Technical MK1 Punto, dead or dying

[fivegoldstars]

My 'trusty' MK1 has taken one step closer to Punto heaven.
Last night, it started up fine, but lost power on a hill after a few hundred yards. It now will not start, although, bless it, it's trying hard. Rolling it back down the hill, I managed to get it going for a few hundred yards, but it died on the next incline. Have tried jump starting it, but no joy.
To be fair, I've been running it into the ground of late - its got a few problems which are going to be uneconomical to fix. If the head gasket hasn't gone, its certainly on its way - there's always a level of pressure in the tank, even if water loss/contamination is minimal. Just wondered if anybody had any suggestions as to what may have caused this power failure, and if it may be something that can be bodged to get me a few more miles - would be handy if I could just get round a few showrooms!

 

[jimboy]

Neglect....

 

[fivegoldstars]

Are you suggesting that I've hurt her feelings and she's doing this out of spite?

 

[fingers99]

Head gasket is easy DIY. Costs less than £120 (doing the belt and tensioner and water pump at the same time). Where can you get another car for that?

Generally, a car with poor compression will be harder to start.

Check battery terminals and engine earths. (Try the olde jump lead from battery negative to engine as extra earth trick.)

 

[fivegoldstars]

Cheers. Will give that a go later.
I appreciate what you're saying about the head gasket, but I think she's had her day. She's only done 65,000, but it's the original clutch, so that's probably going to be coming around soon. The rear suspension sounds like dodgy bed springs, and both of those jobs are going to be garage jobs. What with a new battery and good service, altogether, they'll be at least £500 of jobs to do prior to the MOT in June - I think that would be best put towards something that's less than 17 years old. Don't know what I'll do with all my tapes though!

 

[fingers99]

Remove the tape deck, build a little console for it, and use it at home to amuse the grandkids!

 

[JTD_Liam]

If you could get a test done to check the head gasket & it confirms it is, you could get the head gasket done cheap by a competent local mechanic then with a service & battery you could be looking at £250 ish total. Obviously if it's not head gasket & needs loads of investigation then the labour costs probably make it uneconomical, which is a shame given the low mileage.

Suspension noises on a Mk1 is something i had on my old P reg 75 SX at about 60k! It turned out to be rear radius arms which are common on Mk1's, so if you've not had them done it could be them. I paid £150 for both sides at a Fiat Main Dealer so i guess they'll be peanuts at an independant garage. Unless the clutch feels like it's going it may well last a while yet.

Depends if you think it's worth it. Poor Punto I loved my Mk1, it's what kicked off my love of Fiats & is still on the road now, at nearly 16 years old. Not quite as old as yours though

I guess you'll get another Fiat to replace her if you decide to get rid?

 

[fivegoldstars]

Yeah, have been having a look at Autotrader - would like to stick with a Punto, but something a little newer. Still feels wrong looking though - like I'm being unfaithful to her!

Personally, I'd carry on tinkering and fixing until I was having to power it like the Flintstones car, but her indoors wants something 'reliable'. Psk. Boring!

Will be trying to rule out a few things this weekend, then it's decision time.

 

[JTD_Liam]

Fiat's somehow make a few people feel like that, like you're betraying a person rather than a car. I think it's because they have little quirks, noises or behaviours that don't cause a problem but that stick in your mind like those of a person.

Seems like a wise course of action to have a look for anything obvious & go from there. Mk2 Punto's are largely an improvement; the only fly in the ointment being the power steering unit. Luckily companies can refurbish the columns now for a fraction of the cost of a new item, which makes the failure less of a problem. I guess the outrageous prices of a new column (circa £800) would've otherwise written off many Mk2's by now, since many are only worth £1000 now.

I'd imagine a Mk2B (Mk2 Facelift) in a decent trim is pretty attainable now & if they're like many Fiat models, i suspect they'd be better built than the early MK2's, not that i ever had a problem with my Mk2, but i believe a few have!

 

[fivegoldstars]

UPDATE. I've ruled out a battery fault. The battery is showing as half charged, I've created a new earth, and tried to start with a mains battery charger connected too.

I'm starting to think it may be the fuel pump. If you try to start the car for 30 seconds or so, there's a faint smell of petrol. Doesn't appear to be a leak as its still reading 1/4 full. Car did cut out going up hill, and did start once going downhill, so I'm thinking either a blockage or knackered pump. I've done some searching and somebody had a similar problem which was fixed by replacing a 15amp fuse in the engine bay, so will have a crack at that too.
If it is a blocked pump, can anybody suggest how I'm best sorting it?

 

[fivegoldstars]

Further update.
I've tried replacing the fuses in the engine bay - no joy.
I've tinkered with a few bits, and continued trying to turn it over. Yesterday, you could keep the key turned and it would keep trying to turn over. Now, it has a couple of feeble attempts and that's about the lot. Lights are nice and bright, but go out completely when trying to turn over.
Anything else to try before a flatbed comes from the local scrappy?

 

[fivegoldstars]

Final update

Had a look at the car today, took off filter box etc.
Breather pipe was choc full of mayo. Tried to turn it over without filter in place - no joy. Have accepted that this is a catastrophic head gasket failure, and Punto will be off to scrappy tomorrow.

 

[JTD_Liam]

This is a shame, but i have very little knowledge on these sorts of things so in the absence of any other advice it does sound pretty serious & i'd probably do the same thing, as reluctant as it may be

Hope you get on alright finding a replacement. Still aiming for a newer Punto?