Hello everyone! I've been searching the internet for people with the Uno 1.1 I.e-S. I found this forum and i thought i would just ask some questions here. I see that there are a lot of people with auto mechanical knowledge. Anyways hope that is ok.

First of all I live in Norway, cold country up north. I own a Fiat Uno 1.1 I.e-S mk II. It was first time registered in 1994 but i think it was made in 92-93. The sylinder volume is 1108ccm and has approximatly 50bhp( probably alot less now) This car is stamped as a **** car in Norway, I think the mk II both design and fuel consumption wise is pretty good. The car hasn't got that much rust on the body, but underneat there is quite some rust.
I've done some repairs to it( or maintenance)
- Changed Exhaust pipes( the pipe from the manifold, and the muffler part. Not the catalysator part)
- Changed o-ring on Distributor( it was all crispy)
- I paid two different mechanics to seal the oil leak from the top cover or what it's called, but they did a **** job and its still leaking.)
- Going to change break lines at the back( all rusted, or the EU control guys are trying to get money from me :S)
- The windshield washer fluid pump for the back window doesnt work.( is it completly broken or can i fix it?)

I'm having problems with condense build up inside the car, this is bad at winter times when its -20C outside. The door at the driver side and the front passenger side often gets stuck at winter and i sometimes have to go in through the luggage compartment Also at these degrees the lock gets frozen and the door wont shut when i finally get it up.

So can someone with experince give me some tips on what i should do to make it easier at winter times and also keeping my car alive generally ?

Some questions:

- Is it possible in any way to tune or increase the performance of the engine? its driven 120 000 km
- Is it possible to change the engine? ( what engines are compatible)
- Are there problems which will occure if i dont take certain measures? ( what measures?)

Thanks to the guys who will take time to answer me

Hi Andy,

Uno 55 is a pretty good ship.. You only have to worry about rust now and where to find spare parts!

The 1108 engine is the FIRE engine also used in the Punto Mk1 and the Cinquecento Sporting. It's good for 55bhp nominally (52-54 actual) and there's no point to change it unless your completely dies.. but Punto and Cinq' can provide a transplant motor, if you need it.

You only have to change the cam-belt and tensioner every so often (36,000 miles ideal.. though I think Fiat say 48,000) but if you don't and the belt breaks, the engine will survive, since it's a FIRE engine (non-interference, so you don't damage the valves).

Keep the oil and filter fresh (every 6000 miles) and change the coolant every 2 years for the correct concentration for Norway (it's snowing -20C in September????) and the beast will never die.

The rear washer motor is separate to the front one. They're both attached to the washer bag. If you swap over the pipes you will be able to see if the motor works and the pipe is just blocked (if water comes out of the front washer) or if the motor is broken or a wiring problem (if it doesn't make a noise when you operate it).

You can get new motors separately if it's the motor not working.. but also clean the electrical connectors.. sometimes they become corroded when you spill fluid down the front of the bag.

Your condensation sound serious because it means moisture is getting inside the car. Lift up the carpets and see if there's water under there, or your floor will rust. It's probably leaking from a window seal.. so when you wash the car place some cloths inside the car to see if they get wet. It may be the windscreen or the water channels at the back of the bonnet (where the wiper motor is) may be blocked. Get in there and have a look.

The locks need a lot of oil to stop them freezing. Put some WD40 in there to drive out the moisture.. work the lock backwards and forwards and then stuff grease inside the lock to keep any more moisture out.

The door seals... put some silicone on them, such as the stuff people use to make their tyres all black and shiny. It has to be something oily, to keep the water off.. but don't use Vaseline or anything petroleum based, or it rots the rubber.

Learn to weld.. you'll need it when the floor and inner wheel arches go rusty.. but Uno is a splendid little car, so you got to keep it going!

Ralf S.

Hey Ralf ! Thank you so much for the tips. I'll be sure to follow them. Appreciate it! I looked up on wikipedia and i think my engine is the following:

1.1 50 i.e.
I4 1108 cc 50 PS (37 kW) @ 5250 rpm 84 N·m (62 lb·ft) @ 3000 rpm 1991–1994

Is this the FIRE engine? and what does that mean exactly? So there is no possibility of increasing the engine power to a noticable level?

Also on the side of the car its says 1.1 i.e-S. What does the S stand for exactly ?

And no haha. luckily its not -20 yet but its getting below 0 C at night times

oh found a Explanation on the word FIRE ( Fully Integrated Robotized Engine)

And found something based on your info on the engine:


Tuning the 1108cc 54 bhp cinquecento sporting engine -

The 1108cc fiat engine is a light high torque to weight ratio engine that uses an 8 valve alloy head, and a single point injection system run a a weber marreli ECU.
The standard 54bhp 63/lb/sf engine revs upto a limited 7200rpm though peak bhp is delivered at 5500rpm! these following simple mods will increase the point in the rev range where the peak power is made meaning the power can be spread over a wide rev range and in gear max speed times can be greatly improved, including top speeds.

