Northern Auto Tech - ECU and Blue & Me Repairs

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Wilbie

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Hi Folks,

My Son has been offered a Punto 1.2 (51 reg) for around £700. I'm fairly car savvy but have never owned a Fiat. So what I would like to know are:

What are the main weak points to look for.

Apparantly this car has had its head gasket replaced recently, is this usual on a Punto with around 70000 miles?

The seller says the engine management light comes on intermittently but nothing can be found wrong at the garage, and it's just passed it's MOT, is this a common fault/symtom on the Punto.

Finally as this will be my Son's 1st car (if bought), are Punto's generally reliable to run on a budget.

Thanks

Wilbie
 
The EM light is coming on for a reason and it looks like the garage dont have the correct equipment. Take it to a garage that regularly does Fiats get the code memory read and cleared then wait until the light comes on again and have it read again. If you are PC savvy, get a connection cable from aBay and search this forum to find the suitable software. Get a good discount, because it could be anything from a faulty coil to a faulty ECU (though thats rare). If it was simple surely the seller would have fixed it.

Head gaskets fail when the coolant level drops too low. This is usually because its not been serviced (old coolant) and/or the owner has not done the weekly checks so the loss wasn't noticed. Poor/no servicing in the past wont improve its reliability today. The same issue affects the thermostat which can stick open and the rad which can corrode internally. But TBH its no big deal the parts are cheap and easy to fit.

If the head gasket face was not skimmed the gasket could go again.

At this sort of age you will be looking at a new clutch soon enough. The pedal action should be light and smooth if it lumpy or heavy the clutch is failing.

The sump pan is steel and can corrode, if its oily and there are no other signs of leaks you might need a new one. The rocker cover gasket is common for leaks, but the repair is easy and cheap.

Check under the rubber roof gutters for rust it starts at the roof rack brackets and is easily fixed if its not spread. While on the subject, check the inner sills under the floor and the tyre changing jack points. Also check for rust within 6" of the seat belt anchors. Fiats are generally good for corrosion but its best to check.

A weak battery can cause the power steering to trip out. This might be an actual fault but many times a new battery is all it needs. I personally would go for the top knotch Bosch Silver though its a chunk more ££s than the basic job usually sold for 8V Puntos.

Sloppy wipers are fixed with a Wipex repair kit for £25.

That all said, £700 is cheap and allows lots of space for any repairs, which of course might not be needed.
 
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WhiteSei said:
The EM light is coming on for a reason and it looks like the garage dont have the correct equipment. Take it to a garage that regularly does Fiats get the code memory read and cleared then wait until the light comes on again and have it read again. If you are PC savvy, get a connection cable from aBay and search this forum to find the suitable software. Get a good discount, because it could be anything from a faulty coil to a faulty ECU (though thats rare). If it was simple surely the seller would have fixed it.

Head gaskets fail when the coolant level drops too low. This is usually because its not been serviced (old coolant) and/or the owner has not done the weekly checks so the loss wasn't noticed. Poor/no servicing in the past wont improve its reliability today. The same issue affects the thermostat which can stick open and the rad which can corrode internally. But TBH its no big deal the parts are cheap and easy to fit.

LOL you have described my car to the letter when i bought it exept mine is jtd with noisey turbo and maf gone roof is now done also rear floors se lived by the see for too long lol

If the head gasket face was not skimmed the gasket could go again.

At this sort of age you will be looking at a new clutch soon enough. The pedal action should be light and smooth if it lumpy or heavy the clutch is failing.

The sump pan is steel and can corrode, if its oily and there are no other signs of leaks you might need a new one. The rocker cover gasket is common for leaks, but the repair is easy and cheap.

Check under the rubber roof gutters for rust it starts at the roof rack brackets and is easily fixed if its not spread. While on the subject, check the inner sills under the floor and the tyre changing jack points. Also check for rust within 6" of the seat belt anchors. Fiats are generally good for corrosion but its best to check.

A weak battery can cause the power steering to trip out. This might be an actual fault but many times a new battery is all it needs. I personally would go for the top knotch Bosch Silver though its a chunk more ££s than the basic job usually sold for 8V Puntos.

Sloppy wipers are fixed with a Wipex repair kit for £25.

