Hi everybody, not posted for months (sorry!) but been extremely busy with exams, moving out etc. My old username was Sei S, and if some of you can remember I had an unfortunate accident my beloved Sei was written off. Ive just about to come to terms with it, it was my first car!! Anyway, an update on all that mess with insurance companies and solicitors, theyve finally admitted full liability, paid up for my car will shortly be getting paid for expenses, and then by Christmas possibly some compen. :bang:

In the mean time I bought a 55s Punto 1996 mk 1 1.1 5 door, which had initial teething problems despite being serviced and MOT'd from the garage where i bought it (cough) dodgy (cough). However, I took it to a trusted garage and in fairness all it needed was the coil being replaced and it solved all the problems. Everythings been fine until this morning.

Started the car and it was the most awful noise ive heard, really hard to explain but ill give it a go. It was metally clunking noise when started and while engine was running it sounded almost... blocked. Foot on accelerator gently and it was a loud noise with everything vibrating. Took a look under bonnet and it was vibrating quite bad and there was a bit of smoke coming from the engine but this stopped and only happened the once and theres been no smoke since. The way to "cure" this is to put the acc. to the floor and it makes another awful noise like a pop but it seems to unblock the problem and the vibrations cease and the noise returns to the normal low rumble self. The car runs fine when driven even when drove hard. However, soon as i turn engine off and back on again the process is repeated.

Im in Liverpool at the moment (uni) so dont know any garages (looks like ill prob. learn quickly) and the ones ive been too are all busy and arent taking any more work on for a few weeks. So does anyone know what can be possibly wrong with my car, and if anyone knows any decent garages in the liverpool area it is appreciated. At the moment im even considerin taking it to the Fiat dealer, but this is last resort only!

Oh, ive searched through 70 odd pages of posts and havent come across any similar threads so if ive missed it sorry and if you could direct me to the right place thatd be great.

Chris

check your fuel line
idle control
accelerator cable
spark plugs
ht leads
oil level
compression test
exhaust is intact?

compression test? had a brand new exhaust put on in July and was checked in August so im assuming thats all fine but I will try and check again. Its hard when not at home because no tools/space thats why I could do with gettin it to a garage. The oil level varies drastically as it has a biggish leak. Had that looked at before and the advice was that there wasnt much point in doing due to time and cost as it is highly likely it will come back at some point. Basically I just had to put up with it. Again, spark plugs were new in August but they were burnt out then and the previous time they were done was the service that was carried out when I bought the car. I just assumed they hadnt actually serviced it, but could they be burning out quickly as a result of another problem somewhere? The fuel line is interesting not had that checked out at all but when i first filled up a full tank there was a strong smell of petrol in the car that lasted for a couple of days so now I only fill it up half a tank at a time to avoid this problem.

i give up mate if ur not gonna look after the car sell it

and why am i not going to look after it?

you have a major oil leak and haven't fixed yet u still drive it around

I took it to the garage to have it fixed and on their (professional) advice it is unfixable to the extent that it is highly likely reappear in a matter of weeks, that most cars have oil leaks, and with an old car it is to be expected. By saying big i mean it is more than a drip, i wouldnt define it as major as in it is leaking out as I am driving down the road. I appreciate the help from posts, and critisms, but if your not going to be helpful then whats the point in posting?

....and so it begins.....

to me this sounds more like some sort of engine problem possibly fuel injection ?. sounds liek when you turn engine off and its settles something sticks shut. when you start what ever it is stays stuck and only clears when you force it by floorring the accelerator. maybe teh excessive rattling is caused by engone running on 2 or 3 cylinders and the pop clears what ever blockage there was and so restors it to all 4 cyclinders?

Not being the most mechanically minded, that sounds like a job for the garage. I know a couple of good garages in Bolton that'll fit me in but its 40 mins. driving away from Liverpool. Do you think it'll cause more harm driving it about with the above problem? Like I said, it runs perfect once whatever is blocked is cleared, but I don't want to make the problem worse.

well it catn be doing it any good, obvuously though you need it to play up while at the garage. if it happens every time you turn it off than thats good least they can see it otherwise you may need to leave it over night so they can find out what its like in morning. as for causing damage ?? i wouldnt like to say it cant be doing it any good as i said but without knowing exact problem no way to tell if it doing any harm, not much help that i know sorry.
and i agree not all oil aleaks are financially worth fixing in old car. had a couple on my old cavalier would cost lots to fix or i could add 1/2 liter of oila month. and as for dads uno christ i have never seen such an oily engine but somehow dam thing keps on going. half body has fallen of with rot :d but dam thing keeps on going.

Cheers, i'll try and get it sorted asap, tempted to book it into garage in Bolton and risk driving it back, especially if i cant get it into one in Liverpool. Hate it when things go wrong on my car!

Anyways thanks for the replies ill give an update as soon as its done, that way if anyone else gets same problem theyll have a rough idea what it is how to fix it and how much its going to cost.

yeah good luck, im like you hate when cars go wrong so much hassle sometime sgetting em fixed.