Terrible day with the Panda today. Partly due to a plan I had, which goes as followed..

[Context: Fuel pump seized a while ago, new part came yesterday. Mechanic wanted £100+ for labour alone (after paying £140 for the Bosch part). Decided to do it myself.]

1. Collect car from mechanics yard.
2. Move it onto the road to get the RAC to move it to our garage.
3. Follow the under-the-seat hatch instructions found on the Fiat Forum.
4. Fit my new part. Drive away happy.


Got the car. Got it onto the road.
Phoned RAC at 1pm.
3 hour wait.
Waited.
4pm "it'll not be until 5.20pm"
Okay.. Waited.
5.20pm - RAC man phones, we won't move it, we already moved it due to the fuel pump failure.

Panda stuck near a junction. Had to call a friend to help me push it up the road backwards and manoeuvre it into a local private car park until I can get a family member to tow it tomorrow.. As I type, the Panda is still there.

So I messed up thinking the RAC would take it, but as we waited with the Panda I got my friend to bring some tools by, to try D.I.Ourselves.

Got the seat bench off.
Got the cap off.
Disconnected black battery cable.
Disconnected the connectors on the fuel pump.

COULD NOT for the life of us get the securing ring off of the pump.

I've had to order a part for about £9, adjustable fuel pump removal tool to do the job.

Sincerely hope that's it and I get my new part fitted hassle free.

I've attached a picture of the sheer dust and grime on the fuel pump - I *think* it's original. It's a VDO pump which I had the choice of getting as a replacement, but decided to shell out for the Bosch part for its lifetime warranty.


Tiring day. Everything went wrong.


Let's hope on Monday when the part gets here the job can be done fully and that'll be that.

I plan on making a Guide on this for the Fiat Forum to help anyone else with a Panda in the future who might have the questions / experiences etc I had!

Some additional context!
Does anyone agree that I did the right thing here? If not, why not I'd like to hear honestly. I think I was right to not let the mechanic sting me for that amount of money. The Bosch part was expensive, but the Fiat part was £290 retail and Bosch seemed to have more to brag about with their technology. Admit I was trying to pull a crafty one with RAC, but they did make me wait 4 hours and could surely have told me that at 1pm?!

Photo:

I gave up on my insurance company's free breakdown recovery after less time and drove car a mile or two with broken fan belt to a garage in nearest town to get repair done .Its always wise to have number of a good reliable recovery truck in wallet .
£100 sounds a lot for that job alright . While the learning curve can be steep and painful sometimes , it's rewarding doing DIY , isn't it ?

ytareh said:

I gave up on my insurance company's free breakdown recovery after less time and drove car a mile or two with broken fan belt to a garage in nearest town to get repair done .Its always wise to have number of a good reliable recovery truck in wallet .

£100 sounds a lot for that job alright . While the learning curve can be steep and painful sometimes , it's rewarding doing DIY , isn't it ?

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I just hope to hell on Monday when that ring removal tool gets here that's it and it's done!

If it works then I'll continue my DIY but if it doesn't Fiat gains another clueless owner who gives them the cash they ask for for peace of mind! Lol

My Panda is sitting in a car park for the night. Towing it back nice and early tomorrow.

The flash on the camera really brought out all the dirty and grimey detail I didn't even see by eye!

As soon as the pump is in she's getting a new year coat of wax

If you had a friend in the AA, you could have got them to get you towed. It's not your car that joins, it's you. They will fix or tow you even if you're just a passenger and it's not your car. They'll also do the same for a car your kids are travelling in whether or not you're with them.

I've found them to be quite helpful over the years. Once when my husband's Saab 900 broke down about 4 miles from home, the AA man drove my husband home to get a new rotor arm which he had in the garage and then fitted it for him. Also when my old Polo had an electrical fault, the AA man worked on my car for over an hour finding the fault and then running a wire alongside the faulty one to get me going again. Again if the AA man who came when the rear brake shoe lining delaminated on my car had have been able to source the part required on a Saturday afternoon, he would have went and got it and fixed my car at the roadside.

Wee Smurf said:

If you had a friend in the AA, you could have got them to get you towed. It's not your car that joins, it's you. They will fix or tow you even if you're just a passenger and it's not your car. They'll also do the same for a car your kids are travelling in whether or not you're with them.

I've found them to be quite helpful over the years. Once when my husband's Saab 900 broke down about 4 miles from home, the AA man drove my husband home to get a new rotor arm which he had in the garage and then fitted it for him. Also when my old Polo had an electrical fault, the AA man worked on my car for over an hour finding the fault and then running a wire alongside the faulty one to get me going again. Again if the AA man who came when the rear brake shoe lining delaminated on my car had have been able to source the part required on a Saturday afternoon, he would have went and got it and fixed my car at the roadside.

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Must join the AA now in the new year They seem to be what I thought the RAC would be.


Also, the RAC guy who refused to come out towed me the first time with a rope, which I've since found out is illegal.. and dangerous. I'm going to have a serious word with my insurance company about that and the fact I waited for four hours yesterday to be refused service.

Question is do I contact RAC or the insurance complaints like? Hmm...

SB1500 said:

Must join the AA now in the new year They seem to be what I thought the RAC would be.


Also, the RAC guy who refused to come out towed me the first time with a rope, which I've since found out is illegal.. and dangerous. I'm going to have a serious word with my insurance company about that and the fact I waited for four hours yesterday to be refused service.

Question is do I contact RAC or the insurance complaints like? Hmm...

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I can't believe that the RAC towed you with a rope! The one time I was towed, it was on a little dolly behind the AA van (front wheels off the ground) and I sat in the van beside him.