General Cinquecento sporting and head gaskets...

[n00dles]

Hey all. Figured it was about time I joined. I am looking at getting myself a Cinquecento sporting to replace my ageing brown diesel Escort (ewww!) Anywho my brother the mechanic has been giving me allot of grief, saying the 1.1 FIRE engine has a taste for Head Gaskets? I had heard the mk1 Punto with the same engine was a bit of a nightmare, but then again what car doesn't have its problems... I guess the question is, how widespread is this Head Gasket problem? Costs for repairs if/when it does happen? Is it something like cheap parts on Fiats part or a mileage thing on some unlucky peoples engines, that once fixed shouldn't trouble me again?

Sorry if its a newbie question, tried having a search around and found mentions of it, but no great detail...

Thank you!

 

[fingers99]

They do seem to be likely to go between 50 and 60 thousand miles, but it isn't a foregone conclusion, by any means.

About £80 in skimming and gasket sets if it does. It's often caused by running without anti freeze and/or by ignoring signs of overheating.

For cheap parts, join Clubcento, talk to Fluffy the Impaler.

 

[rallycinq]

Head gasket failure is usually an effect of something else going wrong.

It can be the cooling fan failing, the radiator failing, the water pump failing, the thermostat failing or simply a leaking pipe or connection.

The 1108 is no worse or better than any other engine, its the nature of the drivers not checking water levels regularly that causes most problems.

Even after checking levels, if the system is not bled while topping up, hot spots can cause gasket problems.

A well cared for example should give many miles happy motoring.

Cheers

D

 

[Italian Coke Can]

Once it's been done they love a good olde thrashing.

If i was going to buy another one i'd just "expect" to have to repace it on any engine with more than 70,000miles on it.

Not that hard, not that expensive.

 

[fordcosworth]

mine went at 32k last year on the N/A cinq with little engine mods, being in the trade i got parts dead cheap as im sure you will of your brother will!! and it wasnt a hard job to do, also ive seen cinqs/punto's have the head go again with in a year if cheep head gaskets are used, i used a payen gasket and they seem to work for us a work

 

[n00dles]

Once it's been done they love a good olde thrashing.

That's what I like to hear! Only past my test 7months ago and you'd think at 24 I'd be well past my boy racer days, but just see it as I have some catching up to do.

Cheers for the replies all, not as bad as I was thinking, so will continue keeping my eyes peeled for a decent example, naturally, in none other than broom yellow!!!

 

[FIREsporting]

Some times the head gasket a go because the engine overheated, or lack of maintenance Changing antifreeze coolant you can avoid problems including freeze-ups and overheating. It's a easy engine to work on and non-interference, the timing belt was the 1st job i did on my one.

 

[levemircento]

The head went recently on mine, just over 50,000 miles on it. There was no overheating, and no loss of water from the outside of the engine

However, although I check it weekly, one week I noticed it had used some water, topped it up, and then checked it daily, it was still using it.

Then, when starting from cold, it misfired on one cylinder, then after a few seconds ran ok.

That few seconds eventually lead to it running on 3 all the time.

Head off, gasket blown, water jacket corroded.

Its not good, especially if you are on a budget, but best thing is - its an easy fix for a fairly competent DIY mechanic.


I think any modern car these days, with an aluminium cylinder head and a water system that does not hold a lot of water, together with smaller rads that cars seem to have these days, is going to have head gasket problems once it gets a few years old, even if it is maintained well and often.

 

[fordcosworth]

The head went recently on mine, just over 50,000 miles on it. There was no overheating, and no loss of water from the outside of the engine

However, although I check it weekly, one week I noticed it had used some water, topped it up, and then checked it daily, it was still using it.

Then, when starting from cold, it misfired on one cylinder, then after a few seconds ran ok.

That few seconds eventually lead to it running on 3 all the time.

Head off, gasket blown, water jacket corroded.

Its not good, especially if you are on a budget, but best thing is - its an easy fix for a fairly competent DIY mechanic.


I think any modern car these days, with an aluminium cylinder head and a water system that does not hold a lot of water, together with smaller rads that cars seem to have these days, is going to have head gasket problems once it gets a few years old, even if it is maintained well and often.

thats exactly what happened with mine! using a bit of water and the missfire on 1 cylinder, took head of and yes corrosion on number 1 cylinder leaking into the combustion chamber.
i see this quite frequently at work on cinqs and punto with the same engine

 

[levemircento]

Common problem the engine man told me, I had mine welded and skimmed at a cost of £70, the car runs amazing now

 

[blu73]

I do think that the cento's get more flack for this than deserved. One problem i think is that so many have been bought as cheap run-a-bouts and not been treated right, or not at all. No wonder then that it will then go wrong at some point. As with all cars, if you look after it then it look after you.

To be honest the HG is no biggy especially if you catch it early can be done in an afternoon at home with a haynes no problem.. I did my old seicento HG at 40k just because i had the time and thought might as well before it does go.. That way no skimming needed and just a HG set to buy. Cost bout £30+an afternoon all in.

Hope you find a minter mate, they seem to be getting rarer, but don't let a niggle put you off a bargin, theres a wealth of knowledge to had on here. The biggest thing i'd avoid is rust, these cars are galvanised so there shouldn't be rust anywhere really. Not all replacement panels are galvanised so can also be a sign of damage repair

Good luck and happy cento-ing

 

[levemircento]

I do think that the cento's get more flack for this than deserved. One problem i think is that so many have been bought as cheap run-a-bouts and not been treated right, or not at all. No wonder then that it will then go wrong at some point. As with all cars, if you look after it then it look after you.

I would agree with that 100%

I estimate that my own head damage would have been caused by the previous owners neglect, I got a year out of it, probably by regular checks and maintenance, but it was bound to go eventually.

Our other car is a Rover 214, another car famous for H/G fails, the thing is, let the water go too low and it will fail, therefore we check it as a minimum once a week, done 20,000 miles in it with no problems.

 

[blu73]

Yeah, when i got that last cento, I fully went ot town on the servicing of it, I did everything to it when i got it whether it was due or not just cause i don't know how it has been treated best do the lot, perhaps not the cheapest idea but if you do alot yourself then its quite cheap really. I did the HG, Coolant flush, oil, filters (air, fuel, oil), brakes, everything i could think of really and it stood me in good stead. The car never let me done in all the time i was hammering it round.. Think its a good idea with any new car really.