 10cm/4" speakers should fit fine under the covers. The aerial hole would need a plate welded in it's place and filled and repainted so would be easier just to get a new aerial. Central locking can be achieved very easily if you can find a Meta kit as these were designed for the cars exisiting system, otherwise you'll be looking at aftermarket and a lot of work.

And to echo what the guys said above - regular oil changes following the handbook will be plenty fine, the handbrake is a common issue, 15's will be rubbish on that engine - stick to 13's, and the hubcaps are retained by the wheel bolts so put that crowbar away!

Welcome to the forum

lambontheflag said:

I have never been into hot hatches but since replacing the passenger side mirror myself I felt quite satisfied and I am investigating the possibilities of various sensible mods that are possible. Are there any mods which are possible to reduce the cost of insurance? such as anti roll bar? Rear disc brake conversion? PSI Monitor?

Click to expand...

You can get ARB off a 1108 model this should improve the handling also, no mod will reduce on insurance only increase it, you might be 24 but you are still a new driver in a relatively old car, the insurcance companies do not like you, you will probably get stung so would leave as is

lambontheflag said:

fourth the car seems to run cooler with more fuel in it ? Or is this my imagination? Should I be using Paraflu?

Click to expand...

Imagination

lambontheflag said:

five - the gearbox is a little sticky it 'clicks into third and fourth just at the last part it seems to have improved with use but is this something I could imrove with a clutch kit or am I likely to be looking at a new GB at some stage??

Click to expand...

Check gearbox oil

lambontheflag said:

6> The car has only 20000miles on it, my brother reckons it is good for 150000 but I am hoping it will go for much much longer.. How far is the limit for the Fiat Cinquecento 1995 899i??

Click to expand...

There is no limit to mileage however 20,000 miles on a 17 year old car isnt good, it indicates short journeys and long periods of standing, id be tempted to do a service on it, all filters and fluids, and also take it a long run, a lot of the problems above are possibly linked to it not doing a lot of miles

lambontheflag said:

8 - Having washed my car regularly I have noticed moisture in the boot that is obviously from my washing (handwash - no hose) Is this something that can be remedied by replacing the boot seals? Also when I wash the car and spend ages making it pristine it is a bit annoying when i put my sparkly clean window down and it comes up covered in moisture out the door? Is this something that I can fix as well? ??

Click to expand...

Check boot seals, but also check the rear light seals, they too can persish over time

lambontheflag said:

9 - There is no aerial for radio on the roof, I am fine with this but would you suggest any stylistic replacement particularly?or is there a way to remove the place where the aerial wants to screw in and have a blank roof???

Click to expand...

Go to scrapyard or look on ebay for a replacement

lambontheflag said:

10 - would you recommend synthetic motor oil over mineral for this model of car will that make her go for longer???

Click to expand...

Have what it says in the book, you dont want synthetic you want semi-synthetic 10w 40 or 15w 40, regular servicing and general maintenece makes it go longer, rather than the oil on its own

lambontheflag said:

11 - If I put 15" alloys on will I be able to replace the metering unit to make the speedo accurate again????

Click to expand...

Yes but a massive ballache, and theres no point anyway, you wont be going fast enough with 15'' in an 899 to be speeding for a kickoff

lambontheflag said:

12 - how far is it possible to mod the interior, are there laws in place about how fireproof stuff has to be??

Click to expand...

Be more specific on what you want to do

lambontheflag said:

13 - I would like to fit an alarm and immobiliser and central electronic locking so it goes chiwpschwip! Have you any experience of this and how much is it likely to cost???

Click to expand...

Various alarm and C/L systems on the net for this car, theres also a fiat C/L on ebay sometimes called the META kit do some reserach on internet, you might not get one that blips though

lambontheflag said:

14: how do i take the badges off the boot and do I risk damaging my pristineish paintwork irrevocably in attempting to do so????

Click to expand...

Heat the badges up with a hairdryer, then stick an old card like a video rental card behind them and prise them off, then heat up remaining residue that will probably be left and wipe clean, Paint behind will be a lot newer so you will probably have to T-cut the boot but probably the whole car more than likely to get the paint to match up

Missed some out, theyve either been answered or i cant help you

ben said:

Hi lambontheflag and welcome to the forum.

