Hi everybody,

I just bought myself a Fiat Uno 1.0i.e. today. It is white, 5 doors. Low mileage and it is not too bad for its age though it needs a lot of TLC.

These are becoming really rare and I was pleased I managed to get hold of one.
Here it goes a few pictures.





It was a few minor mechanical issues, all easy to solve I hope. The idle is a bit irregular so I am planning to clean the idle control valve.

Any advise?

Rustproof it! especially sills & rear inner arch joints, treat any rust now, before winter, make sure theres oil in the gearbox.... Make sure theres antifreeze in it.. thats about it really...

Love the `Vehicle Watch` sticker, I`m guessing its ex-OAP & low mileage!

Hi,

Thanks for the warm reply .

Indeed it has low mileage:


So much to do and so little time...

Today I've given it a good clean. What a difference it made!

Looks in great condition, nice find

Assuming it's a FIRE engine, make sure the throttle cable isn't over-tight (e.g. caught on something), as I think this affects an idle switch on the single-point-injection unit and causes the lumpy idle. Check all plug leads/replace the plugs, and watch the engine in the dark sometime to check whether there's arcing between the leads on the distributor cap.

A Haynes manual is good to have, if you haven't already.

Welcome to the Uno!

-Alex

Hi Alex!

Thanks for your welcome too . I do love your threads - nice writing and inspiring stories. Speaking of which, what happened to the other parts of this odyssey:

?

It's not in a mint condition - a few dents including in the roof, the wheels look awful as you can see but just got 4 nice Fiat hub caps. It's my project car and slowly I'll take it to a reasonable condition.

It has the odd things:
- A tremendous noise from the rear suspension. I saw some reports on the hand brake cable but everything seems to be well lubricated.
- the speedo cable makes a phenomenal noise too
- the brakes could bite much more
- the normal oil leak (have ordered a rocker cover gasket already)
- thermostat is dead

Thanks for the piece of advice, I'll follow it religiously. It looks like the throttle cable does not belong there as the gaiter goes all the way to close to the grove/device that attaches to the throttle body. I'll take more pictures and post them here.

Yes it is a FIRE 1.0i.e. My father had a Fiat Uno 45S Evolution (from 1991) and it the first car I drove when I got my driving licence (back in the good old days of 1991). As you can imagine, this car brings great memories. And it is so fun to drive! Great engine... truly.

By the way - I was going to get some gearbox oil today but Tutela is quite difficult to find here. I know it has to be GL-3 (right?) and is there any equivalent gearbox oil from Castrol or BP or something more accessible here in the UK?


In the mean time I leave a few pictures more. One of the engine and the other from the passenger seat after being washed with my VAX machine






Thanks

Hi

On the 1.0ie its Tutela ZC 75 Synth GL4 if you have the C514 gearbox on your uno (depress gear leaver before selecting reverse)

non ep oil if you have a gear selector rod under your car

Fiat dealer is usuley a good place to pick up Tutela oil and it's about the same price as motorfactors (or was in 2004 when I did mine).

Hi Alex or anybody in the community that knows this

Is this normal?
[/URL]

Thanks

Afonso

thats the early setup as the later one had a cable that come from the front. I'd guess you have the early gearbox too??

don't look right to me.

EDIT spark plug 2 looks even harder to change with that setup.. Bet you don't have 4 matching plugh first time you change them

Hi

Thanks for your reply. Yes I presume the gearbox is the early one as to engage reverse I don't need to press or lift anything.

Regarding the spark plugs, that might eventually explain the irregular idle too...

I so looking forward to have some time to look at the calmly!

Cheers

In the past i would have said any uno other than the turbo was a waste of time,but after doing a few thousand miles in a mk1 45 i can now see why people love them so much.

Even the lower spec unos have great character and are so much more fun to drive than your modern day equivalents.

Looks like a good find mate,it looks real clean in the pics.

It seems like me, once you have had an uno in your past you always want another one

gtirx2 said:

In the past i would have said any uno other than the turbo was a waste of time,but after doing a few thousand miles in a mk1 45 i can now see why people love them so much.

Even the lower spec unos have great character and are so much more fun to drive than your modern day equivalents.

Looks like a good find mate,it looks real clean in the pics.

It seems like me, once you have had an uno in your past you always want another one

Click to expand...

Great post - but I've accidentally clicked the 'Dislike' button...! And very embarrassingly, I can't figure out how to remove my Dislike so sorry... Looking into this now.

As for the throttle cable, Alfonso, the rubber bellows (concertina part) seems to have been replaced for a smaller diameter one (longer?) which looks like the one on the bonnet release cable. The one normally fitted is larger in diameter but I have seen that cause problems by catching on the heater hose. Perhaps that is why the arrangement was changed to move it in front of the throttle spindle.

