General Brava 80 16v engine behaviour?

Currently reading:
General Brava 80 16v engine behaviour?

cosmo

New member
Joined
Mar 31, 2008
Messages
10
Points
6
Few months ago i bought 80 16v Brava (1999). Im curious about something with this 1.2 engine.

It never stalls, consumption is excellent, it holds idle perfectly...

But....

- it has some vibrations when idle, followed by puffing sound from exhaust (as i said it never stalls, but keeps doing this)

- when i accelerate, until i reach 2.500 rpm, it accelerates unevenly, after that its ok (maybe this is just because its a very small engine 1.2 designed for higher rpms, but i drove some 1.4 VWs weaker than this, they pull better)

- generally, i think a 80 hp car should have better performance... i drove some 60 hp petrols and they can match this...


So, does anyone has some 80 16 Brava (o), maybe could tell me his experience. I wonder is this just the way this engine behaves, or maybe i should change something ( i suspect sparks and electric cables, but i wanted to ask first)
 
Hi Cosmo,
May be you will be able to pick a few ideas from this response.
I purchased a 2001 1.2 Fiat Bravo SX last year, which had a few of the issues you have mentioned.
Holding back, hesitating below 2500rpm coupled with no warning lights.
Slight vibration/shake through the steering wheel when idling - still on going, seems to disappear as you increase the revs by a small amount.
I managed to cure most of these with the following afternoon's work:
A mini service of oil, spark plugs, HT leads and air filter - A general check of the ignition system brought peace of mind.
A new temperature sensor cured a warming up issue.
Then I went after possible air leaks, starting with the exhaust, very loose all round though not overly noisy, remade joints and tightened the manifold bolts.
Cleaning the throttle body not only showed how dirty a low mileage car
can get, but pointed to how loose its mounting bolts had grown - steady idle though.
Next port of call was the Map Sensor - oil blow-pass/black deposit on one side, a cotton bud and some fast drying solvent was used to clean this item.
And finally an ECU reset. I heard talk that sometimes the ECU gets a little stuck in its ways and a purge(reset) tends to help the ECU to see the world in a new light.

The final result, no holding back or hesitating, a completely different and more driveable car.

The 1.2 16v is not a rocket machine, but does have a good turn of speed and performs considerably better than my old Ford Escort 1.4 8v CVH.
Is the flat performance there from a cold start or does it creep in as the car warms up - temperature sensor?

The slight vibration/shake from the engine is still on going, a new timing belt is coming - possible timing issue or throttle body fault, I will measure the resistance of the fuel injectors soon just to rule those out also.
The car should idle cleanly, is the puffing sound from the exhaust a misfire - spark plugs or HT leads?

I hope my experiences help to cure some of the issues you are currently having, I looked at the basics first.
 
check compression (for head gasket leak between 2 cylinder) and ignition (for coil pack or HT lead faults). both are common issues on the 1.2 and both could cause your problem.
 
Last edited:
Roc, ur post just confirmed my thoughts, u helped a lot - it needs a little bit of service, just as i was planning...

about the power, its fine, i had some "road test" of my own :rolleyes:, it did a 100 mph without problems, i guess its just my diesel style of driving, im not used to reving the car a lot... (i drove a diesel for 4 years, and at work i drive a 1.5 dCi Clio - 1.2 16v is something completely different)

anyway, thanks mate.
 
Back
Top