Hi,
This is my first post here, and I have a few quick questions...
The Car is a P Plate 899cc Cinquecento SX...

1 - When topping the oil up, I have to do it slowly to get it into the engine (almost as if there's an air lock)... Is this normal?

2 - It has tappets that (when cold) are a bit noisy. Are these adjustable?, and how easy is it to do?

3 - The handbrake has the usual "not working" problem. Should there be anything to look for specifically, or should new shoes fix it?

Thanks (and sorry for all the questions)

Stuart

Hi, and welcome to the Fiat Forum.

Noisy tappets on an 899 are common, if they quieten down after a couple of seconds it's not really much to worry about. There are oil additives around to quieten them down, but I've never tried them myself.

The handbrake problem is comon to every cinquecento! What goes wrong is that the linkage at the back (where the handbrake cable connects to) has a pivot on it which rusts and seizes solid. Easiest method of fixing is to buy new rear linkages (about £8 each) from Fiat, grease the pivot point lightly, and fit them. You may as well fit a new handbrake cable while you've got it all in bits - again I'd recommend a genuine Fiat one as I managed to seize an aftermarket one in 2 months.... and check the rear shoes for wear obviously changing them if needs be.

The oil problem, how slowly do you need to add it? you may have a blocked breather which could, as you say, be airlocking it.

Pete.
Cinq sporting 1242cc
http://mysite.freeserve.com/close_to_cracking_up/

They generally quieten down, and bother the missus more than me, so I'll leave them for now. Can I check / adject them manually?, or is it an expensive job.

As for the handbrake, pulling hard applies force, but not enough to hold it on a steep hill. I'll take the drums off and take a look i think.

As for "how slowly" it seems to get to the top of the opening in the rocker cover and take about 2-3 secs to disppear, so I have to keep stopping / starting when adding oil. I've never had it like this on previous cars so thought it seemed odd.

The tappets can be adjusted for preload on some models, you'd need a Haynes manual or similar to guide you through this. Other than that, it's a change 'em job.

The oil, my 1242 does the same thing, takes a few minutes to fill it on an oil change. Might be something to do with Fiat specifying a 15w40 oil, which is thicker when cold than the stuff most modern engines use. The Wife's Mazzzda uses a 5w30 which is like water in comparison and pours in quite quickly.

Pete.
Cinq sporting 1242cc
http://mysite.freeserve.com/close_to_cracking_up/

Well my Sporting cinq has a slow oil fill up 2 but its fine. And i recently fixed my hand brake 2 with about £60's worth of parts 1st i replaced the cable which ahd no effect (how suprising) so i checked the drums and the Horror!![:0]. My pivot arm had seized up gd(managed 2 unseize it) the shoes were pretty knackerd and the cylinders were seized up 2 so only 1 shoe barely touched the drum . So new shoes,cable,cylinders and brake fluid and it wrks gd again. Be warned tho this wasn't the easiest job 2 do asthe springs are a complete arse 2 get on and off but gd luck with it [8D].

FIAT CinqueCento = Recycled Ferrari

Cheers for the replies, I'll let you know how I get on....

Could the oil have something to do with the path that it has to take. With my old Uno it took ages to pour the oil in and the mechanic reckoned it had something to do with the path it goes down, its stepped or something when you take the cover off to pour the oil in.

Gaz[^][^][^]

Looks Good, Drives Like a Banana