Mousendahouse
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How much life would u approximate an 1.2 engine to have. If well maintained and nothing crazy happens. Is 200k miles unrealistic?
General How much life in a 1.2 engine?
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General How much life in a 1.2 engine?
It's perfectly realistic, given regular oil changes.
The one thing you must avoid at all costs is running the car when it is low on coolant; this has probably killed more FIRE engines than all the other causes put together.
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Modern low coolant engines will not tolerate low coolant. Over time this has given the FIRE a bit of a reputation for blown head gaskets. But it's really only happening because they just keep on going until neglect takes its toll and coolant levels drop.
My 90bhp @ 8,500 revs 900cc bike engine showed no signs of wear at 75,000 miles so 200,000 from a low stressed 50bhp per litre 1200 should be no problem. Just change the oil regularly, use top quality oil filters and make sure everything related to cooling is kept tip-top.
My 90bhp @ 8,500 revs 900cc bike engine showed no signs of wear at 75,000 miles so 200,000 from a low stressed 50bhp per litre 1200 should be no problem. Just change the oil regularly, use top quality oil filters and make sure everything related to cooling is kept tip-top.
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The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
Well there was a post on here from a chap with a 200K 1.4 and there is no reason why a 1.2 shouldn't get there if maintained and driven with respect.
If you look on the car buying sites you will see a lot of Pandas well over 150K and still running.
1.1 and 1.2 are easy to get past 200K Both my High mileage cars have had no problems with engine or gearboxes
They valve seals do leak a bit. Valves get a bit noisy. Burns a little oil for a few seconds especially if they are layed up for a couple of weeks. But they still pull strongly
2x cars 4 years 350K between them
!x coil pack.
2x radiators
1x heater matrix
2x thermostats
2x rear shoes
2x pads
1x pair wheel cylinders
1x handbrake cable
several bulbs
1x exhaust (bought blowing)
8x oil and filters
Probably missed a bit
but nothing expensive.
They valve seals do leak a bit. Valves get a bit noisy. Burns a little oil for a few seconds especially if they are layed up for a couple of weeks. But they still pull strongly
2x cars 4 years 350K between them
!x coil pack.
2x radiators
1x heater matrix
2x thermostats
2x rear shoes
2x pads
1x pair wheel cylinders
1x handbrake cable
several bulbs
1x exhaust (bought blowing)
8x oil and filters
Probably missed a bit
but nothing expensive.
No
There are various threads that gets bumped into view periodically..
350/400 isnt unheard of... mk2 puntos.. nicer cars to sit in for hours
https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-ii/464269-highest-miles-punto-you-have-ever-seen-2.html
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I had a Mk2 Punto (the better looking one) but actually prefer the Panda charm. That said, the Punto seats were better and you were not bashing shoulders with a passenger.
A modern car if well looked after is more than capable of high miles. In my findings through my car ownership over the years, it’s the rust that the killer. If you can control the tin worm, that’s half the battle. Engines are relatively easy to look after. You just have to service regularly as already said.
Most do not look after their machine to a high quality, only doing suspension and brakes usually past when needed. MOT time is a panic time knowing that there will be things to do. It should not be like that if the car was well looked after. In saying all that, nowadays most will change cars before it really gets beyond all this. Just my findings.
Most do not look after their machine to a high quality, only doing suspension and brakes usually past when needed. MOT time is a panic time knowing that there will be things to do. It should not be like that if the car was well looked after. In saying all that, nowadays most will change cars before it really gets beyond all this.
Just my findings.Bonkey dollocks
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They are well behaved engines, when they first came out when I was in the dealership they were a revalation, they earned the respect of the mechanics compared to previous fiat fare.
I don't think 200k is an unrealistic goal but its all down to preventative maintenance AND actions.
Regular oil and filter changes with, if possible, a genuine filter and correct grade of oil are a must, don't just go by the mileage either, if your car has only done 2k in 6 months but most of those miles are around town and mainly short drives it's even more important to change the oil than if you have done 6k of motorway driving. Both of our pandas have two oil changes each per year never going over 6k.
