Technical Clunk!

[nerodino]

Hi to all. New on here and first post!
Just bought the wife 'Luigi' (not a very original name i know)
Happy with car generally other than when taking up drive and on overun, engine/transmission 'clunk' as if engine mountings are shot.
I note the clever spring damper assembly to the rear valence, this appears quite weak and moves very freely when you give the engine a shove backwards and forwards, the bushes appear fine though.
Any ideas folks?
Thanks in advance, G P.

 

[DjPatD]

hows it goin? if your asking about the motor mounts when is exactly symmetrical in the center of the vehicle itself when you open the engine lid, it has to shift slightly from left to right given the size of the engine and the area that it is in it must do this inorder to pull the displacement that it does.

- my car however doesn't make that noise especially when i change gears or place the vehicle into drive from the first gear.

double check that the motor mounts are holding the engine tightly at bay, if they are then your should check that its not running slightly crooked which maybe the reason for clicking and even grinding.

 

[oopsadaisy]

nerodino - first of all welcome to the Forum!

This is one of those things that is very difficult to diagnose wthout actually hearing it.

The transmission on the 500 is very simple, so there are a number of things that could be causing the clunk you describe.

Does it happen both when you put power on AND take it off?

Regarding the engine mount, it is possible to move the engine fairly easily, but as DjPatD says, first thing to check is security of all mounting points on the back valance and the ones on the gearbox.

If these are all OK, is it possible to recreate the clunk by putting the car into gear, and rocking it back and forth with the engine bay open so you can at least get some idea of the area the clunk is coming from?

Good luck, and keep us posted!

A picture of your car would be nice too!

 

[nerodino]

Thanks Oops... I have just been underneath the old girl tonight! and i have found both the gearbox mounts broken! The car was sold to me with a new MOT and i have already had to free off the Offside rear handbrake adjustment bolt using a blow torch to loosen the rust! Also both rear suspension bump stops were sheared off and i have just taken out the fuel tank sender unit to find it completely rusted up and broken.....no wonder the wife ran out of fuel yesterday.......she didnt even know that it had a fuel gauge in the first place.
I have just ordered all these parts from Franco at Ricambio....the sender unit was £35.00!!!
Tell me somebody....what MPG should we be getting on average? i have just worked it out that we are only getting 38 to the gallon! i would expect more wouldnt you?
Regards Graham
PS as requested a couple of photos

 

[oopsadaisy]

Hi Graham

Glad you sorted it!

As a guide to the fuel consumption, I remember that going back when we first had a Fiat 126 that the consumption depended very much on how it was driven.

Even on such a small engine, having a heavy right foot would dramatically increase the consumption. After all they are a very low tech piece of equipment designed over 50 years ago.

However, driven carefully with moderate acceleration you should be able to achieve around 50 mpg.

BTW, nice looking car - thanks for posting the pics!

I like the small Italian style front plate - where did you get that from?

 

[nerodino]

Hi Graham

Glad you sorted it!

As a guide to the fuel consumption, I remember that going back when we first had a Fiat 126 that the consumption depended very much on how it was driven.

Even on such a small engine, having a heavy right foot would dramatically increase the consumption. After all they are a very low tech piece of equipment designed over 50 years ago.

However, driven carefully with moderate acceleration you should be able to achieve around 50 mpg.

BTW, nice looking car - thanks for posting the pics!

I like the small Italian style front plate - where did you get that from?

Thanks for that. Plate was on the car already when i bought it.

 

[DjPatD]

Glad that its all sorted out, i get about 51mpg city driving in New York where its all stop and go. The motor isnt rebuilt its all original which might describe why tho.

nice 500 by the way