That all said, £700 is cheap and allows lots of space for any repairs, which of course might not be needed.
Click to expand...

lol thats my car to the letter about a month ago mine is jtd 1.9 tho noisey turbo and maff but my roof and jacking points were rotten but for 500 pound u cnt go roung with mot and tax can you
 
A head gasket going isn't always service neglect. They aren't the strongest on these cars and driving them a bit too hard when it's old can cause it to blow.
Check the coolant to see if it's a rusty colour which shows the internals are most like corroding away. That's the biggest give away of service neglect but may have been changed recently.
Not bad cars to run on a budget but I really would suggest you or your son learn a bit about cars and how to service yourself and other simple work yourself. Saves £££'s in the long run and you'll have the knowledge for life.

Stops garages ripping you off aswell (y)
 
Thanks for the info folks.

I have no problem servicing or repairing cars, been doing it for 30 years, but never touched Fiats. If anyone needs to know about Hillman Imps or Nissan Micras give me a shout.

Just needed to know what their main weakness are, whether the head gasket fails early due to poor quality gaskets during manufacture, and whether the engine light is a known gremlin rather than an imminant failing of coil, ecu etc.

Short lifed clutches, rusty roof rails and jacking points are a worry, and I will certainly give them a good looking at.

Regards

Wilbie
 
Clutches don't tend to be so bad unless the driver doesn't know how to use them properly. Or you have a cheap one fitted.

Head gaskets aren't the best but on the 8v it really is simple to replace. Most people with puntos have them because they are a cheap car, so tends to be cheap people who skip out the services and looking after the car!
Full service history is important.
I've had the Engine management light on and it drove fine still then went off again. That was on my older punto, never had it on any other I've owned (which is 4 to date)
If you are competent with cars and can source parts cheap then it's the perfect car! (y)
 
Just like any other car of this era and price range then. Didn't want to judge the car with my pre-conceived ideas of earlier fiats of 80's and 90's with their electrical faults and rust problems. Hoping to view car soon so will go armed with info provided, list of usual questions and a good torch.

Son's just passed his test so is eager to buy first car, so at the moment he's like a dog with 2 d**ks and would buy anything that remotely looked drivable, even if the wheels were hanging off LOL.

Wilbie
 
Puntos are generally good for resisting corrosion.

Clutches are fine but if people rest their foot on the peal they can be shot in a few weeks. Excessive (and pointless) slipping the clutch or holding it on the clutch will soon eat them up. Always use a good quality repair kit.

Owners who service and check their cars properly have had head gaskets last the life of the car. They are no-where near the dreadful problems designed into the Hillman Imp which actually had a fabulous engine just bodge installed by Rootes Group.

My brother had an Uno in Italy with the 8V FIRE engine (carb fed but basically the same as the Punto engine). It went twice around the clock and never had any major work on the engine. It was recently still flying though "MOTs" and great on emissions but scrapped purely because Italian laws have banned pre Euro 2 cars from the roads.
 
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Had look at the car. Not bad to drive, though the clutch is heavy, so probably will need attention in the near future. Sump looks to be porous also, but looks like it can be replaced without to much drama. I'm assuming there is no need to raise the engine or drop any suspension parts to swap sump. Only other car I have had this problem with was a Mk 111 escort many moons ago, was easy to change though.

All in all the car appears to be worth the asking price, just need to find insurance for my son that isn't going to cost 4 - 5 times the cars value! Not suprised there are so many un-insured drivers about.
 
Never done it, but sump should be an easy job, you will need a sump, silicone gasket (there is no pattern gasket for the sump), filter and oil. Apart from the eBay link, these links are to shop4parts, where donated FF members get 10% off. Selenia 20K is a 10w40 semi-synthetic oil specifically recommended by Fiat for these cars.
 
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Heavy clutch sounds dodgy, best to change it because a failing release bearing can damage the gearbox shaft. Labour for mine was £120 so I let the garage do it.
 
Thanks for tips folks. Will let you know if we go ahead and buy the car, and how we get on with it.

Keep up the good work and happy motoring.

Regsrds
 
get it for a good price and you can afford to fix a few things. if its 10 years old there could be all sorts of stuff going on so a fat discount for the clutch etc would be more than fair.
 
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