Tried to fit the pollen filter and plugs to myt daughter's 2006 1.1 Active (basic) panda.
The plugs in the manual and EuroCarparts and NGK site stated 14mm plugs, The ones in the engine were slim 10mm plugs. The plug hole is very small!
What is the correct plug?
Also we took off all the beige plastic cladding (on the drivers side) to fit the pollen filter and could not find were it fitted. Haynes manual and You Tube did nothing. Everything looked solid and we could not find 'clips' etc to free off the filter housing. Does the BASIC 1.1 Panda have no pollen filter, or are we dumb and cannot find it?
Anyone got an idiots guide to help?
Thanks for any help.

I think only cars that have aircon have pollen filters. If it has one it will be behind the plastic panel to the left of the clutch.
Regarding the plugs take an old one out and get the part number off it. Becareful not to cross thread it when putting it back in.

That is interesting. I have never seen plugs so easy to cross thread.
Do none air con cars have a cabin filter?

From early 2006 the plugs went smaller on 1.2 and 1.1, at same time as the oil cap went screw-in round instead of push-fit square. This identifies the Euro IV emissions engines.

The plug you need is this one: http://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/F...d8edd736f056087802f23b7a9b214e9b1b710c&000301

NGK short code 4983, or long code DCPR7E-N-10

No pollen filter without aircon.

MLW said:

Does the BASIC 1.1 Panda have no pollen filter, or are we dumb and cannot find it?

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The basic 1.1 Panda has no pollen filter.

MLW said:

What is the correct plug?

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OEM plugs are NGK DCPR7E-N-10 and they are rubbish, but cheap. They will be utterly worn out by the recommended 12000 mile plug change interval. You'd do better to fit iridium plugs; NGK DCPR7EIX are an (almost)* direct equivalent and will last at least 60,000 miles. Probably the best £30 you can spend on a 1.1/1.2/1.4 FIRE. Put them in with a dab of anti seize, just in case you do need to get them out again.

Access is slightly awkward; the injectors are very close and quite fragile. A plug socket, universal joint and 6" extension bar on a standard ratchet gives you just the little bit of angle you need to get them in & out without risking collateral damage.

*The only difference is they run with a reduced 0.8mm gap, which has the additional advantage of putting less stress on the coil packs. Never try to gap a precious metal plug as the tip is fragile and will likely wreck the engine if it breaks in service.

I spent a while trying to find the pollen filter in my panda with no luck. Dug out some components in the driver footwell, lots of pain and no filter.

Then (as someone else mentioned) I found out that there is no pollen filter in cars without aircon.

Many thanks everyone.
Yes we took NGK DCPR7E-N-10 plugs out of the engine. They maybe original, difficult to say as the car has only done 30K miles. They did look tired. I have a good 3/8 Bahco socket set which is ideal for this but I was terrified about cross threading as I had to put the old plug back in. I suspect newer ones will be easier as they will be copper greased (a tad) and have no carbon on them. Is the plug torque 18 ft/lbs as Haynes states?
I wish the Fiat drivers manual and Haynes and Eurocarparts stated that no air con = no pollen filter.

Agreed that it is frustrating that the no air con => no pollen filter is not clearer.

I'm not an expert but when I changed my spark plugs I read some advice that I thought useful. When putting in the plugs do so by hand, not with a wrench, i.e., put the spark plug in the socket, with the socket on the required extension bar. Locate the plug in the hole and counter rotate it (i.e., to loosen it) very gently by turning the extension with you finger tips. You will feel the bump where the thread steps, i.e., the start of each thread are now in place.
Change direction and slowly rotate the extension (still by hand) until it bottoms out. Only at this point attach the torque wrench to the extension and finish by torquing to the required level (sorry, don't know what this is for you).
It should not rotate that much when you are torquing, i.e., you should be most of the way there by turning with your fingers.

This aims to avoid you cross-threading initially and heavy handedly driving the plug in with a wrench without realising.

D. Tanner very advice. That is exactly what I have always done, but these small plugs, plus the slightly odd angle really are tricky. On a Morris Minor it is idiot proof!

I use a long tube type plug spanner easier to be sure the plug is correctly aligned and easy to turn by hand.

NGK plug fitting instructions. https://www.ngksparkplugs.com/about-ngk/tech-talk/spark-plug-installation

I always use a piece of plastic tubing (old bit of fuel pipe) over the end of the spark plug to both remove the plug from the recess and to fit it back initially. This avoids any thread crossing.

MLW said:

Many thanks everyone.
Yes we took NGK DCPR7E-N-10 plugs out of the engine. They maybe original, difficult to say as the car has only done 30K miles. They did look tired. I have a good 3/8 Bahco socket set which is ideal for this but I was terrified about cross threading as I had to put the old plug back in. I suspect newer ones will be easier as they will be copper greased (a tad) and have no carbon on them. Is the plug torque 18 ft/lbs as Haynes states?
I wish the Fiat drivers manual and Haynes and Eurocarparts stated that no air con = no pollen filter.

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I've just bought a set of DENSO Iridium plus for the 1.2 (I have the NGK ones on our 100hp).


Anyway - £37.77 for a set of 4 from Eurocarparts with their ever-present DFS-style internet discount.

AB100 said:

I've just bought a set of DENSO Iridium plus for the 1.2 (I have the NGK ones on our 100hp).


Anyway - £37.77 for a set of 4 from Eurocarparts with their ever-present DFS-style internet discount.

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So, having got a nice discounted set of plugs yesterday, I chose FREE delivery with Eurocarparts, to save a few quid. Delivery 2-4 days, not tracked.


