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Multipla Glopsy

Introduction

Here's my new Multi,pictured on the day I picked her up, resplendent in what looks like a years worth of road grime :rolleyes:

I've serviced her, fixed numerous electrical issues including getting the remote CL working again and got her through an MOT a few days ago.

Next up is a drive belt tensioner change, as mine makes a real racket, bleed the clutch to see if I can get a better pedal, change the gearbox oil and then try and find a pair of roof bars before our holiday in May :)
Today was a good day :)

I managed to change the aux belt tensioner this morning, without having to remove the crank pulley and it has cured the awful racket coming from that end of the engine (y) Checking through the service history that came with the car, the tensioner and belt were changed less than 20k ago, and although I appreciate they are both consumables, I'd expect a bit more than a couple of years of driving out of them :(

I also attempted to change the gearbox oil, but couldn't get my 12mm hex socket in the drain plug, and the biggest allen key I had to hand was 10mm. I'll pop over to a local hardware store this weekend and pick a 12mm one up and cut it down to give access to the plug. I did however check the current level, which was so low it took just over a quarter litre.

Also ticked off the list was to replace all 3 wiper blades.

Next up will be the ARB droplinks, when I can work out whether it's the front or the back making the noise.

All in all, working on the Multi has proven fairly straightforward and even without a workshop manual most things I've had to do so far have not been too taxing :)
 
They are such great cars. and so fun to work on. Most things are extremely easy to get to and pretty much everything is so cheap to replace even with uprated parts. The only thing that annoys me is fiat's obsession with Allen bolts rather than standard bolts.
 
Another couple of jobs ticked off today, which has resulted in a much quieter and nicer drive :)

First up was a new N/S wishbone, replacing a completely worn out one that had seen better days, shortly followed by the ARB drop link. To make sure all was well after the new bits went on I had the tracking checked and the front wheels balanced.

Hopefully now I can have at least a couple of weeks before something else needs doing :rolleyes:
 
Glad to see you getting things sorted, they can seem daunting at first, but taken one job at a time soon puts the 'glow in the cheeks' of a job well done.

I am a tad OTT when it comes to servicing, I tend to change stuff before the recommended interval has elapsed, I haven't suffered a major breakdown yet and can only assume that what I do is for the good.

In my opinion people don't spend enough time and effort on their beloved car, but are not slow to criticise it when it eventually says 'enough is enough' and dies on the side of the road, which is guaranteed to be at the most inopportune time.
Regarding looking after a car or bike, my father never tired of telling me: 'you get out what you put in' and he's never been proved wrong.

Keep up the good work and it'll pay you back
George
 
Managed to have a couple of hours to myself this afternoon, which is a rare occurrence at the moment so I had a go at cleaning Glopsy. I even managed a quick polish too as well as treating the plastics to some linseed oil to bring them back to black (y)
 

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Hello again,

Just a little update on life with Glopsy, who has just returned from a 4 day trip to Devon with our little family and did us all proud. We even pulled alongside another exact model on the M5 which made everyone in both cars smile :)

I finally dropped into a little garage on my way home from work with her this afternoon to see if a re-gas would bring the air-con back to life, although deep down I had little hope that that would be all she needed. They plugged her in ,vacuumed out the system and then filled her up, holding the pressure for 5 minutes to see if there were any leaks in the process.............

To my amazement, having been in this situation before with other vehicles of the same age, Glopsy's aircon sprung back into life and is working as it should :D

This now means that everything on her works, which for a 13 year old Fiat with 90k is wonderful (y)

Next up, in a few weeks is a trip to North Yorkshire.... wish us luck ;)
 
I'm on my fourth Multi now (a 51 plate 1.6) and it's the 1st one with actual working air-conditioning, it's a real joy, coz those large windows are like driving a greenhouse ?
 
We've managed without air-con for quite a few years now but it niggled me that it was the only thing left to try and get working and I needed to find out whether it was just a case of getting a re-gas on something more involved.

