Had a breakdown yesterday on the M6 (thankfully it wasn't raining)... anyway it goes like this...

Car is on 20k miles; last service @ 12k / 9 months ago. Oil never topped up since (not needed to).

Coming down the hill from Keele services (heading North) the oil light started to flicker. When I got to the flat it stopped. I assume it needs a litre of oil as it's been a while, so I pull off at J16 and into a garage. A quick look and there's a couple of spots of oil underneath the pump.

So I give it 15 mins or so to cool down, and looked at the oil level - didn't even register on the dipstick So I put 3 litres in, until it hit the minimum mark on the dipper.

Everything looked fine, so I started her up. After a couple of minutes the 'few drips' had turned into a bit of a puddle, so I called the AA under Fiatcare. 30 seconds (literally) after I spoke to the call centre, the truck arrived

He twiddled with the rubber pipes, jubilee clips on the pump - they're fine.

Then he noticed the oil was coming out the side of the filter!!! He used some metallic putty stuff that's supposed to give a temporary seal, and the oil bubbled out of somewhere else on the filter!!! (obviously under pressure).

So I was dragged off to the nearest Fiat dealer, and sure enough the oil filter had corroded through. Genuine Fiat part. Nice

Luckily because it was a fiat part, dealer serviced, there was no charge for the repair. :worship: and I even got free coffee.

Lesson 1: Keep an eye on your filters as they're coming to the end of the service cycle. Especially if like me you live near the sea!!!

Lesson 2: For five quid (cost of the filter) carry a spare. The Fiat dealer originally quoted 14 day leadtime on the job!!! (until the AA guy begged). At least you can then go to any local garage and not worry about the availability of the part.

Hi B-Vectis,
Thanks for the info

I service my B twice a year, once at DTR and then I give it a half year service. I do loads of miles as my B is my ownly car at the mo and I use it for work.

I had some weird issues when I had mine from new back in 2002. Oil Cooler started to leak????

Starter motor went.

Heat shield 3 later in 3yrs.

Then the imobliser packed in.

All in 3yrs with 22 on the clock. Loverly cars but the dealers do not help. DTR seam to be a good solution as they seam to care. My Fiat dealer thought "not this car again". I hardly used her. Loved her but the stress anoyed me. Had to sell her. One day I'll buy a cheap one to tinkle with. But I find the quality of them does not warrent much being spent on them.



www.completelifemanagement.com

Finding a good mint 1997-2001 B is now becoming a hard thing to do!! So in 5 Years it will almost be impossible.