I'm moving your post to the Cento section as I think you'll get better help there

Click to expand...

Thanks for moving this

ycming said:

Don't mod your car or risk high insurance cost

And what they said is correct about the handbrakes, but it's the same in all the cinq / sei.

Click to expand...

What I have heard about the handbrake now is that the best way to adjust it... It's not that the rear shoes are seized they are just heavy and also fiddly this guy has told me that if we put the car on the ramp and wind the nut out all the way from underneath the handle ... and then drive along a bit and slam the brakes on this is the proper way to adjust it?! (almost sounds like some kind of sick joke..)

Normal coolant is fine.

Click to expand...

Ok thanks but what coolant is normal? What coolant do you use? I notice the cap says do not open when coolant is boiling, does this mean engine temp over 100' or just when the car is hot?

If the engine is looked after with oil change then it should last a while!

Click to expand...

How often should I do this? Yearly or more often that that? Is it depending on how many miles I do?

Don't put 15s on it

Click to expand...

Understood, thanks for this advice, I won't because it does sound/look silly but I do want my car to look nice so I might just get some 13s particularly if I can get em cheap..

As for removing the rear badge, once removed the paint undernerth the badge will stick out like a sore thumb! Be proud tell people what car you drive .

Click to expand...

I am proud mate but all the badges are looking a little bit faded so I was just thinking of replacing them will I be able to stick a new badge on somehow if I get one? There are some good ones on ebay.

Eklipze3k said:

Any 10cm/4" speakers should fit fine under the covers.

Click to expand...

Thanks for this are there any you particularly like or is it all just a matter of personal preference? The set I was looking at respond down to 20hz but I prefer a little lower if I can since I dont want to get a sub or anything like that..

The aerial hole would need a plate welded in it's place and filled and repainted so would be easier just to get a new aerial.

Click to expand...

How much do you reckon it would cost to do that? I reckon it looks pretty canny without an aerial on it, I can get my mate to do the welding but would I then be looking at repainthing the whole roof?

I was also quoted £100 to paint to paint the front wing ps is this a good / fair price?

On a side note I was hoping to get the Italian flag painted on the roof and get the car resprayed azzuri blue but I am currently decided against it since have been quoted over £1000 for that bythe same guy and advised to just get a sticker instead. Thoughts?


I am a bit wary of making myself a target of football related violence to this end..

Central locking can be achieved very easily if you can find a Meta kit as these were designed for the cars exisiting system, otherwise you'll be looking at aftermarket and a lot of work.

Click to expand...

Meta kit ok and will I be able to get a key coded to zap it with? If not then I might not bother!

hubcaps are retained by the wheel bolts so put that crowbar away!

Click to expand...

rallycinq said:

The hub caps are retained by two of the wheel bolts, so you'll need to remove them all to turn the cap 90 degrees.

Cheers

D

Click to expand...

So I have to take the whole wheel off to change the hubcap??!?

AppleSei said:

You can get ARB off a 1108 model this should improve the handling also, no mod will reduce on insurance only increase it, you might be 24 but you are still a new driver in a relatively old car, the insurcance companies do not like you, you will probably get stung so would leave as is

Click to expand...

Ok then thanks for this advice - I'll take it

Imagination

Click to expand...

Believe!

Check gearbox oil

Click to expand...

How do I do this? I can't even find the dipstick to check the 'normal' oil?

There is no limit to mileage

Click to expand...

This is great news!

however 20,000 miles on a 17 year old car isnt good, it indicates short journeys and long periods of standing, id be tempted to do a service on it, all filters and fluids, and also take it a long run, a lot of the problems above are possibly linked to it not doing a lot of miles

Click to expand...

How long a run do you recommend?! This car has definitely done it's fair share of long journeys but just not regularly.. Is that bad? Why is that bad?

Check boot seals, but also check the rear light seals, they too can persish over time

Click to expand...

I can see boot seals but I can't see rear light seals.. Will I be able to get these ok from breaking?

Have what it says in the book, you dont want synthetic you want semi-synthetic 10w 40 or 15w 40, regular servicing and general maintenece makes it go longer, rather than the oil on its own

Click to expand...

What is the difference between these?

Be more specific on what you want to do

Click to expand...

