Hi everyone
Its been 8 years that i own a fiat punto mk1 and in this years i've had some great times with this car. Last year it started to have some problems like rough idling in the morning and then water getting to hot, engine temp to high, a lot of oil consumed and some other stuff that i dont remember, then 2 months ago the temperature went to the roof and i had to drive it only in first gear and since then i havent started it. Well now i decided that, with the help of my close friend, im going to rebuild the engine and the electric wires under the hood. Well i did start a week ago and well, the head gasket was all blown, thermostat gone, water pump gone, 2 valves stayed open all the time, 2 injectors were not sealed tight and a lot of other things. Till now i have managed to remove all parts but im in the crossroad of which brands to use for the replacement parts, as i dont know them. So if anyone can mention some of them it would be really great thx. And i wanna share some photos too.

Some more photos:

View attachment 181227

what kinda parts you looking to buy, what brands have you come across so far for each bit?

blu73 said:

what kinda parts you looking to buy, what brands have you come across so far for each bit?

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Hi blu
Im buyin head gasket and there are brands like elring, fai, tp and some others, the main belt is contitech as a kit with the tensioner then the thermostat was a brand named bugati but i dont think is that bugati and the water pump was the same, for the electrics im using wires that are coated with some layer that doesnt allow heat to burn them. The only bad part of the wire is the color, there is only white.

Bugatti is okay for the pump and gasket.

For the head gasket I would buy a Reinz.
The tensioner kit I would buy a genuine Fiat part (you get the belt and any pulleys you need in the same kit).


Try www.shop4parts.co.uk if you need parts. I think FiatForum members can get a discount if you have the discount code.


Ralf S.

Well me personally would get a genuine head gasket, either from fiat or some other seller. For the rest of hte gaskets I am not that fussy, I would normally buy the genuine head gasket and then buy a cheaper brand head gasket kit which has all the other gaskets you'll need in it - usually valve seals as well which you might as well change as you are going to all this effort.

Timing belt kit with tension, contitech is totally fine and will come with a tensioner with a good bearing brand I'm sure.

Waterpump and thernostat.. Again, the thermostat is another one of them things I always buy genuine fiat part for. Pump wise, bugatti is a brand I have used no problems before.

Wiring wise, you should be able to easily get hold of suitable wire in all sorts of colours - will be beneficial in the long run if you try to keep the colours the same or as close to as possible. Easier to just use the one kind of wire now but in the future when you are hunting a fault you will curse yourself for all the wires being same colour i promise you that.

What about the brand Hans Pries Topran? I`ts a german brand and it has a lot of the parts that i need to buy. Here where i live, judging from the prices, they trade it as an expensive brand.

Hi, today was a good day for the rebuild. We removed the valves and valve stems and cleaned the valve bed and the valves. They were full of carbon, and was difficult to remove it. The valves were cleaned with some abrasive material, one was rough the other one was fine. Today i found a new timing belt kit, brand is optibelt. Anyone knows it?? Well this is all for today.

Today its buying day, just bought the belt kit dayco, waiting for water pump Lpr and thermostat. The gasket seems a little bit more difficult to find

Hi Yesterday it was a good day, the head of the engine is almost finished, the valves are in their place with new valve stems and clean valves. I have one question, about tightening the injectors, how many Nm are needed? For replacing the gasket and remounting the head of the engine it said on the gasket leaflet that the procedure is 50nm, 100 nm than 2 times by 90 degree. i hope i have explained what is needed. Thx

Today we made some progress, finally the head gasket and the timing belt are in their place,and the electric is going on too.

Hi. its been a while since last post, yesterday all engine parts and electrics were in their place and we started the car, it worked for about 5 or 10 minutes then it stopped, before stopping it started a strange rumor like the fuel was not going to the engine or like the oil was not lubricating the parts, if anyone can be of help here with some ideas it would be very helpful. THX. Today ill be checking the timing belt if its in place. i made a video when the car was started yesterday. Link below:
[ame]https://youtu.be/TekLnqMZVwA[/ame]

eugh, that sounds horrid... you 100% you put the head gasket the right way up? thats my first thought.

blu73 said:

eugh, that sounds horrid... you 100% you put the head gasket the right way up? thats my first thought.

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Yes head gasket is in the right way up, im sure of that

blu73 said:

eugh, that sounds horrid... you 100% you put the head gasket the right way up? thats my first thought.

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Blu, guys can u show some more love for this almost dead punto and try to give me a hand; the timing belt is ok, its synced with markings so timing belt is not the problem, how can i check the oil pressure and fuel pump, any idea? Thx

Hello anyone there, just calling from this other side ;p

Well today or tonight was a disastrous day or night whichever suits better to you, conclusion is that all the work went to the toilet cause with a big 98.9% the valves are now bent. Thank you for following, if you did and im kinda sad and happy to say that we got another punto ready for the scrapyard. Bye

I assume the timing was out just enough for interference? real shame, especially after all the effort.

blu73 said:

I assume the timing was out just enough for interference? real shame, especially after all the effort.

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Blu, guys, big great news, The Punto LIVES once again, its alive, yeahhhh[emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1] . i found 2 guys that work here with engine repairs and they synced 1 more time the timing belt, surprise the fuel pump had 2 marks 1 blue one red, and at the blue it didnt work but at the red marking it is alive., i. Still have to finish a few things and then tomorrow it will be out of garage. [emoji6] [emoji41] [emoji41] [emoji41]

aenego said:

Blu, guys, big great news, The Punto LIVES once again, its alive, yeahhhh[emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1] [emoji1] . i found 2 guys that work here with engine repairs and they synced 1 more time the timing belt, surprise the fuel pump had 2 marks 1 blue one red, and at the blue it didnt work but at the red marking it is alive., i. Still have to finish a few things and then tomorrow it will be out of garage. [emoji6] [emoji41] [emoji41] [emoji41]

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I broke a timing belt while driving and it did no damage to cylinders or pistons was surprised it could unlike newer cars.