While driving my Panda this morning, the 1.2 16 valve (originally from a Punto mk1) started playing up big time all of a sudden; I think it might be a blown head gasket.

Thinking ahead (if this is the case) I was wondereing if the engine block & head of the 1.2 16 valves from the Punto mk2s and later Fiats are the same as from the Mk1 Puntos?

There seems to be alot more of these available.

Cheers.

What makes you think is the head gasket? Overheating? Steam from exhaust? Check that breather on cambox, any substantial smoke/steam equals problems.
Smoke with oily deposits from breather normally means worn rings. Steam with water deposits points at head gasket.
Pull your spark plugs and inspect.
The mk2 is virtually the same as mk1.
Main differences are the electronics, stud pattern on exhaust manifold and it has been suggested that the cam profile might be different, hence the extra bhp on the mk1.
It is all backwards compatible bar the exhaust.
Anyway, before you admit defeat, have a go at doing the head gasket. Very feasible DIY job. Max £100 investment and roughly half day of work plus the time it takes to get that head skimmed. Buy branded replacement gaskets and bolts. Don't try and save £20 on cheap parts or you will be doing it again in no time.
Also don't forget the panda radiator is smaller than the punto one. So now it's time to check that water pump, temperature sensor, and make sure you have good quality coolant.

Took your advice and had a go at taking off the head.
First of all, there was lots of oil in the sparkplug holes, not a good sign.
Then, nearly all of the aluminium protective caps covering the head extension retaining bolts had stripped threads. Over 50% of the threaded holes for the head ext retaining bolts were also stripped. So it was no suprise to see that indeed the head gasket was showing evidence of blowing between the cylinders. The Punto engine's previous mechanic must have been a complete :tosser:

I've cleaned up the piston heads and checked the block which looks OK.
Tomorrow, I'll take the head in to my local machine shop to have the stripped threads helicoiled and see if it needs a skim.

Head gasket and head bolts are on order already.











Not really looking forward to the resetting up of the timing belt.
Any advice, as always, greatly appreciated.

timing belt is not that hard..
if you look on the pulleys theres little spot on them, just line them up with the mark on the engine casing and you'll be fine
if you take the little plastic window out of the bell housing you can rotate the engine to TDC and stick a screw driver in it to lock it. but for gods sake make sure you remove it before you start the engine!
water pump does not need to be timed up.. some people think it should.. le sigh..

if i did it, it must be easy! LoL!!!

and.. i did it before i though about looking in the how to section and finding the how to in there.

Edit, just realised yours is the 16v... :/ i am not to sure with that.. sorry :E cant see it would not be the same though??

Well done! Tidy work.
To reset the timing it is not that hard, but it is really preferable to have the special tools for the job.
The problem I found is not really to line up the pistons at the correct positions. It's easy to make 2 suitably sized rods of the same length, but the camshaft locking tools would be a little more complicated to manufacture.
I suggest to buy or borrow a locking kit. It makes life a lot easier.
Remember, no 1 down stroke, no 2 up stoke.
Make sure you have loosened the camshaft sprocket before you try and retention the timing belt.
Also, be aware that the cambox retaining bolts are a fine thread (m8 x 1.25 if I remember well). Probably your machine shop will fit standard thread (m8 x1.5) helicoils so you need to replace the bolts. I used cap head bolts (Allen key type) but make sure they are the right length (50mm from memory).
Good luck!

Right, got it running again and took it for a very quick and cautious drive, but I'm quite concerned about the engine temperature, it's running between 90 and 100; seems a bit high to me. Can anyone advise me on what their 16 valvers usually run at?

Cheers

Well done on getting it back together!
Mine runs between 85 and 90. When in traffic or stationary for long, will creep to 95, fan comes on and stays until back to 90.
90 to 100 is too high IMO, assuming the temperature sender is accurate and the whole system has been bled properly.
Have you replaced the thermostat and water pump? What about the fan switch? Any of those failing will lead to HG failure, some quicker than others.
Also, are the rad and coolant in good conditions? Radiator cap can be also be the culprit..
Also making sure you use the right oil helps keeping things under control.

RetroPanda said:

Right, got it running again and took it for a very quick and cautious drive, but I'm quite concerned about the engine temperature, it's running between 90 and 100; seems a bit high to me. Can anyone advise me on what their 16 valvers usually run at?

Cheers

Click to expand...

87-92C in my 1.4 16v Stilo, same engine range iirc.

Massive thanks for your help guys.

I've swapped out the Panda radiator for the one from the donor Punto (which is about twice as big) and also bought a new rad fan which is a vast improvement from the original fan.



The temp is now more steady at 90 but sometimes creeps up to 95 and then shoots back down to 90 so I'm going to invest in a new thermostat.

Also, does anyone know what this is?


It was mounted with the radiator, above the fan. Not sure what it does so it's mounted above the fan again, in as much of a similar position to as before as possible...

RetroPanda said:

Also, does anyone know what this is?
View attachment 104744

It was mounted with the radiator, above the fan. Not sure what it does so it's mounted above the fan again, in as much of a similar position to as before as possible...

Click to expand...

its the cars flux capacitor, once you hit that magic 88mph.. oh boy. you'll be seeing rainbow stars, Nyan cat style..

in reality, its just a resistor that makes the dipped beams come on with the side lights but really dimly.. every-things more fun inside my head.

heh they're not an MOT needed item and mostly they fail within 10 years lol they break a lot faster if your an idiot like me and run a screw driver through the resistor coil making the headlights go dimmer and brighter saying "ooohh a resistor, wonder if it makes the cabin fan go faster and slower if i short it out".. dont recommend it as it blows the fuse (i found out that it is on its own individual fuse in the panda.. kinda cool really)

i know most people disable it when they stick LED side lights in as the orange glow from the dipped beam makes the LED side lights look naff.

try it out, stick side lights on, then have a look in the light and you will see the dipped beam lit ever so slightly (if the resistor has not burned out already due to age).. then on that resistor pull off the red wire and it will go out but the side lights will stay on. when putting the light switch so the main headlights it does not effect it. and they work as normal.
like i said, a lot of them dont work. i love all my wireing to work A* so i just had to get the one on my panda working again heh.

this is the first time... and last time i'm drinking an energy drink -_-

As mentioned its the dim dip resistor. Probably still works as I've never known them to fail.

As long as its in suite it'll work fine

RetroPanda said:

The temp is now more steady at 90 but sometimes creeps up to 95 and then shoots back down to 90 so I'm going to invest in a new thermostat.

Click to expand...

Would defo fit a new thermostat and if that doesn't work, investigate further as I run my 1.4 with a standard radiator and fan combo without the slightest issue, even on track days.

The new thermostat seems to be doing the business as it now runs at about 80-85 and the temperature is much more stable

Edit: The thermostat that was in before was also brand new, but from a local auto factors. Cheaper than Fiat but turned out to be a false economy. The one that's now in there (and works properly) was from a Fiat dealer, so I learnt a lesson there...