Car interior wise one of my mates is a bit of a tailor and I think she could make me some cracking new seat covers since the ones it rocks at the minute are at least as old as the car, but I was just wondering if there would be law about the flammable nature of some materials? Or will it be alright as long as I get them stitched directly onto the original seat?


Thanks all for your advice and responses hope everyone having a good weekend -

Welcome to the forum

Click to expand...

Thanks

lambontheflag said:

Thanks for moving this



What I have heard about the handbrake now is that the best way to adjust it... It's not that the rear shoes are seized they are just heavy and also fiddly this guy has told me that if we put the car on the ramp and wind the nut out all the way from underneath the handle ... and then drive along a bit and slam the brakes on this is the proper way to adjust it?! (almost sounds like some kind of sick joke..)

Click to expand...

no no no... get a new mechanic... the handbrake seizes in the shoes and needs to be flooded in WD40 and then persuaded back and forth till its free.. then greased up and put back on..

dronenrs said:

no no no... get a new mechanic... the handbrake seizes in the shoes and needs to be flooded in WD40 and then persuaded back and forth till its free.. then greased up and put back on..

Click to expand...

Wow, thanks

So this is common problem with cinquecento? Should I be paying about £60 (labour) for this fix? Fair Deal?

Just leave it in gear

or buy a can of WD40 and remove the pivot arm and spray the bugger working it loose then grease her up.. if your confident of removing parts of your rear shoes and being able to put it back together then do it.. and yeah its probably THE most common fault with cinqs and seicentos

but you dont want to spray WD40 onto the shoes them self

Ash

its these little babies that need to be drowned

lambontheflag said:

How long a run do you recommend?!

Click to expand...

Long run - how long is a piece of string? make it as long as you want

lambontheflag said:

This car has definitely done it's fair share of long journeys but just not regularly.. Is that bad? Why is that bad?

Click to expand...

Everything seizes up, fluids get dirty , everything gets dirty it just doesnt run right, with 20k miles on the clock it hasnt done its fair share of long journeys despite what you say or it wouldve done at least 4 times the mileage, this car would benefit from a full and complete service, i bet all the belts havent been changed?

lambontheflag said:

can see boot seals but I can't see rear light seals.. Will I be able to get these ok from breaking??

Click to expand...

No get new ones if available you dont know the condition of the second hand ones, if you cant see the seals this is probably why its letting water in because there arent any, they are pretty obvious to spot

lambontheflag said:

What is the difference between these???

Click to expand...

10w 40 is slightly thinner than 15w 40, and one is for an MPI fiat and one is for an SPI fiat, you have an SPI fiat, cant remember which way round it is but both are fine for your car

lambontheflag said:

Car interior wise one of my mates is a bit of a tailor and I think she could make me some cracking new seat covers since the ones it rocks at the minute are at least as old as the car, but I was just wondering if there would be law about the flammable nature of some materials? Or will it be alright as long as I get them stitched directly onto the original seat????

Click to expand...

Cheaper and easier to upgrade the interior to maybe a higher model, say an interior froma sporting, be it cinq or sei

lambontheflag said:

Ok thanks but what coolant is normal? What coolant do you use? I notice the cap says do not open when coolant is boiling, does this mean engine temp over 100' or just when the car is hot?

Click to expand...

Any coolant that is safe for alloy engines will do, the pinky/orangy stuff is more expensive but longer lasting. If the coolant in the car is murky brown, crain, flush and refill with fresh coolant. Make sure you bleed it thoroughly. Change every two or five years depending on coolant purchased. Do not remove the cap when the engine is anything above lukewarm. The coolant is retained under pressure and will evacuate the engine if the cap is opened.
Carry out all your weekly checks when the car is cold.

lambontheflag said:

How often should I do this? Yearly or more often that that? Is it depending on how many miles I do?

Click to expand...

Oil change should be annual as a minimum. Lots of short journeys does more damage to oil than caning down a motorway, so if the current mileage average is being maintaned, once every 6 months for an oil change.

lambontheflag said:

I am proud mate but all the badges are looking a little bit faded so I was just thinking of replacing them will I be able to stick a new badge on somehow if I get one? There are some good ones on ebay.

Click to expand...

New decals will fit where the existing ones are. They do fade with age.

lambontheflag said:

Thanks for this are there any you particularly like or is it all just a matter of personal preference? The set I was looking at respond down to 20hz but I prefer a little lower if I can since I dont want to get a sub or anything like that..

