(T) 2002 Punto Sporting Speedgear Problem

My wife's Punto Sporting Speedgear has a loud vibration/ rumbling noise from the front passenger footwell area. This has problem has proved to be an absolute nightmare to pinpoint and now 6 months after bringing it to the attention of our local Fiat delaer we are no further forward.

The biggest problem we have has is that the vibration/ rumbling can not always be heard. Sometimes the noise will be apparent for a few days and then it will dissappear for anywhere from an hour to a day or two before returning. This is the main cause of the dealer not being able to pinpoint it.

The car has had a new Speedgear gearbox fitted under warranty - this did not fix the problem.

It has had wheel bearings to the passenger side - this did not fix the problem.

The first bearing that was fitted by the dealer was faulty and caused the ABS to behave very oddly on the passenger side front wheel.

It has had a new OSF CV joint - the original one had little movement in it.

It has had new gearbox switches fitted after the Speedgear malfunction light came on the dashboard a month ago.

The driveshafts and CV joints have been checked but the dealer said they were okay, all engine and gearbox mounts have been checked - they are okay too.

There is nothing loose under the bonnet or around the footwell/wheelarch area.

The problem most frequently occurs when the car is turning right from a standing start or accelerating in a straight line from a standing start. The problem does not occur when the vehicle turns left from a standing start, but as I have explained, sometimes the problem does not occur at all.

We've owned this car since the beginning of the year, it has only 9,500 miles on the clock and has an extended FiatCare Premier warranty until Spring 2007.

My local dealer does not know what to suggest, I am considering contacting Fiat UK in Slough to see what they can do. Any ideas you may have as to what may be causing this problem would be appreciated.

Thanks for your help!

i know dave has a speedgear, he will probably suggest a few ideas.

ive never had no problems with mine though,
as they have replaced the speedgear box it probably nothing to do with the speedgear side of things

i did wonder if it was a possible air flow problem under the car and something isnt in the right place but as its happening as you pull away i'm not sure. Are the wheel archs attached correctly??

Thanks for your quick response to my posting...

The noise can be that bad that you almost think somethings going to break! I don't think a loose spashguard in the wheel arch would create such a noise.

The noise is related to the load which the engine is put under not the forward speed of the car. i.e. if you pull away from a standing start on an incline it will vibrate and rumble the moment you try to pull away at anything more than a snails pace.

The noise is more noticable inside the car than outside, the virbation and rumbling feels like it is being transmitted through the bulkhead somewhere - but like I've said the Fiat mechanics have been over everything. They did tell me about a problem which can sometimes happen - when the engine is fitted to the car at the factory it can sometimes be situated slightly too far back which causes a vibration of the engine through the bulkhead when it twists in it's mountings. This has been checked and no problems were found.

My own personal opinion of the noise is that it almost sounds rotational - like somethings slipping under force. Since the gearbox has been changed I think that can be eliminated, but I have questions about the clutch unit fitted to these CVT systems. They are a centrifugal lock-up clutch which spins and slips the car into gear when pulling away. My own theory is that the metal band might be slipping on the clutch under initial load when pulling away but this would not explain why it only does it in a straight line or on a righthand lock. My other theory is the differential, but I am unsure if this is integral in the gearbox or if it is an additional bolted-on piece of the gearing.

Any more ideas are gladly welcomed!

Many thanks.

I was going to say Diff, but I think they are integrated into the gearbox.