Cam belt changes are a must, never going over the specified mileage limit, again if your car does few miles a year but mainly short journeys or lots of stop start stuff don't wait until the specified mileage to change it, belts wear with time and can snap way before the recommended mileage to change, it's the classic Haynes manual stuff of 72000 miles or 4 years whichever comes sooner. (fiat recommends bigger miles than that but change it early to be safe.
Then it's just common sense, don't rev the living daylights out of it, especially when cold, this does a lot of harm, don't use it if it has a miss fire, again common sense, if you have an oil or coolant leak get it seen to ASAP, if its running hot again don't wait for it to breakdown in a cloud of steam get it looked at. Regular servicing must be adhered to, plugs and air filters etc etc. Any strange smells or knocks, again get it checked. Any rough running, especially rich running needs to be fixed ASAP as this causes engine wear too. Our panda eco has been serviced by me within an inch of its life, so much so that when I do an oil change the oil is till honey coloured when it comes out. Its the cleanest inside of an engine I've ever seen, so service, service, service!
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The Panda Nut
Nutty about Pandas Infected by Panda virus and OPD
A modern car if well looked after is more than capable of high miles. In my findings through my car ownership over the years, it’s the rust that the killer. If you can control the tin worm, that’s half the battle. Engines are relatively easy to look after. You just have to service regularly as already said.
Most do not look after their machine to a high quality, only doing suspension and brakes usually past when needed. MOT time is a panic time knowing that there will be things to do. It should not be like that if the car was well looked after. In saying all that, nowadays most will change cars before it really gets beyond all this.
Totally agree. But add change the gearbox oil every now and again I prefer 40K intervals.
That would be part of the service, this would be detailed in your service manual. This would be part of looking after a car as I said.
Somebody said cambelt..
Yes its a service item..
but the Traditional FIRE was safe.. so a
Belt failure wasnt the end.
Fully agree that the UK isnt likely to see the biggest miles..
A warmer..drier.. climate will mean it spends twice as long in service
My local yard was rammed full of mk2 puntos a few years ago.. probably @12 years in service
Yes its a service item..
but the Traditional FIRE was safe.. so a
Belt failure wasnt the end.
Fully agree that the UK isnt likely to see the biggest miles..
A warmer..drier.. climate will mean it spends twice as long in service
My local yard was rammed full of mk2 puntos a few years ago.. probably @12 years in service
here in the UK there are very few 2003/2004 Pandas left.
If you bought a 2005 unloved Panda it would be pointless spending money on
gear oil, cam belt and so on
but if you bought a 2010 in Good condition then it would make sense to look after and service properly.
horses for courses.
If you bought a 2005 unloved Panda it would be pointless spending money on
gear oil, cam belt and so on
but if you bought a 2010 in Good condition then it would make sense to look after and service properly.
horses for courses.
That would be part of the service, this would be detailed in your service manual. This would be part of looking after a car as I said.
The owners' handbook doesn't specify changing the gearbox oil, only checking the level every 80 000km. I understand this is normal in modern cars.
I think it would be fair to assume the gearbox oil has never been changed if you've acquired an old Panda, or had servicing carried out by a garage.
My gearchange felt much better after changing the transmission oil (I'm one of those 'horses' who bought a 2004 Panda and spent money on it
).The gears often crunched changing down to third when I got it, but not any more. I suspect the oil in the 'box had been low, despite FSH.
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The owners' handbook doesn't specify changing the gearbox oil, only checking the level every 80 000km. I understand this is normal in modern cars.
I think it would be fair to assume the gearbox oil has never been changed if you've acquired an old Panda, or had servicing carried out by a garage.
My gearchange felt much better after changing the transmission oil (I'm one of those 'horses' who bought a 2004 Panda and spent money on it
The gears often crunched changing down to third when I got it, but not any more. I suspect the oil in the 'box had been low, despite FSH.