Click to expand...

I would have thought that getting a good bass response on a 10cmm speaker is going to be difficult.

lambontheflag said:

How much do you reckon it would cost to do that? I reckon it looks pretty canny without an aerial on it, I can get my mate to do the welding but would I then be looking at repainthing the whole roof?

Click to expand...

Stick a grommet in just now to see if you like the look.

lambontheflag said:

So I have to take the whole wheel off to change the hubcap??!?

Click to expand...

Look very carefully down the holes where the bolts go. Two of them just hold the cap by a ridge on the inner side, two of them you will not see the holes at all. Remove the bolts where you can't see the edge of the hole (they will be diagonally opposite each other) then the cap will come off without removing the other two.

lambontheflag said:

How do I do this? I can't even find the dipstick to check the 'normal' oil?

Click to expand...

Remove the filler plug from the front of the box and insert a pinky to check that the oil is up to the hole. I would be changing the gearbox oil if no history exists of a change. If there is no oil in the box, walk to the shop to buy some and check very carefully under the car as you fill it up. 899s have wet inner shafts and the gaitors can perish causing all the oil to disappear. This is not good.

lambontheflag said:

How long a run do you recommend?! This car has definitely done it's fair share of long journeys but just not regularly.. Is that bad? Why is that bad?

Click to expand...

20K in 17 years is only just over 1000 miles a year, so its not been regularly exercised. A car needs to be warmed up and used to prevent condensation attacking all sorts of things, like the oil. Also driving a cold engine increases wear, you do more damage in the first 60 seconds of engine turning than at any other time, so lots of short journeys does the most damage.

lambontheflag said:

I can see boot seals but I can't see rear light seals.. Will I be able to get these ok from breaking?

Click to expand...

Careful application of a bead of silicone will seal the lamp clusters. Before doing so remove boot carpet and sprinkle the area with french chalk or talc. You will then see any tracks from water entering and be able to idetify the source of the leak.

On a further note, if no history exists of a brake fluid change, I'd be doing that too. Should be done every two years. Brake fluid attracts water and loses efficiency when full of water.

Cheers

D

lambontheflag said:

What I have heard about the handbrake now is that the best way to adjust it... It's not that the rear shoes are seized they are just heavy and also fiddly this guy has told me that if we put the car on the ramp and wind the nut out all the way from underneath the handle ... and then drive along a bit and slam the brakes on this is the proper way to adjust it?

Click to expand...

Hi guys sorry this is just a quick one but I need to know, can someone define whether the above advice qualifies as being dangerously bad?

I have had a bit of a nightmare experience with kwik fit today re: new tyres and am debating whether to include this in any complaint I may be making just now.

using the footbrake has no effect on the handbrake. i would say definatly bad advice. avoid quik-fit like the plauge

dronenrs said:

using the footbrake has no effect on the handbrake. i would say definatly bad advice. avoid quik-fit like the plauge

Click to expand...

Not strictly true when it comes to adjustment. The friction adjustment is the same for both hand brake and service brake.

However the fault is probably not the friction adjusters its the actuators so no amount of shoe adjustment is going to get the handbrake to work efficiently.

The old way of adjusting the barkes once fitted was to reverse and apply the handbrake, but it was pretty inefficient.

Cheers

D

Regards all for your help & advice

I'm going to leave off the handbrake thing for a bit until i get mesen some ramps or axle stands; trolley jack etc

I have noticed that there is a smell of petrol from the fans in the car I looked under the bonnet and my cinquecento is leaking petrol from by the head gasket! I don't think that it is the head gasket itself, can you advise how serious this is ? I am worried for petrol to contact the manifold running by,

also I am concerned that maybe one of my spark plugs isn't firing as it seems kind of sluggish the past couple of days

sounds like it's blowing, though it blows back ok ...

Any ideas?

Would like to know how to fix this before the weekend as im going on a long run.. have checked the head gasket guide in guides and it looks like it might be beyond my capabilities given that I don't possess the equipment to even jack the car properly :/

There should be no fluid leaks at the head gasket.

Is the coolant level holding level?

Any fuel outside the engine is a bad thing, so try and trace exactly where its coming from. The TB has a supply and a return, mak sure they are not leaking.

Cheers

D