Technical Abarth - major engines woes!

[ollie1002]

Hi all i have had my abarth about 9 weeks now, after a couple of minor issues with the brake sensor and lights staying on, i now have the abs/asr light flash up now and again would this be due to sometimes the brake lights still stickin? i have a bush gone on the back which makes a noise every time i go over a bump! creaking noises from the front and to top it all off my oil indicator gauge wasnt working! which has left me dry of oil and now making a loud noise from the engine! sounds like tappets but much louder! took it to one garage as its still driveable with oil in it! and they wont touch it! but they said it sounds like the piston is hitting on the head :bang: and mentioned that the crank and bottom end bearings may be buggered! any one else had anything like this happen? sounds like engine re build or transplant? i would like to be a bit clued up as i have another machanic coming round tomoro to have a look! but im guessing not going to know til its all opened up!
But im guessing its going to cost a fair bit to fix! soon as it is tho im selling for sure! i have had it with this car!

Its a 2.4 sele speed
2002 plate
and yellow which seems to be the ones to go! coincidence i know! lol

thanks in advance

 

[Greggers]

My condolences... as you say, it's going to be expensive and most likely terminal for that engine. Running with no oil tends to do that to an engine...

As for the creaking suspension... a bit of lube around the bushes and the top/bottom of the suspension springs my help to reduce the noise.

Try a search for the ABS?ASR issues, it's been pretty well covered...

Good luck!

 

[john55]

The other things are a non issue. Engine is the one to fix first before you spend a penny on anything else. Abarths with dead engines seem to be quite common on e-bay as they are expensive to fix unless you are confident enough to dismantle an engine yourself.
From what I have read they are prone to big end bearing failure which indeed could cause the piston to hit the head and make a loud noise. Do not drive it at all. You will definitely make it worse and more expensive to fix by driving. With one bearing gone, your whole engine will now have low oil pressure which will ruin other parts very quickly if you drive it.

 

[Argonought]

.....just to add.

I've you've only driven it very lightly during and since running out of oil then you might just get away with new big end bearings which shouldn't be too expensive if done by a competent garage.

If your crank is scored though then pretty much end of the road

Not a nice thing to suggest really - but even if lightly scored then, with new shells, it might last long enough for you to sell/PX it.

 

[john55]

Not a nice thing to suggest really - but even if lightly scored then, with new shells, it might last long enough for you to sell/PX it.

Maybe this is what the last owner did to him anyway:shakehead:

 

[ollie1002]

thanks for all your help guys! it has been up for sale for about 2 weeks anyway then this happened! but such is life i suppose, partly my own fault for not checking the oil myself and not relying on gauges! which i wont be doing in the future!! if my engine is kaput any ideas how much it will cost to replace with fitting etc? or would it be better selling it for spares or repair? if so how much am i likely to get that way.

thanks ollie

 

[Steely]

last resort would be to do an engie flush, forte os something like.. oilways will become blocked due to lack of oil try it with some cheap ass oil after to see if it has helped.. ive done this an a few rover k-series engines which showed signs of small end rattle/big end knock... when it can be a result of a coked up engine... 10 quid max and you havent lost anything if it dosent work.. IIRC the 5 pot abarth is cam follower/hydraulic tappit engine the follower wells when clogged up will cause lazy tappets.. which can sound very chattery...

some might dissagree but hey ..

 

[d34noj]

Its a 2.4 sele speed
2002 plate
and yellow which seems to be the ones to go! coincidence i know! lol

thanks in advance

Yep... Had mine 8 weeks, broken for 6. £1000 to fix. Hate it, they are crap, too many toys with not enough build quality to sustain them. Dealers are useless & incompetent who just give out random prices if you can either get through or they ring you back.

One dealer quoted me 5 hours to fit a Selespeed pump, another 3 hours - isn't there a manufacturers guide stating the alloted time for fitting of parts? If one can do it 2 hours quicker then the other muppet ought to get trained up, how can one person be charged £589 inc. parts & fitting, yet i'm quoted that for labour alone?

Looks nice, yet its crap. As soon as its fixed its gone & i'm not having another Fiat again (although the Coupé was great) as I won't bear looking at that damned badge...

