Technical New to Forum and just bought a Marea

[Stratos]

Hello,

This is my first posting on this forum as today I bought a 1998 Marea 2.4TD HLX. It’s a great drive and pretty quick too, for an oil burner. I have a few questions that I'd be grateful if anyone can offer any sort of an answer for.

1) The gear stick if very stiff - I’ve already read all the stiff stick jokes on the forum The gears select OK but a lot of effort has to be used to move the stick, not only into each gear but side-to-side when in neutral. I suspect the linkage needs lubricating, as I believe the car was left unused for a while before I bought it. Do this sound feasible? Is the linkage cable or rod? Any tips?
2) The recorded mileage is 047332 (true?). What are the recommended service intervals and at what mileage/age should the cam belt be renewed. I’ve budgeted for a new cam belt anyway but after reading a previous posting it sounds sensible to also replace the tensioner, water pump & aux belt – comments?
3) Injector light stays on for 20 seconds after starting – Normal?
4) The radio doesn’t work - it displays “safe” when turned on. Does the key code need entering? I’ve not got the code, are Fiat dealers friendly enough to supply it (at a cost, I’m sure).
5) Can somebody explain the arrangement with the keys? A mate said one is the master, which must not be lost. I’ve got two keys; one is bigger with a button to unlock the doors, I guess the smaller blue one (without the button) is the master? Does the immobiliser work via a chip in the keys?
6) Is the Lindsay Porter manual the only one available for the Marea?


Thanks in advance for any advice given.

Andy.

 

[black_cinq]

Hello

 

[Helz]

Hello and welcome. My unqualified answers will be a start!

The Marea is similar to the Brava/o, which recommends having the belt checked and preferably changed at or before the 48k mile service. It is usually serviced every 12k miles although some prefer to do oil and filter changes at 6k.

If the radio is displaying safe then yes it needs the code entering. You could try asking the previous owner if they have it, save yourself a little expense (or if you bought it from a garage complain to them) but yes you can get it from the dealer if need be.

As for the gears, the boots have a tendency to flake away a little so have a check they're all intact but other than that sorry again I don't know much about the mechanism.

Hope this helps.

 

[Stratos]

Thanks guys. Any information is gratefully recieved.

 

[Stratos]

Update:

Struggled to start this morning from cold, but OK on restarts during the day. Again injector light remains on for 20 seconds after starting. Is this likely to be an injector fault or a glow plug problem? This is my first diesel car so I've got a bit to learn about the way they work!

 

[polecat]

Hi Stratos and welcome to our forum

I would recommend that the cam belt is changed sooner rather than later. Changing the water pump is not required but is insurance against the high cost of getting it replaced if it does fail, e.g. a new one is less likely to fail over the next 50k miles which is likely the next time the engine is dropped.

The master key is a burgandy red in colour and is needed if you need to reprogramme your immobiliser.

You can get the radio code from a main dealer or from a specialist car audio shop. Cost between £25 to £35.

Porters covers more than Haynes, but the Haynes is still a usefull manual as there are a lot of similarities between the Marea and Bravo/a. I am not aware of any other manuals.

The mileage is possible, I had 51k on mine a year ago (P97).

Try an injector cleaner additive and see if that helps.

Good luck.

 

[sezseller]

the gear needs a new link wire, i had that now the gears are like a dream.
Lindsay Porter manual is the only one there is also a fiat ePer cd u can get with all the parts extremley useful. Do a search on ebay you can get it for around £7 in postage.

 

[Stratos]

Thanks for the replys guys.

I've fitted new glow plugs and the car now starts on the button. Plus the fuel injector light doesn't now come on. I guess when starting cold one or more cylinder wasn't firing and the injector light came on?

My local Fiat garage only wants £15 for the key code so next time I'm in the area I'll hand over my money and have music at last!

I've taken the centre console out to look at the gear stick cables. A little plastic componet has been smashed apart, I guess due to excess loads enforced by me trying to overcome the stick cables. Hope to sort this tomorrow.

Next job is to book the car in for a cam belt change before I push my luck too far!

I'm still a bit confussed about the keys as neither of mine are burgandy red. I'll borrow a digital camera and upload a picture and hopefully someone can explain the difference.

Thanks again for the help.

 

[Stratos]

Well I've freed up my gear linkage today but I've got a problem. Attached is a photo of the base of the gear stick. The blue arrow points to a ball joint. The nylon cup, which fits into the metal arm, has broken up due to the stress it underwent whilst the linkage was stiff. If anyone out there has a parts CD could they look to see if this cup is available as a single component? I fear that the whole arm, or more may have to be bought.

I've ordered a parts CD from eBay but I doubt it will arrive until the end of the week.

Thanks guys.

 

[Stu DemonD]

If anyone out there has a parts CD could they look to see if this cup is available as a single component? I fear that the whole arm, or more may have to be bought.

Starting point here

http://www.findmyoldcar.com:7080/navi?COUNTRY=012&MAKE=F&SBMK=F&COMM_MODEL=MAR&DRIVE=S&PREVIOUS_KEY=HOME&GUI_LANG=3&PRINT_MODE=0&ALL_LIST_PART=0&EPER_CAT=SP&WINDOW_ID=1&KEY=VERSION&ALL_FIG=0&LANGUAGE=3&SB_CODE=-1

 

[Stratos]

Nice one! thanks, its a 46470897!