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General Fiat Seicento 1108 cam timing belt problem

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General Fiat Seicento 1108 cam timing belt problem

No a fan not working will not cause all those problems.
Clearly something is really wrong here. I don't mean to be rude but maybe you should take it to a decent garage and let them have a look at it. Might be a dam sight easier than just keep guessing
 
Jd801 said:
No a fan not working will not cause all those problems.

But surely with no radiator fan to keep the engine cool it will get hotter and hotter until something pops. All metal expands when hot.
It got so hot in my last test that I could not touch the camshaft cover near the belt end because it was too hot.

The car is also still up on 1 axle stand on the drivers side. I wonder if this would cause to much heat without the fan running.

All noted about getting someone to look at it with experience. But I just don't have the money for it.
Click to expand...
 
Agree with black box.
I understand what your saying about the fan mate but it will not cause all the problems you've listed although it certainly is a problem especially with a car that's prone to blowing headgaskets
 
I will be fitting a new fan in the week to replace the faulty one. Any recommendations on what make of fan I should replace it with?

If the HG is gone, would this explain the the bubbles coming from the core plug?

If the belt doesn't stretch and the metal doesn't expand enough to cause the belt to go tight and the tensioner bearing is fitted correctly and is new. What could cause the belt to go tight when hot and go back to normal when cold?

I have a 90 degree finger and thumb flexibility when belt is cold. About 5mm each side of the belt when belt is moved towards the front of the car or to towards the back. When hot the belt goes tight. When cold the belt goes back to where I set it.

Thanks
 
Then the belt is fine. Why are we assuming this is a problem? Maybe your new tensioner/water pump is faulty. A core plug shouldn't bubble at all. It should be 100% sealed.
 
ycming said:
See when you say it goes tight, does it stop the engine from running?
Click to expand...

No it doesn't. What happens is I start the engine from cold and it starts first turn of the key with no hesitation every time. The engine sounds and runs very smooth.
As soon as all the water hoses and radiator get hot the engine seems fine. Then the more I run the engine the hotter the engine gets and then the belts slack starts to disappear until there is no slack in the belt left. Then the belt/components start to make unusual noises due to the belt being over tight and the amount of heat coming off the engine at this point is way too much for any engine. I turn the engine off at this point because of this. No doubt if I left it running it would damage the engine and seize it up because of the heat.
 
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Sounds like head gasket or faulty water pump. I don't understand how your coming to the assumption that the belt is over tight
 
How long has the fan not been working for?
Maybe you've only just noticed and its been knackered for awhile?
Maybe it's been getting very hot for awhile and you've warped the head?
It needs professionally looking at
 
I have ordered a new rad fan. I will install the fan and a new core plug. I flushed the coolant system and the rad out when I first purchased the car a couple of years ago with some red 5 year long life. After fitting a new pump recently I re-flushed the system again and put fresh antifreeze in. The system looked clean and free flowing. This should fix the overheating problem.

I have just done a combustion gas leak test and it passed. So this rules out the head gasket.

I will be back after fitting the new fan to ask about the cam timing belt problem. From what you have said, the belt problem should still be there, because none of the timing belt components would expand enough once the engine overheats to make the belt go tight. Do I have this correct please?

Thanks
 
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Personally I don't trust sniff tests -- depending on how fresh the coolant is, they may not actually detect anything. A pressurisation test or compression test will probably tell you more.

Consider replacing the thermostat: there are many, many, examples of early failure of non OE ones, and they're cheap.

If the belt is still an issue, get back. The 90 degree thing is a very rough guide -- a dealer would use either the classic Alfa/FIAT weight on a stick tool or a Hertz tester.

Cover off, I can't see a FIAT dealer charging much to check/set the tension. But the belts really are not that fussy.
 
fingers99 said:
Personally I don't trust sniff tests -- depending on how fresh the coolant is, they may not actually detect anything. A pressurisation test or compression test will probably tell you more.

Consider replacing the thermostat: there are many, many, examples of early failure of non OE ones, and they're cheap.

If the belt is still an issue, get back. The 90 degree thing is a very rough guide -- a dealer would use either the classic Alfa/FIAT weight on a stick tool or a Hertz tester.

Cover off, I can't see a FIAT dealer charging much to check/set the tension. But the belts really are not that fussy.
Click to expand...

When you say a A pressurisation test , do you mean a coolant pressure test with a kit like this one?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cooling-System-Radiator-Pressure-Tester-Test-Detector-Set-Kit-HOT-/181501262664?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a42517b48
If yes, if I purchased one would it defiantly let me know if the head gasket was gone?

The thermostat was replaced just before the car was laid up over a year ago. I will replace it again just encase it had failed due to not being used.

The new rad fan will be here on Tuesday.

Thanks
 
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dx90 said:
When you say a A pressurisation test , do you mean a coolant pressure test with a kit like this one?
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cooling-System-Radiator-Pressure-Tester-Test-Detector-Set-Kit-HOT-/181501262664?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item2a42517b48
If yes, if I purchased one would it defiantly let me know if the head gasket was gone?

The thermostat was replaced just before the car was laid up over a year ago. I will replace it again just encase it had failed due to not being used.

The new rad fan will be here on Tuesday.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yep. Assuming it has the right fittings for the expansion tank. It'd also help you to find any leaks.

The downside is the expense and that it won't detect HG issues which don't involve the cooling passages.

Compression tester is cheaper, will detect both, but isn't the surefire cooling system indicator the pressurisation tester is.
 
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