 

[Greggers]

Yep... Had mine 8 weeks, broken for 6. £1000 to fix. Hate it, they are crap, too many toys with not enough build quality to sustain them. Dealers are useless & incompetent who just give out random prices if you can either get through or they ring you back.

One dealer quoted me 5 hours to fit a Selespeed pump, another 3 hours - isn't there a manufacturers guide stating the alloted time for fitting of parts? If one can do it 2 hours quicker then the other muppet ought to get trained up, how can one person be charged £589 inc. parts & fitting, yet i'm quoted that for labour alone?

Looks nice, yet its crap. As soon as its fixed its gone & i'm not having another Fiat again (although the Coupé was great) as I won't bear looking at that damned badge...

Let's get this right... yours is crap, not the whole model. Mines fine and I love it and I'm sure there are loads of other Abarth drivers who feel the same.

I know you've had alot of problems with your Abarth because we've all read about it on the forum and I feel for you... but don't tar all Stilo Abarths with your brush.

As for the dealers, I'd highly suggest finding a specialist that you can trust rather than a dealer.

Good luck with your Abarth

 

[Stu DemonD]

Mine broke big time and I still remained with FIAT

 

[Big Black Stilo]

my poverty model has had three catastrophic gearbox failures- yet i still drive it and nearly bought a jtd150

 

[ollie1002]

yeh i must say i had a punto years ago, only a 1.1 with 140k on the clock but ran sweet as a nut, nothing went wrong in the whole time i had it! only about a year tho. And my mum has a sedici, which im now driving whilst i dont have a car soo must not knock fiats at all, i dont want to jinks (spelling?) myself!
my man is coming round tonight so i will let you know what he sais but i guess its a case of finding out when its opened up! can you get to the bottom end bearings etc if you drop the sump?

 

[d34noj]

Sorry chaps, just getting sick of it!, I know full well i'll love it again when its fixed, but until then I hate it... As for finding a specialist there are none near me and it can't really be driven far.

 

[Argonought]

my man is coming round tonight so i will let you know what he sais but i guess its a case of finding out when its opened up! can you get to the bottom end bearings etc if you drop the sump?

You normally can but perhaps one of the tech guys can confirm :chin:

 

[ollie1002]

Had the mechanic come round last night and he thinks he will be able to sort it out for me for £500 notes? ish. so when he does it ill let you guys know the situation.

thanks for all your assistance

 

[arti_abarth]

You normally can but perhaps one of the tech guys can confirm :chin:

i saw how it looks like from the bottom

just drop the sump and the shells are easy to replace,
when i had my engine rebuilt they have taken the whole engine out -
they've replaced crankshaft, conrod and piston rings(from a cylinder that failed), all shells + all gaskets, clutch and cambelt at a total of 2100pounds

 

[ollie1002]

hi guys! all the parts to fix my car is going to be about £1000 without fitting! soo im going to have to sell it for spares or repair unless i can source a cheap engine! soo how much do u guys think ill be able get for it! still runs! just. or an engine if you can find one! thanks

 

[Sparky1483]

creaking noises from the front and to top it all off my oil indicator gauge wasnt working! which has left me dry of oil and now making a loud noise from the engine! sounds like tappets but much louder! took it to one garage as its still driveable with oil in it! and they wont touch it! but they said it sounds like the piston is hitting on the head :bang: and mentioned that the crank and bottom end bearings may be buggered! any one else had anything like this happen? sounds like engine re build or transplant?

been there done that, its the bottom end and is very terminal, new engine job im affraid

 

[john55]

So what did they say needs replacing on it and were the prices from the main dealer for parts?

There seem to be a few about in the same situation as you. You could always get a smaller Stilo engine and drop it in. A JTD Abarth would be good. It would require a bit of work with changing wiring/ ECU/ gearbox etc but should be do-able.

 

[ollie1002]

Umm its just a mechanic doing it as a private job he said he has phoned several places for parts and advice etc and parts alone £1000 dont know if that was dealer tho, doubt it very much but never know! Soo he said find a engine cheap or sell it spares / repair? so would like to find out some prices!