Unlike my previous car, a 406 HDi estate, which was re-gassed at a so called Peugeot specialist only for it all to leak out hours later, the Multi has at least held onto it for more than a day now :)

One thing that the mechanic who did the work yesterday mentioned was that the sometimes horrid rattle I get when first pulling away, which I half cured by fitting a new tensioner could well be being caused by a stretched drive belt, so there's one on the way to me which I'll fit over the weekend. (y)
 
The car looks great (well, for a Multipla !! :D), glad that your efforts are being rewarded with an enjoyable drive.

As I understand it they were the last models built on the Tipo platform from the late 80s, it did really well being evolved into the Coupe, Brava / Bravo, Marea and finally the Multipla.

My well used-and-abused '95 Tipo is working towards yet another MOT! I wonder if yours will see 21 years??
 
I've already done the NSF wishbone along with both front drop links and I have a receipt in the service history for the OSF wishbone from 15K ago so all should be good for a few more miles.

What's the idea behind painting the sump, as I'm fairly sure it's alloy ?

The next job really should be a clutch/DMF change, as my pedal is almost on the floor :rolleyes:
 
Sump on the 1.6 petrol is steel.

Strictly speaking the Multipla is of spaceframe construction (unusual in a 'modern' car) and it has an almost perfectly flat floor front-to-back (again, very unusual) that's level with the TOP of the cills, so the body structure has very little in common with Tipo, Bravo/Brava etc. A lot of the running gear and subframe structure is either the same as or very similar to them though (and the Alfa 147).
 
I finally managed to find a little time to fit the new aux belt, and it has indeed cured the rattle produced when you initially pull away at lowish revs, so another job ticked off the list :)

Next up will be an EGR clean or replace and possible MAF as it's dropped down on power when pulling out of junctions twice now when cold and she's producing a little bit more smoke than I'd like it too. I also think she used a bit more fuel than I expected on our jaunt up to North Yorkshire, which could all be related.

The only other thing that still niggles me is the OS plastic sill, which was cracked beyond repair when I bought her and remains taped up. I've not had any luck locally finding one, as the two Multi's in my nearest scrap yard have had their wheels taken off and ungraciously dumped on the ground :rolleyes:

Apart from that she's doing a grand job, and as we speak is doing service as a car-boot wagon for my wife as she saw how big and flat the load area was the other day when I took the rear seats out for a clean :D
 
Today was EGR valve day, so first up was off with the engine cover and undo the bolts holding the valve in situ.



Most of the bolts were really tight apart from the bottom two 6mm hex bolts which put up a monumental fight leaving plenty of my skin on the back of the engine :rolleyes: even having taken off the flexi pipe to give me a little more room



Anyway, after a couple of hours and several cups of tea the new valve was on and time for a test drive.
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The new valve has made a noticeable difference to the pick up and Glopsy now accelerates a lot smoother than before and there is certainly less black smoke as well :)

Next job is to try harder at finding an O/S sill to replace my taped up one and maybe a tow bar :):)
 
Good evening all,

Just a little ( rather dull, sorry ! ) update on Glopsy.

This evening I finally replaced the micro switch in the spare remote key, and for the sake of a whole £1.29 delivered, I now have two working remotes :D

Very simple job, that just required 4 tiny blobs of solder and a steady-ish hand.

Things I still need, if anyone has them for sale are ;

A N/S wing mirror ( folding one for an 03 JTD Eleganza )

Front fitted mat ( the long one that goes across the whole front )

An O/S plastic sill cover.
 
Quick update - Just back from a family outing to Colchester in Glopsy, who is running rather well at the moment, apart from the really low clutch pedal that causes a small graunch when putting into 1st and reverse.:eek:

My local Mr Clutch has quoted £418 to do the job , although that's without a DMF. I know, I know that whilst the box is out it would be sensible to change the flywheel , but financially things are really tight,especially with Christmas almost upon us and it's probably going to be yet another regret, but my options are limited. I'm also trying everything I can to convince my wife that Multiplers Multipla that's for sale would be a good project for her to use in the spring, once it's fixed up but again, life is getting in the way :rolleyes:
 
My DMF did not need replacing after 112,000 miles. It is really easy to see if it does or not. Like you I also thought changing it would be a wise thing but it turned out to be the biggest folly ever. The one I got (supposedly a new LUK) turned out to be a duffer meaning I had to strip the whole lot again and put the original one back. Take a look at my thread about transmission removal. I posted some videos there.
 
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