-Alex
-Alex

Hi Alex

Thanks for your feedback. I've made a few things this weekend so I have some good news.
- The rubber gaiter of the throttle cable is now is position and the cable is tension free:


- The spark plugs really need to be changed and probably the slightly erratic idling when cold comes from there
- The rocker gasket has been successfully replaced, so one less leak in the engine
- However the idle speed still feels too high whilst the engine is not fully up to temperature so I still suspect the ICV needs a good clean.
- I've also found a coolant leak. There's a puddle of water right underneath the gearbox flange but on a closer inspection it also drops from the catalytic converter. Therefore it made be suspect it comes from the pipe coming out of the water pump. Last night I've cleaned the pipe and it effectively had water. I hope that is the case as I am not much in the mood of removing the gearbox if it is the frost plug (or welsh plug)
- The clutch and brakes have been bled to perfection (the DOT 4 that was in there looked like coffee to me ).
- The speed cable was lubricated but it still jumps a bit

Thanks guys for your support, I'll keep you posted.

Cheers,
Afonso

gtirx2 said:

In the past i would have said any uno other than the turbo was a waste of time,but after doing a few thousand miles in a mk1 45 i can now see why people love them so much.

Even the lower spec unos have great character and are so much more fun to drive than your modern day equivalents.

Looks like a good find mate,it looks real clean in the pics.

It seems like me, once you have had an uno in your past you always want another one

Click to expand...

Thanks for your comments . I once drove a mk1 45 and it is slightly more nervous than the mk2 due to the notoriously shorter gearbox compared to the mk2. Great fun indeed!

nunesaf said:

...therefore it made be suspect it comes from the pipe coming out of the water pump. Last night I've cleaned the pipe and it effectively had water. ...

Click to expand...

this pipe has an o-ring on the end near the water pump which I've had to replace before now. It only leaked when cold and took ages to work out.

Louie Bee said:

this pipe has an o-ring on the end near the water pump which I've had to replace before now. It only leaked when cold and took ages to work out.

Click to expand...

Interesting... mine leaks all the time but mostly when cold. So it all points to that direction now. Great news I guess.

I'll start squirting WD40 to see if helps releasing the pipe before I try removing it. This o-ring - can it be found at any motor spares shop or at the dealer only?

Thanks!!!

there is a bolt holding it in place in the middle. should come out with a twist. Got mine from Big Mick here http://www.eurocarcare.net/ and they post out

Have a look on the FIAT EPER first - item 14 here paft number 14463580



http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...INT_MODE=0&EPER_CAT=SP&WINDOW_ID=1&GUI_LANG=3

Hi

Thanks again! I rang earlier the dealer in Epsom and it will be there on Thursday (plus a few other bits).

Now surprise surprise, got to the car and found a substantial puddle of gearbox oil on the floor right underneath the gaiter. The gaiter looks ok to me so I have to do a thorough inspection.

I begin to feel the gearbox does have to come out. I never did the job before and because I can only do it this weekend (as I'll have help and will not have the "unhelp" of my girlfriend ) could someone give me a few hints please? Sorry to bother you all but I would like to do this well first time also for logistic reasons:
a) the gearshift linkage - how does it come out? I don't even know which rods to pull and are they clip on, bolted, other?
b) if I need to remove the flywheel to access the welsh plug, can I re-use the old bolts?
c) a few pics would be highly appreciated

I am so sad I cannot go to the office on my little cute Uno tomorrow </3

Take some pics! I'm guessing your earlier gearbox has wet cups .. if so the inner CV joints are covered with CV boots and are filled with gear oil. if a boot splits all the gear oil leaks out.

If that's the case It's not a gearbox off job, but I've never done that job.. the haynes manual should tell you more. At least your gearbox still has oil to leak out

Goooood morning,

Indeed the gaiter is my primary suspect: it is very oily, and probably there was no manifestation of leakage because the split zone was facing upwards. However the whole box is greasy and dirty.

I'll take a few pictures tonight

Thanks for the support

Hi,

I hope I bring good news. When I arrived to the car today, it had only a few drops of oil on the floor. Very different from the large puddle yesterday. I was then very rapidly led to believe the leak would be not from the inner boot but from the top of the gearbox. This is what I found in terms of oil marks:



The pictures are not great and in all honesty the gearbox is filthy:



But in all that dirt, the fresher oil (still wet) seemed to trace up to the speed cable:

thought you cannot really see that clearly in this picture


And as you can see, it is all wet around it:



I have removed the speed cable during the weekend and I didn't tight it properly. It was less than half the way through. I sincerely hope this is the culprit! I'll take the car tomorrow to the office and that will put it to the test or is just nonsense as there's no oil not even close to the speed cable connector?


Another question, if I may. For the love of God, what is this box with the resistor inside and what is it doing here?

and


Is it any sort of heater? Last time I saw something like this it was for the fan blower speed selector.

Thanks again