The first thing to do with this engine is to fit a full cold air induction kit as found at GSR engineering were tests showed gaines as high as 6bhp over standard using a highly advanced venturi effect design to increase air velocity into the engine while sucking in cold air.
here is a list of things to fit to the 1108 engine to make good gains over standard -

Cold air induction kit
exhaust system
decat pipe
centre box removed
superchip with advanced ignition timing and increased rev limiter

= 65bhp

40mm throttle body or a PUG 36mm throttle body fits
after market plugs and H/T leads
punto 75 camshaft (increased lift and duration over standard 1108 cam)
3 bar fuel pump with an adjustable fuel pressure reg to add extra fuel after a rolling road set up

= 75bhp

ported and polished cylinder head with three angled valve seats
adjustable cam pulley to change the torque spread in the rev range and peak power
kent/piper cam
skimmed cylindr head to increase the C/R making the engine more efficient

= 85bhp

nitrous kit
one off inlet mainfold/throttle bodies
aftermarket management such as the dastek unichip, or the greddy emange blue

andyUno said:

- I paid two different mechanics to seal the oil leak from the top cover or what it's called, but they did a **** job and its still leaking.)

Click to expand...

If the camshaft cover (square silver rectangular cover made of aluminium) is leaking then make sure a new seal is fitted. They're not expensive and easily found in most Fiat dealers. Don't use sealant as it's not designed to seal that way. I bet that's what the garage has done...

Also bear in mind that it could be the distributor 'o' ring seal that is leaking. If the leak is at the gearbox end then this may be your problem.

andyUno said:

- The windshield washer fluid pump for the back window doesnt work.( is it completly broken or can i fix it?)

Click to expand...

Check to see if you have a blockage or if the pump isn't working. Firstly, when you operate the rear pump can you hear it working? If not, then you may have a faulty pump or problem with the washer switch. You can also swap the front and rear washer pipes over on the pumps fitted to the reservoir. Now operate the front washer pump - if the pipe to the rear isn't blocked then you'll get water spraying on the rear screen. If you still have no water then you have a blocked/ damaged pipe.

You can also swap over the electrical connections to the pumps so that the front washer switch will operate the rear washer. Now try the front washer (which will operate the rear washer pump). If it now works, then the problem lies with the switch and/ or wiring. If it still doesn't work then you may have a seized motor.

andyUno said:

I'm having problems with condense build up inside the car, this is bad at winter times when its -20C outside. The door at the driver side and the front passenger side often gets stuck at winter and i sometimes have to go in through the luggage compartment Also at these degrees the lock gets frozen and the door wont shut when i finally get it up.

Click to expand...

Spray WD40/ Silicone spray into the door lock and on the seals every few weeks during the winter months. This should help stop these from freezing.

andyUno said:

- Is it possible in any way to tune or increase the performance of the engine? its driven 120 000 km
- Is it possible to change the engine? ( what engines are compatible)
- Are there problems which will occure if i dont take certain measures? ( what measures?)

Click to expand...

Any engine can be tuned, but when you work out the costs involved there are much cheaper options involved to get more power/ torque.

Easiest is to find a 1242cc 8v Punto engine and fit that. It will bolt in place of your original engine and hook up to the gearbox no problem. If you have more skills and time, you can fit the 1242 16v engine and MPi injection system. Same applies to to the 1.4 16v engine though these will be a lot more expensive.

You could also find a rusty Uno Turbo and swap over all its engine, drive train, suspension and running gear.

For value for money, stick a 1242 8v Punto engine in and running with your existing fuel system. You'll get a nice increase in power and torque and it's an easy swap to carry out.

Good luck!

Thanks for the tips ill be sure to check them out. But how about fitting a turbo to the 1108cc engine ? would it do anything noticeable or would it be a complicated process and waste of time?

Thanks again guys for replying :slayer:

andyUno said:

Thanks for the tips ill be sure to check them out. But how about fitting a turbo to the 1108cc engine ? would it do anything noticeable or would it be a complicated process and waste of time?

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Certainly a noticeable effect but possibly TOO noticeable, would be easy to melt pistons and you need a *small* turbo to avoid lag. A guy in Holland has performed these conversions - do a Google search for:
van aiken turbo FIRE
The advantage on the Uno is that there's lots of space in front of the engine to fit the turbocharger.

Somebody claimed that gains from turbocharging the FIRE are "pointless". Well, see smokeme's page at http://smokeme.coconia.net/999cc_fire_mpi.htm
He got 168 bhp out of the 999cc and it broke a piston - what a legend "the maximum power that can be reliably extracted on a stock engine has been found to be 150hp". I think most of us would be happy with 150bhp in place of 45bhp :chin:

However, this is going to be an expensive way to get 150bhp compared to, say, buying an Alfa Romeo 156 2L Twinspark for about the same price

-Alex

Hi again. Thanks for all the answer. My fiat survived the winter thanks to all the tips i got. I think i wont do anything to the engine because dont want to ruin it. Anyways Im having a bit of a problem again.

In July the car suddenly stopped on the road without a warning. Didn't hear any unfamiliar sounds either. But after checking the coil and spark plugs I find out that the Distributor was broken. I managed to get a quite cheap brand new distributor from england. So now the electric part of the ignition system is working again. But then I found out that that the Timing belt was broken too. All the teeth on the belt at the crankshaft sprocket was torne off. So now im in the process of timing the engine again.

Really having problems with it. I've searched the forum an tried most of the things they say about the 1108cc engine. But cant seem to get it to work.

So I understand that you can use the mark on the flywheel housing, and/ or the mark on the crank sprocket? Where should the mark on the flywheel be? 0-5-10-15 bdtc.

Also i understood that one round on the camshaft equals to two rounds on the crankshaft?. I managed to get the markings on the belt in sync with each other, and also got the marks on the sprockets lined up with the marks on the engine. But i think the shafts still was unsynced.

Appreciate all the answers and tips.
My uno has only driven 115 000 km. So i really want to keep it a little while longer :/

Also i understood that one round on the camshaft equals to two rounds on the crankshaft?

Click to expand...

Yes.
The Camshaft must be in TDC position , on the first cylinder .
The mark on the flywheel must be 0°
Change the timing-belt every five years or 80.000 km.
When tightening the timing-belt , you must be able to turn it almost
90 °. Don´t get the igniton-cables confused !

And don´t worry. FIRE engine are save to work on.

ok great But how do i know when the camshaft is at TDC on the first sylinder? Is it when the mark on the sprocket is lined up with the mark on the engine?

Yes !

thanks!. Ill try that

EDIT: So will the distributor rotor be set automatically?

Damn im so annoyed! Im trying everything the haynes book says. I've tried the things that others have written on other threads. But still the engine wont start. Ive lined up everything, but still i hear a popping sound and exhaust comes out of the intake manifold. I mean all the cables are correct on the distributor cap. The rotor is lined up with the arrow on the dust cap when I line up the cam sprocket mark with the engine mark. The Crankshaft mark is where it should be, and the flywheel mark is on 0° BTDC. What am i doing wrong??

The mechanics here take too much money, More than half of its worth. So I will have to scrap the car or sell it in parts if I dont get it to work

Im sure the engine is ok, but it sounds like either is igniting at the wrong time or some electric sensor is cutting the power? Anyways the popping sound doesnt sound good.

So for the camshaft mark you are using the notch on the cylinder head at about the 43-minutes-to-the-hour position? Just below the centre line of the camshaft.

I think it might be bad news as far as a quick fix goes... being the 1108cc engine, are we sure that the valves haven't hit pistons with the camshaft stopped and engine continuing to turn? I know they don't hit on the 999cc but I'm not sure about the 1108cc. Anyway, if that's the case, you'll have to take the cylinder head off and use spare valves from another engine to fix. Bigger job but you can do it. Or just fit a complete replacement head.

-Alex

All 8v FIRE engines are non-interference, including the newest 1368cc

Keep calm, I know this feeling when thinks don´t work.
Believe me you really grow on these experiences.
I´m not sure but there are also some sensors that influence the ignition.
Do you have the BOSCH Monojetronic or WEBER SPI ?
There´s a Sensor at the Flywheel and one on the other side on the crank shaft wheel. These sensors are necessary for the MCU .
The FIRE engine has a Transistor ignition at the distributor.
Check for electrical faults also

alexGS said:

So for the camshaft mark you are using the notch on the cylinder head at about the 43-minutes-to-the-hour position? Just below the centre line of the camshaft.

-Alex

Click to expand...

Im using the mark on the flywheel. Setting it at 0° BTDC. Otherwhise the notch on the Camshaft is as you say, 43-minutes. Also i Rechecked all the sparkplugs and used the book to check whether the cables where connected properly to the distributor cap. Im not a mechanic, but I feel that Ive tried several solutions. The weird thing is that none of the sylinders get the engine running. Only thing that happened was the popping noises and exhaust coming out of the intake. Luckily I managed to get a hold of a friend of a friend who is a mechanic. Hopefully he can look into it. Im thinking their might be someting wrong, with my little experience I really cant tell.

Anyone experience that the distributor breaks completely? I mean all the parts inside of it was shattered. Is that because the timing belt was too old, or did the distributor break which made the camshaft stop completely which then again made the crankshaft rip the the teeth off the belt?

Oh yeah. Should have thought of that. Ill read in the Haynes book how to check those. Thanks

I have a Fiat Uno 60s 1108cc; year: 1990; and i need a carburetor for it, the carb i need is the Weber 32 TLF, could you help me please?