And yet, here I am with the 4 plugs ready to go in, fully tracked by DHL.


I'll report back when they're in. Doubt I'll notice.

AB100 said:

So, having got a nice discounted set of plugs yesterday, I chose FREE delivery with Eurocarparts, to save a few quid. Delivery 2-4 days, not tracked.


And yet, here I am with the 4 plugs ready to go in, fully tracked by DHL.


I'll report back when they're in. Doubt I'll notice.

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Done. The 4 Denso Iridium plugs replace the 13000 miles NGK ZKR7A-10 plugs. No obvious difference when driving........


I did notice that the Denso plug's inserted length (base to earth-electrode) was at least 3mm shorter.

AB100 said:

I did notice that the Denso plug's inserted length (base to earth-electrode) was at least 3mm shorter.

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Do you mean from the gasket face to the earth electrode? If so, I hope this is all lost in the earth electrode area, not thread length. The thread length is a common size, and only a few sizes exist, so engine manufacturers build to suit. If the plug is short, two problems occur. First, the firing tip may be recessed, reducing its effectiveness. Secondly, the unused threads get contaminated with carbon, making fitting correct plugs later difficult. I have seen this cause damage to the head, or seize a plug when short plugs have been in for some time, then replaced with correct longer ones.

Conversely, I've seen where a longer plug had been used, luckily not damaged valves or pistons, but the exposed thread in the cylinder got covered in carbon and brought the thread of the aluminium head out with it when removed.

portland_bill said:

Do you mean from the gasket face to the earth electrode? If so, I hope this is all lost in the earth electrode area, not thread length.

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12 hours have passed so it's hard to actually recall but probably a bit of both. It runs OK so I'm not going to sweat it. A five year old Panda gives you that kind of comfort.

portland_bill said:

Do you mean from the gasket face to the earth electrode? If so, I hope this is all lost in the earth electrode area, not thread length. The thread length is a common size, and only a few sizes exist, so engine manufacturers build to suit. If the plug is short, two problems occur. First, the firing tip may be recessed, reducing its effectiveness. Secondly, the unused threads get contaminated with carbon, making fitting correct plugs later difficult. I have seen this cause damage to the head, or seize a plug when short plugs have been in for some time, then replaced with correct longer ones.

Conversely, I've seen where a longer plug had been used, luckily not damaged valves or pistons, but the exposed thread in the cylinder got covered in carbon and brought the thread of the aluminium head out with it when removed.

Click to expand...

This was all covered in some detail a few years ago when the Euro5 engine first hit the streets; I'll see if I can dig up the old thread from the 500 section.

Basicaly the Euro5/6 engines OEM plugs have a projected tip to place the spark a little deeper into the combustion chamber. The extra projection is 3mm and is all in the tip - the threaded part is exactly the same on both plugs, so no worries on that score.

It's all a bit of a joke, as the OEM plugs are so crude the spark jumps around all over the place - there's pictures showing that behaviour in the thread I referred to. The conclusion at the time was that the benefits of iridium plugs far outweighed any marginal gains from the extra tip projection of the OEM fitment and you'd do much better to fit the DCPR7EIX.

Some folks have tried the Denso equivalents, which IIRC are thought to be technically superior in terms of initial performance, but not so long lasting. There is also a Denso Tough plug, but these are quite expensive and my own view at the time was that the NGK Iridiums were the best price/performance compromise at around £26 (back in 2011) a set.

Long term experience has validated this and I am pleased to report no problems with either the Eu4 or Eu5 engines when running NGK DCPR7EIX plugs long term. As for durability/lifetime, the ones in the Panda have now done about 60,000 miles since fitting and both plugs and coil packs are still going strong.

If you do fit the OEM plugs (and I'd recommend DIY owners don't as the iridiums are well worth the extra money), there's absolutely no point at all in paying more to buy them from Fiat as the NGK part is exactly the same - all of them are made by NGK and this type of plug is only used in the Eu5/6 1.2 FIRE.

Why Fiat went to all the trouble of comissioning NGK to design a specific plug for the Eu5 1.2 FIRE and then specified it be made out of cheap rubbish materials is beyond me; it shows their penny pinching mentality at its worst.

If they'd specified a decent Ir fitment for the OEM plugs, list price of a franchised dealer 18000 mile service cost would likely be at least £100 less (and there'd be a lot fewer posts here about rough running engines with 10k on the clock). Copper core plugs are a relic from the days when plugs were gapped at 6k and discarded at 12k.

UPDATE: the original thread is here; it gets interesting towards the end of page 1.

jrkitching said:

Some folks have tried the Denso equivalents, which IIRC are thought to be technically superior in terms of initial performance, but not so long lasting. There is also a Denso Tough plug, but these are quite expensive and my own view at the time was that the NGK Iridiums were the best price/performance compromise at around £26 (back in 2011) a set.

Click to expand...

Good notes. I feel ill that I paid £37.77 for the Denso ones now, though I did look for the NGKs. Not very hard mind you.


Needless to say, it'll not need any more new plugs in our ownership.

What I always find annoying is how much cheaper these parts are in the USA. I know there is more competition, and probably a better on line market, but even main dealers sell at lower prices. Rip off Britain I think.

UPDATE: Got a full refund from Euro Car Parts. The service there is very good.
Two interesting tips.
1. Todays 31% discount (and the usual discount) is only available on-line, so that is delivered or click and collect.
2. On the webpage for the Panda pollen filter and plugs if you click 'fitment detail' it does say for air-con cars, and the plugs one gives a bit more information. It has to be dug out, but to be fair, it is there.