Technical Engine rebuild, Stilo Abarth 2.4 manual

[Abarth L]

Engine Crankshaft and final stripping

00H05 EngineFlywheel side - Remove Crank seal cover.
00H15 Enginebottom - Remove Bearing caps (Big end and Main).
Note! Record cap position and direction, thecaps is marked with stripes indicating which bearing starting from the Beltside. (See pictures)
00H05 Engine bottom - Remove crank shaft.

Note! While removing crank and bearings, takenote of positions.
Note! Inspect crank shaft and bearing contactpoints for any excessive wear, if crank shaft is damaged on any bearing itmight require polishing and that bearing halves might be required to bethicker.
Although these should be measured for clearanceslater it can give an indication now of what major work might still be required.
Generally if maintenance were done frequentlythis should not be a problem.



00H05 Engine bottom - Remove oil nozzles.
00H05 Engine bottom - Remove thrust bearings.

So now justleft with the Welsh plugs, in 3 minds about the "5"

• Leave originals in - there were norust, engine always had anti-freeze.
• Replace - from experience whenremoving the old ones on my Uno Turbo it created grooves / scratch marks. So isalso taking a chance.
• Weld close - If this were not castiron, I would have done this, but no-one can weld cast iron and keep metal integrity.
• Stainless steel plugs - mmm... Maybea market for someone to look into it LOL, expansion under heat might also be afactor.

Observations.
I am gladto see after 258 000km's bearings still look good.
No cracksin block, head or major components, so the foundation were designed very good,saying that it also tells of good warming up practices and services.
I drove this car hard, cornering, acceleration etc. but always kept the revs and acceleration low till on working temperatures.

 

[Abarth L]

Clean engine block

04H00 Cleaned block, lots of work to remove old oil etc.

So now next step...

Do I just clean

• or do I spray the same as I did my Uno Turbo engine after the engine rebuild at 350 000km.

The Stilo engine is covered mostly so you won't see much of the paint work.
Plus it won't fit in standard oven to bake the paint

 

[Abarth L]

Suggestions please? Lightened Dual Mass Flywheel


Ok so dual mass flywheel will stay, so no conversion to single mass for thesimple reason reliability (gearbox, engine etc. due to shock absorptions andvibrations)


Ihave done a lot of homework and also because my original clutch kit gave mejust over 240 000km's.


Do anyone know who is selling a lightened dual mass flywheel for the 2.4 Stilo orwho can lighten a dual mass since it is not the same animal than a single mass?


I would prefer to have a lighter dual mass flywheel before I start assembly.

Update on motor so far: photos will follow soon.


1.Engine block re-sleeved, skimmed, new welsh plugs, painted.
2.Head gas flowed, skimmed, swirled, clearances' optimized, seats 3 angle cut.
3.Con rod tops, new bearings, lightened, balanced.

 

[Abarth L]

Hi all


I will upload the procedures and photos soon.


I want to torque the head bolts, but the e-manual give 2 settings

Does anyone know why this is.


1. 2Nm, +90, +90
2. 2Nm, 2Nm, +90, +90, +90


The Fiat dealer specialist gave me 4Nm, +90, +90, which I believe more.


If someone know why there are 2 settings in the manual for the 2.4 I would like to know the reason or history.

 

[Abarth L]

Rebuild Complete (257871 km's done)


Must say to do this 100% alone was not easy but the passion I have for this car and the results as you will see below were worth each drop of sweat, every cent and patience.


I have now done just over 2000 km's, car run in.
Started on first turn and took some time to sort out ECU faults etc.


My plan was to do a decent rebuild with some performance modifications.
The result so far were what I hoped for on the kW, but the Torque surprized me.
- 145 kW (125 std)
- 291 Nm (221 std)
Although the ECU, Cams, Intake & Air Filter, Injectors, Clutch, Flywheel, bore is still standard, I still want to do an ECU remap. (If I get 10% on top of this it will be amazing)


Below are some history of the journey.

 

[Abarth L]

Video of Dyno
I will upload Dyno sheet etc. and economy run and results after compiling.


[ame]https://youtu.be/BGlvIjgE3Xs[/ame]

 

[Abarth L]

I'd like to know the answer to this. For the Alfa Twinspark engine, there is a special long, thin Ribe tool required to remove those sump bolts. I don't know whether the same tool applies for the five-cylinder motor.


It's been a few months - I wonder how this story concluded?


-Alex

Hi Alex, a bit late but build were on hold for mmm.. a few more month

And the answer is on the Stilo Abarth that you must remove the flywheel and heat plate in order to remove the 2 bolts on the sump.
Note! this is on a standard dual mass clutch, if you did a single mass conversion it might not be required.

 

[Abarth L]

Eco Run


Not perfect conditions or controlled but more realistic day to day


Distance covered: 80.7 km
Speed control set: @139, true speed 130 km/hr (Speedo not very accurate)
Consumption: 11.3 km/l
Aircon: On


You will see I must still sort out a broken fuel gauge, coolant temp gauge and then have an alarm for ABS and Air bag.
The 44 min video is a bit long, so first minute here LOL




[ame]https://youtu.be/gGEwh6iQJrQ[/ame]

 

[Abarth L]

Below are the Dyno sheet.


Note: the altitude at which I am and doing the test and economy run.
If I made a mistake somewhere in a calculation, let's discuss.

 

[Abarth L]

So after rebuilding the motor I also had to do some looooong outstanding maintenance on the front.
- