My daughter bought her first car 1.2 Punto 8v 2001 last week. She took a friend with her who was helpful but they did not ask when the cam belt was changed. (Have urged her to text the previous owner for info.)
So Monday I gave it the once over (had Strada, Uno, Croma in past and did most of my maintenance and some repairs) I'm not expert but have a good knowledge of diy built up over several decades.
I changed engine oil anf filter also gearbox oil and finally air filter. I noticed that the airbox is really only held down at three points and the bracket closest to the firewall which is I think metal, but may be plastic, and the brass insert in it was loose so that it does not hold down. I think the bolt has been overtightened at some stage.
So I have two questions. 1 Is the 8v really a non-interfearence engine and what demarcates the Mark 2 and 2B (how to verify engine number). 2 Has anyone experienced this airbox bracket problem and fixed it. I jerry rigged it for now by tying across the air box to stop it lifting up?

Right, in no particular order. 8V engines are non interference except the late ones, yours in a MK2, 2B's have the bigger headlamps from about '05 onwards. I wouldn't sweat over the airfilter, however if there is any doubt over the cambelt I'd get it done - it may not cause any damage but do you want her stuck on the hard shoulder or in the middle of nowhere? They really are a cheap and easy job for a bit of peace of mind.

The mk2 and mk2b both have the 188 chassis numbers
A400 or is it a4000 ditates its a 1.2 8v

The mk2 and mk2b are pretty much identical cars mechanically, just cosmetic and basic electronic changes (more canbus' so better dash's etc)

The Mk2 has narrow lights, make from 99 - 2003
Mk2b's had better lights which are much bigger, the fog lights were moved to the bumper too! made from 2003 - 2006

Some mk2's though are on a 05 - 06 plate because the dealers never sold then till late - rare through

But yes
The air cleaner is held in by 2 fixings, 1 at the rear as you've said, they are fragile and either snap or spin
The others the coil pack holder - so ensure its in straight to prevent threading

Then there is the spring clip on the rocker to airbox- vital to keep it down

Ziggy

Called the dealer pm they have been going 40 years as an indy Fiat dealer but now sell Subaru and Isuzu too. Cam belt kit £40.35 - no brainer!

You'll probably get a decent one from Euro for about 1/2 that.

maggers said:

You'll probably get a decent one from Euro for about 1/2 that.

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yup quiet likely yes

ziggy

Change the alternator belt if in any doubt as to it's age or condition. Frequently it's that belt shredding that takes out the timing belt.
The insert for the rear bracket misbehaves on ours as well. Open it all up and get a straight start. It will look better at least

I cant see how the alternator belt will take out the cambelt

More likely the alternator belt snapping is going smash the crank sensor in half resulting in the car gliding to a halt....

Ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

I cant see how the alternator belt will take out the cambelt

More likely the alternator belt snapping is going smash the crank sensor in half resulting in the car gliding to a halt....

Ziggy

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alt belt snaps, flies to timing belt gets stuck and booooom

flisko said:

alt belt snaps, flies to timing belt gets stuck and booooom

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I could understand with a huge long belt

but the punto's is tiny, less whipping force, i think the cam cover may be broken yes - but not enough to snap timing

Dont get me wrong - in extreme cases is might possibly
But personally i just cant see how

Ziggy

there was some guy here

plastic bag got caught and caused his timing belt to slip or something

Brendan W said:

Change the alternator belt if in any doubt as to it's age or condition. Frequently it's that belt shredding that takes out the timing belt.
The insert for the rear bracket misbehaves on ours as well. Open it all up and get a straight start. It will look better at least

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Not heard of this on Fiat 1.2 engines but it's not unheard of on Renault petrol engines, lower cambelt cover was a poor design and lets debris in. Had a renault strip the teeth off it's cambelt when a stone bounced into the cambelt housing, I was doing 70 on Motorway when it went so made a mess of the top end.

Trust me on this. I have first hand experience and have the tee shirt.
Better half calls, cars dies after a funny noise sixty miles away. She gets towed by locals to a pub car park.
Alternator belt is gone. Timing belt still on the pulleys but is missing about a third of it's width and has jumped a lot of teeth. A lot of alternator belt is curled up in a tight knot behind the timing belt crank pulley and needs digging out.
The guys who towed her stayed with her 'til I got there. Proper gents. They knew a bit and told me the engine was dead. They spotted the teeth jump. 90 minutes later I'm driving away. Probably still scratching their heads.

Brendan W said:

Trust me on this. I have first hand experience and have the tee shirt.
Better half calls, cars dies after a funny noise sixty miles away. She gets towed by locals to a pub car park.
Alternator belt is gone. Timing belt still on the pulleys but is missing about a third of it's width and has jumped a lot of teeth. A lot of alternator belt is curled up in a tight knot behind the timing belt crank pulley and needs digging out.
The guys who towed her stayed with her 'til I got there. Proper gents. They knew a bit and told me the engine was dead. They spotted the teeth jump. 90 minutes later I'm driving away. Probably still scratching their heads.

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so that was you?

Southsea said:

Called the dealer pm they have been going 40 years as an indy Fiat dealer but now sell Subaru and Isuzu too. Cam belt kit £40.35 - no brainer!

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kit is cheap enough from factors,

re- the brass threaded insert..
unscrew it from the bolt , put a little araldite / epoxy on the outside knurls /serrations,
and push it back into the hole it belongs in,

then get the screw / bolt,
put a light coating of oil / WD40 on it, and screw it into the insert,
leave to set for an hour,
the insert will be bonded in place, but the oily screw will still be removable,
Charlie