I recently bought a 1999 Fiat Punto 1.6 MPI manual from TradeMe (the New Zealand equivalent of EBay) with a blown head gasket. It's a very cool little car being NZ new and with only having a genuine 75000 kms on it will make a nice fun little run around once I get it sorted.

I've replaced the head gasket and followed the instructions in the manual I have but it refuses to start and sounds like it's firing back up the air intake. I've attached a couple of photos here. I aligned the cam sprocket mark with the pip on the cam cover housing and the mark on the bottom pulley with the mark mentioned in the manual but no luck starting it. I drove it home before starting work on it and despite doing a good impression of a steam train at traffic lights it ran just fine. The head is fine and straight but I'm wondering if I'm using the right timing marks? It's the 8V later version of the engine that I think was also used in a couple of other Fiats. Any help or confirmation that these are / aren't the timing marks would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

maybe this will help

fiat punto mk1 1.6 timing marks

Thanks, I think that really does help. I've found another couple of threads and they seem to suggest that the mark to align is the woodruff key on the crank rather than the mark on the bottom pulley. I'll check it this weekend looking at the flywheel timing marks and confirming with some low tech plastic straws. Thanks.

here is some photos of where pulleys should be.








Do not forget to reset the phase sensor as well, this can be really fiddly, but with it all at TDC, take the retaining bolt out of the phase sensor, turn it until the line of the wheel inside lines up with the mark on the window

like so


Then putting it back in without it turning at all is the fiddly part, may take a few attempts, but persevere and get it bang on.

And after all that remember that it will not fire up until you put the crank pulley back on as its the pickup for the crank sensor, without that you get no fuel or spark.

Lastly, welcome to FF! :wave: We are all utterly mad but we are nice

Thanks so much for that Blu73. I reset everything last weekend according to your pics and it aligned perfectly with the marks on the timing belt. I tensioned up the pulley and went to torque up the tensioner bolt and what would you know but it stripped I've removed the stud from the block that the belt tensioner runs through and will replace with a simple bolt this weekend but thanks to all your posts I know the timing is now right.


I've searched high and low for the phase sensor but can't see it. I'm wondering given this was the last version of the engine if it has one but regardless if it doesn't start I know what the issue is.


Thanks again for all your help guys.

having never messed wwith a 1.6 and only a GT which is same engine family i can't really confirm if it has it or not tbh. But if its there its down the front of the engine over to the left hand side - i've had a quick look on the eper and i can find the phase sensor for a GT but not the 90 so i think it must be a thing only on the GT