Dear Sir/madam
I have a mk2 punto w reg. 55,000 miles on clock. sounds very "tappity" is this valve problem? A mechanic said this is not too much to be worried about. Clutch ok but I get the feeling it's just starting to go. The engine feels like it's not running smoothly. It began to cut out when it warmed up; the garage fixed this for free. My mechanic says don't spend any more money on it ( I think he just doesn't like fiats)!!! Should I listen to him? I only do about 1500 miles a year. The car was free. If it falls apart i've lost nothing.
Is there a way of getting the car tested to see if it's in goog enough nick to spend some money on it
Yours sincerely
Matthew

what engine does it have?

welcome to the forum

puntos normally clack because of poor oil regime schedule
ive seen puntos where oil filter rusted through due to old age
have you had an oil and filter done this millennium?

Thank you Gents.
It's a 1.2 petrol engine. It also had a complete oil service a month ago.

Oil and filter change as a priority. Re-setting the valve clearances is not a big deal (it's a 40k mile service item) but some modern mechanics have become accustomed to hydraulic tappets and are lazy/ignorant as a result.

I'm assuming it's an 8 valve engine. If 16v then try running with a flushing oil and then filling with the correct grade oil. Change filters in between.

matt57 said:

Thank you Gents.
It's a 1.2 petrol engine. It also had a complete oil service a month ago.

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confirm right oil filter fitted theres 3 types
and also i only use 10/40 semi synthetic for this engine 8 valve? ,maybe they put knats wee wee in?

matt57 said:

Thank you Gents.
It's a 1.2 petrol engine. It also had a complete oil service a month ago.

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8v or 16v?

8v

matt57 said:

8v

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as above then re right oil. if that's ok check valve clearances

When thhe clearances are correct, they're very quiet engines. If the clearances are way out, I'd suspect another issue at that kind of mileage.

Eventually a very tappety engine may spit out a shim and drop a valve. Bye Bye engine............

My engine tappets alot

However the tappets are within the Tollerances according to haynes about the gaps on both inlet and exhausts

what maid mine worse was Water and oil mixing - made it sound horrible!

ziggy

Ziggy122 said:

My engine tappets alot

However the tappets are within the Tollerances according to haynes about the gaps on both inlet and exhausts

Click to expand...

Other likely causes are worn cam, worn cam bearings, excess cam endfloat or -- if you're very lucky, the steel baffle in the cam cover is loose.