Hi, been searching around on here for info regarding a problem with my car; be warned this is going to be a big post!..

I got a mk1 punto cabrio 1600 (90ELX?) from my sister who just got a company car.. Plan was to store my car over the winter and drive the punto however 4 days into punto ownership disaster struck!..

It had a bit of a dodgy gear selection problem from the start; my sister said it was arkward to get into gear for a while.. I couldnt decide whether it was synchro or clutch however as it had a new clutch about 8 months ago, and a starter motor and starter ring on the flywheel about a month ago when the clutch plates/release bearing were checked over and so I guessed that side of things were ok..

Anyway, last night I got back from germany, drove home from the airport, and as usual it was crunching a bit, however I've got to the point I could drive around it.. changing at lower rev's in lower gears and getting the timing right seemed to work.. I pulled up outside my house, stopped, went into reverse, and bang, the car shunted backwards right after going into gear and then nothing.. I couldnt get a gear atall and the clutch went really light.. I had to push the car into a space and left it till this morning

Ive spent an hour or so looking on here, however I cant find another case similar to mine, or atleast where anyone's come back and said "that worked" hence this new post.. Hopefully my research can let me give you the answers people need from the start..

The car has had new gearbox oil recently and the level is good; I replaced it to try and sort the issue if it was synchro
I've checked the hydraulic side of things; the fluid level seems ok and the cylinder is operating correctly (assuming 1-1/2" - 2" is about normal travel)
I was going to bleed the clutch but it seems solid and doesnt leak back so I'm fairly convinced its ok
The top half of the selector/lever thing is working with the clutch master cylinder
The clutch pedal is really light (not that it was heavy to start with) to the point I think the only resistance is the pedal return spring
The car had a clutch less than 12months ago
The clutch was checked when the starter ring was replaced a month or so ago; I can't imagine a garage would avoid replacing a clutch and/or release bearing if they had any excuse whatso ever to do it!..

The car was arkward to get into 1st sometimes, and 1st to 2nd was usually a nightmare unless changing under 2,500rpm. Changing otherwise was ok aslong as the timing was right!
The car would occasionally "shunt" in low gears when parking; kind of like the clutch was slipped or let out quickly then pushed back in again but sometimes it would just stall.. This was without any input to the clutch pedal, even if the pedal was on the floor..
Changing down the gears was arkward unless you gave the throttle a blip..

My thoughts (given the current situation) are that the clutch was dragging a bit and not fully disengaging.. This seems to be a plausable for not getting into gear easilly and also poor changing.. What I dont know (given the hydraulcs side of things seems to be OK) is what else could be wrong..

If anyone can give me some information on what could be wrong, or what else I can check Id be really grateful.. Im reasonably handy with a spanner, and if this is somthing I can fix myself I'll get on it; I don't want to scrap the car as its too good for that (plus its started raining and I want to put my toy back in the garage rather than using it for commuting)

Im guessing its some kind of lever thing inside the clutch bellhousing which has maybe broken or the pivot it works against or something?..

Anyway, if someone could help Id be really grateful, and sorry for the long post..

b

sounds like something relating to the lucth the fact that when you put in reverse it engaged straight away and moved before you released clutch sais to me that the clutch is not disengaging.

Any idea what could be internal to the bellhousing to cause this issue? Is there a fork lever thing and some bushes?.. Also any info on how to replace or links to resources would be great.. as I said Im reasonably handy with a spanner, but know nothing about fiat's

did the car make any unusual grinding noises when the clutch was pressed and released before this happened


sounds like the release bearing has slowly been making it's way thought the clutch plate they do this when the bearing fails and begins to wear thought the metal instead of spinning this is common on puntos with 1.2 engines but not so common on 1.6

it would explain the bad gear selection and sudden failure

if this is the case it's also likely the release fork and release bearing guide bolted to the gear box are damaged also

and in some cases the gearbox casing it's self have been cracked when the release bearing guide is ripped out buy spinning bit's of mauled up clutch plate attached to a heavy engine

all in all your gear box is going to have to come off cos it definitely sounds clutch related

can't understand why the garage didn't spot the marks in the release fingers