Back in the day when working in the oil industry, I purchased some sheds for just travelling back and forth to work, the first thing a did was change all fluids including the gearbox. I still do that to this day, although the cars I own now are a bit more road worthy
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Late 80's Rover cars used the Honda gearbox, filled "for life" with 20w50 oil. I changed mine at 80,000 miles but to be fair the old oil was was clean.
Flicking back through this thread, a few things spring to mind.
People seem obcessed with the specific mileage being the main indicator of an engine’s longevity but this really isn’t the case, it’s worth noting that “motorway miles” play an important role, if a car sits in traffic barely moving all its life then it is going to sustain potentially much more wear at say 100,000 miles than an engine that has done 200k, this is why many machines and equipment with internal combustion engines has an hr meter so you can easily see the amount of use an engine has had.
If you where to drive up and down the country all day every day you would quickly be able to rack up 200,000 miles, maybe in a few short years.
The flip side of this is 90 year old dorris who only uses her car to go to the shop 1 mile down the road every 2 weeks.... which car out of these two do you think will make it to 200k miles ?
This brings me to my next point, engines of all manufacturers are fairly solid and reliable, it’s rarely the engine that sees a Car going to the scrap yard, maybe the perception of a worn engine especially as the car gets older, the thing being if a car does 15,000 miles a year (going over the average) it’s going to take over 13 years to get to 200,000 miles, by which time a car that is 13 years old with 200k on the clock is largely worthless especially a fiat, so when something goes wrong like it needs new shocks and springs which could need doing several time’s with that sort of distance, they owner is going to weigh up whether or not to pay £1000 for some work to be done on a car worth a couple of hundred quid v buy another Car. Then factor in the rust that a 13 year old car will have expecially after 13 higher milage winters, more washed etc it’s likely it’s not worth keeping the car.
So it’s not the milage on the dash that decides how long the car will last, 99% of the time it’s the car and the condition and maintenances of the car that puts the nails in the coffin.
Yes any car ‘engine’ should be able to manage 200,000 miles but that doesn’t mean the car will last as well.
People seem obcessed with the specific mileage being the main indicator of an engine’s longevity but this really isn’t the case, it’s worth noting that “motorway miles” play an important role, if a car sits in traffic barely moving all its life then it is going to sustain potentially much more wear at say 100,000 miles than an engine that has done 200k, this is why many machines and equipment with internal combustion engines has an hr meter so you can easily see the amount of use an engine has had.
If you where to drive up and down the country all day every day you would quickly be able to rack up 200,000 miles, maybe in a few short years.
The flip side of this is 90 year old dorris who only uses her car to go to the shop 1 mile down the road every 2 weeks.... which car out of these two do you think will make it to 200k miles ?
This brings me to my next point, engines of all manufacturers are fairly solid and reliable, it’s rarely the engine that sees a Car going to the scrap yard, maybe the perception of a worn engine especially as the car gets older, the thing being if a car does 15,000 miles a year (going over the average) it’s going to take over 13 years to get to 200,000 miles, by which time a car that is 13 years old with 200k on the clock is largely worthless especially a fiat, so when something goes wrong like it needs new shocks and springs which could need doing several time’s with that sort of distance, they owner is going to weigh up whether or not to pay £1000 for some work to be done on a car worth a couple of hundred quid v buy another Car. Then factor in the rust that a 13 year old car will have expecially after 13 higher milage winters, more washed etc it’s likely it’s not worth keeping the car.
So it’s not the milage on the dash that decides how long the car will last, 99% of the time it’s the car and the condition and maintenances of the car that puts the nails in the coffin.
Yes any car ‘engine’ should be able to manage 200,000 miles but that doesn’t mean the car will last as well.
Absolutely
I will not be putting my two through this years MOT
not because I can't get them through. But at 14 and 15 years old the metal getting fairly thin. I would rather buy a £30 a year road tax newer model that will safer in a crash.
Bonkey dollocks
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Yep same hear, gearbox oil is always the one left out lol
Bonkey dollocks
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Later fire engines aren't safe, they are an interference engine. Cambelt failure will render it a thousand piece jigsaw
