Technical fiat punto smoking and missing after new head gasket

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Technical fiat punto smoking and missing after new head gasket

jeff321

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hey there all

im a newbie to this site and would like to introduce myself,

then possibly get some of my problems sorted on my car :(


i have a fiat punto 2000 reg W, after recently changing the head gasket the car run fine for about 5-10 miles and now it is smoking blue smoke and missing, this eventually got worse to missing and the car idles and runs rough, leaving big thick clouds of smoke on the road i have not a clue on what it could be and the mechanic who repaired it assumes the head may have cracked without carrying out any checks?, im assuming it may be the timing which has beccome off set, is there any where i can check the timing myself i have already spent lots on the car and do not want to spend anymore as i cant afford to at the moment, somebody please please help any advice will be much appreciated.

Regards

Jeff
 
I'd bet you £10 its a 1.2 8v 60bhp ;).


Sounds quite bad, was the head 'skimmed' before the new gasket set was put on?


hi yes it is a 1.2 8v, im not sure if it was skimmed or not, i assume the garage should have skimmed the head as they are a well known garage here and have not had any problems with them before
 
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we had a new head gasket fitted about 4 months ago ran fine till about a month ago then it started sounding like a tractor on start up for about 1 minute then it settles back down, any ideas cheers (its a 1.2 16v)
 
I had the head gasket repaired in february just as the warranty finished:bang::mad::bang:

And the car started to lose water for some unknown reason!!
 
Your fella could be losing oil into the comustion chamber. First of all, check the level. Secondly, don't continue using it..

If you look at the plugs one or more may be black and oily.

I'm sorry to say that the only cause for that is the head gasket. You wouldn't have to pay for that to be repaired.. bring it back to the garage and let them sort it out. Don't accept that "cracked head" excuse.. heads hardly ever crack compared to gaskets being fitted upside down etc.

If the plugs are not oily.. just black and sooty.. then it "could" be a disconnected or unconnected sensor (lambda?). That would make the car run rich and let blue smoke out the back.. but that's a fairly simple fix.

So, the likely cause depends if you're burning oil or not.


Ralf S.
 
Your fella could be losing oil into the comustion chamber. First of all, check the level. Secondly, don't continue using it..

If you look at the plugs one or more may be black and oily.

I'm sorry to say that the only cause for that is the head gasket. You wouldn't have to pay for that to be repaired.. bring it back to the garage and let them sort it out. Don't accept that "cracked head" excuse.. heads hardly ever crack compared to gaskets being fitted upside down etc.

If the plugs are not oily.. just black and sooty.. then it "could" be a disconnected or unconnected sensor (lambda?). That would make the car run rich and let blue smoke out the back.. but that's a fairly simple fix.

So, the likely cause depends if you're burning oil or not.


Ralf S.


does anybody know where the lambda sensor is located?? thanks
 
Alright folks, im in the same boat! also have a w reg 1.2 8v elx punto which i replaced the head gasket on just last week and now getting thick blue smoke wheather engine hot or cold but not as bad when hot! im putting this down to the oil rings, i did think valve stem seals but they tend to cause smoke more on idle and for the first couple of revs after idle then they tend to clear a bit! wet and dry compression test is a good idea tho, will post up how i get on!
 
Right guys got the head stripped down again and now noticed the pistons have a lot of piston slap so guess what?...........im picking up a new engine today!
 
I have similar issue... I have a Punto 2001 Y reg 1.2 8V, it cracked an exhaust valve but was great prior to that...

I removed the head and took it to local engine specialist who refurbished it (replaced the broken valve, skimmed head, replaced valve stem seals, reground all valves and re-gapped the camshaft shims) so gave it the full monty really.

so I refitted it to the car after meticulously cleaning the block, also new head bolts all torqued to correct settings and gasket in correct way up!

I re-timed and re-assembled everything else. I was quite impressed when it started on the first turn of the key! I ran it for 15 mins to get it warm to make sure all was ok and it was great so I proceeded to 'button it up' a couple of days later i though id check levels and give it another run and after a few minutes of starting there was lots of smoke coming from the exhaust when it was 'revved', smelt very 'fuely' like it was running really rich and didn't want to rev / was a bit missy? After 10 - 15 mins of running it was all ok no smoke and all running nicely apart from tickover is not as smooth as it could be.

Any ideas?
 
whats a valve insert? (Doh) :confused: Is that a valve guide?

Could it have been overfueling causing exhaust valve to overheat causing it to break?

all other valves looked ok, checked for piston slap and all felt good to me so i don't think its rings, just really stinks of fuel...

why would it stop after it gets warm?

i initially thought perhaps lots of fuel went into the cat after the valve broke & car was driven home?

i'll check the leads etc
 
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whats a valve insert? (Doh) :confused: Is that a valve guide?

No, the valve insert is the hard bit in the cylinder head that the valve seals against (18 in this pic)
6676724-0-large.jpg
-- the valve guide is 14.

Could it have been overfueling causing exhaust valve to overheat causing it to break?
No. More likely underfuelling or badly set valve clearances. Pretty rare in a cooking engine, though.

why would it stop after it gets warm?

i initially thought perhaps lots of fuel went into the cat after the valve broke & car was driven home?

i'll check the leads etc

Tired leads tend to perform badly when damp and cold. But any misfire means raw fuel mix gets dumped down the exhaust.
 
Well it looks like bad news, took it to a friends garage today and he first asked if the timing belt was on correctly as he said if it's 1 tooth out it could cause rough running. We did an oil & filter change & checked breathers etc and all ok but smoke still persists when cold. He thinks burning oil :-(

Can only assume piston rings, bummer!

So firstly anyone got a Punto engine they're selling and secondly anyone interested in a fully refurbished Punto head?

Unless any one has any other ideas?
 
what kind of garage..??,

could've used an exhaust probe to check over fueling -emissions.

burning oil and running rich are two completely different things,

take all 4 plugs out and look at them,

keep them in their order of 1,2,3,4

Black + sooty = over fuelling

black oil = OILY

clean running should be clean / to a dusty Digestive biscuit colour.

only over-fuelling will make it tricky to restart HOT,

unless all plugs are coated in oil..,

do let us know how the plugs look,

by the way 8 Valve engines will run o.k. a couple of teeth out.. so that's NOT your issue,

Charlie
Charlie
 
Never assume rings.

A simple test: warm up the engine, and with the engine running, remove the oil filler cap. If it fumes, worn rings are a possibility.

A better test. Dry and wet compression test. Use no more than 5ml of engine oil. If the compression results improve markedly then it's a ring issue. If not, it's not.

Anyroadup, post the results.

As S and B says, running rich and burning oil are very, very different issues.
 
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