Hi, experiencing problems with my little mark one Punto. It is a 97 R reg. When it first starts up, it behaves like it is really cold and kangaroo jumps all over the place - only started this recently. Also, in the lower gears, there is a distinct "whining" noise (reminds me of a dentist's drill, aaargh!) which increases with the revs. But its fine in the top gears. Also, it overheats when I am sat in traffic easily. No loss of fluids though.

Please don't tell me its the head gasket - its only done 55,000 and I've only just passed my test!!!

Any ideas (apart form buy a new one )?

Thanx guys

well have you check ed the coolant for oil?and the oil(dipstick)for mayo?
has the car been serviced recently?
do you still get hot air from the heater?
does the cooling fan come on?
how long has it been overheating?

Hi, no signs of anything untoward in oil or coolant. Hasn't been serviced in a while. Fan doesn't appear to be kicking in when it should - it waited until 2 minutes until after I'd turned the ignition off until it kicked in yesterday -which seemed a bit bizarre!

The whining noise and the coughing and spluttering in low gear are the main probs though

Mechanic has been round to look at my poorly punto - it seems that the fan switch has died and all of the water that was in the radiator on Saturday morning has vanished without trace. I have checked th eoil for signs of water and checked the coolant for signs of gunge but there is nothing there. How am I supposed to tell whether the head gasket has gone??

Really fed up - wish I was a mechanic!!!!! :-(

if you take it to a garage they can do a quick test and can tell you there and then if it's gone.

fit a new fan switch, from a scrappy. it wont look like a switch it the bit that bolts into the rad with a plug of wires attached.
re fill cooling system making sure you bleed it see this https://www.fiatforum.com/punto-guides/43906-how-bleed-mk1-punto-cooling-system.html.
then see how it goes from there,

dave is it just straight water that put into rad?

no no way never, always a coolent 50/50 mix antifreeze and water even in summer, water on its own rots away the insides of engine

Thanx guys for all your replies and support! Mechanic is on to getting me a new fan switch - will let you know how it goes! In the meantime, forced to run around on my Honda Shadow motorcycle - just glad its summer!!

dave said:

no no way never, always a coolent 50/50 mix antifreeze and water even in summer, water on its own rots away the insides of engine

Click to expand...

whats paraflu, is that antifreeze?

yep its the fiat one

Hey guys,

mechanic has fitted fan switch and fan is now fully functioning. He didn't say anything about the head gasket though and said "see how it goes". I asked him if it turned out to be OK would he be able to give it a service and he said yeah if I thought it was worth it!!!!!!

There was alot of water after on my drive way after he had fitted the switch- is this to be expected?
Still not sure if HG has gone - but heater is working and no signs of water in oil or vice versa. But is still misfiring in low gear. Any clues?
Also, this pressure test thingy - do all garages have the gear to do this?
Sorry - all these questions - I feel a Haynes manual coming on.........

is it worth trying new spark plugs and HT leads could be that its just mucky plugs.

there is a colour guide as well for the plugs:

clean and white with no deposit = weak mixture/ hot plug
black hard deposits = rich mixture
black and oily = worn engine/ rich mixture
light tan with grey/ brown deposits = mixture correct and likely the engine is in a good condition

Haynes (2003:1A 12) havard reference there for you too

yeah water on drive will be the coolent that ran out when he took switch out, bad man should have used a bucket.

thanx again -
definately a shame he didn't use a bucket, could've tipped the contents over his head when he questioned my car's worthiness of a service!

Well, my poor baby - HG failure has been confirmed. Not so poorly purse though - a mechanic who is also an ex neighbour and has his own garage is doing the work for £250.

Thanx for all your replies and suggestions - I feel quite knowledgeable in the subject of head gaskets now!!

And for those of you out there who are experiecing the same - there are some good mechanics out there who will do the work for a reasonable price -you just have to find one. A HG failure is not the end for your Italian friend

£250 is way too much, the actual gasket kit and other seals and such inc new bolts for the cylinder head cost about £21-25 (less for the 1.1 like yours), and if the head isn't warped badly it can be 'skimmed' (to make it nice and flat again) for another £20, then its about 2-2.5hours labour for someone who knows what they are doing.

£120-140 is about right for a std garage