Seicento My Little Red Sei...

Just a little update again.
The Powerflex bushes for the front have arrived today!



I have booked the MOT in for Wednesday next week so new tires will be on the front along with new wishbones and hopefully it will pass!

Well after a little delay due to one of the arb brackets snapping I've got my car back after the MOT. Only the front rear bushes went on as the wishbones came with new bushes on as the wishbones came with new bushes. Other than that a new alternator belt and some track rod ends it passed without a single advisory

I have to say just those bits have made a huge difference, no more clonking over bumps, the steering is more responsive and it can corner even faster now :slayer:

Well today as I decided to take a nice blast though the countryside on this sunny Saturday morning. As I came round a corner at about 60 there was a snap followed by many bangs as lots of bits of metal/rubber bounced between my car and the road.

The bottom section of the arb bracket that holds the arb to the wishbone (that the garage welded back together and assured me wouldn't break) had snapped right off. Judging by what I found on the road after I stopped it took some plastic bits from somewhere with it too

I had to spend about 15 mins with my head in the wheel arch in a muddy farm entrance to get the bracket off, it ripped though the cv boot as well so everything was nice and greasy

It's now back at the garage while they wait for the part to come in....

just take the arb off, know quite a few cento's that have had them taken off now, they handle fine. As far as i know you can't them brackets new anymore, well not from fiat anyway.

I've found that I don't like how much mine rolls with the arb on so I'm not sure what it would be like with it off. The garage said they were going to order it through Desira and it would be about 3 days, at which point they welded it back together so I could have the car back sooner.

If I remember correctly removing the roll bar aids turn in. Is it just one bracket you need if so pm me I've got one sitting in a drawer other than that I don't think you can get them anymore unto.pl might have them I made my own when I needed some

I will find out exactly what's happening tomorrow, I will call the garage at lunchtime, if they haven't/can't get the part I will PM you, cheers

I got the car back a couple of days ago but the garage has made me a new bracket and it seems to be ok so hopefully I can now be back to the idea of cheap, fun motoring

I've just fitted the Abarth spacers and studs to the car, it took much longer than I expected and it's made some problems.. the first was that the brake disc retaining screw sheared off when I was screwing it in because they were all stupidly stiff, then on the other side I could only get one retaining screw all the way in. But I've put the wheels back on for the moment and it does look better but I'm left with steering vibrations above 60 that get worse the faster I go...

Any ideas?
Thanks, Ben

I've got the car back from the garage now, although it took a while to get down there as their cento died on me about 15 times on the journey It just kept cutting out, sometimes it would jolt back into life, sometimes I was left at the side of the road trying to get it started again..

I've now had some drilled discs and new pads fitted. They found that a wheel weight was missing and have rebalanced them all now.

For some reason it now slightly steers off to the right when I accelerate and still vibrates like hell up to and beyond about 70. Also the brakes on the drivers side are still very slightly binding despite having new discs. Once I was home the drivers side wheel was burning to touch and the passengers side was just warm

The series of constant little problems is really starting to get at me, whats wrong with having a cento that f*****g works?

iirc you had track rod ends swapped recently... did they do a wheel alignment after they fit them, or have to gone and had it done?

I'm not sure, I assume they did the tracking after, I will give them a ring to find out though. Strangely some of these things have started since they fitted the new brakes

assume nothing is always my theory... Should only cost you about £15 for full laser wheel alignment at any reputable tyre fitters

Considering the way things are with the car at the moment I will gladly take it somewhere to get that done just in the hope that sorts it. I will get it done after payday next month, see if that fixes things...

Any ideas about the high speed vibrations since I fitted the abarth spacers? Could the disc that's binding in one place cause the wobbling?

Well you have had the wheels balanced so it can only be play in a joint somewhere or (and i reckon this is more likely) the tracking has been out ever since the track-rod ends where changed..

As I said before, most places charge about £15 - if its out and causing vibration its putting more stress on the rest of the suspension & steering components which could lead to more problems. Just get it done asap and with a bit of luck all this hassle will just vanish.

But do check that one wheel isn't about to fall off in the meantime!

You've put doubt in my mind now, I will be out there later to check they're done up

I have spoken to the mechanic and he thought it might be because on the abarth spacers I've fitted, the flange on the drivers side one looked a little warped? He said i should give up the spacers but after having them on and experiencing the much nicer handling and the look of the slightly wider track I don't think I can go back.

One upside is that now the brakes are bedding in they're pretty awesome and the 'whoosh' of air sound it makes never gets boring

Just take it easy untill everything is properly sorted you pheasant mashing sasquatch :nerner:
Next time you might not end up in an empty field :nono:

well you could rule out the spacers by just whipping them off and going for a drive.. if they are sitting flat against the hub though i can't see it being them myself

blu73 said:

well you could rule out the spacers by just whipping them off and going for a drive.. if they are sitting flat against the hub though i can't see it being them myself

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I will give it a go tomorrow, all these little hard to diagnose problems are seriously bugging me. The spacers look very flat to me, and exactly in line with the hub around the edge.

Tbh it's a nightmare being unable to go over 70, I get stuck behind traffic and then thoroughly embarrassed when I try to get past it in the fast lane and hold everyone up :bang:

Is it possible it could be a slightly bent driveshaft or something? because assuming it isn't the spacers, the wheels are balanced and now the discs are ruled out (Unless the binding in one specific place on the disc can cause these vibrations) it must be something deeper/more serious.

Admittedly it wasn't doing any of this before I fitted the spacers or not that I noticed, but is it possible the spacers are effectively augmenting the symptoms so they're now noticeable?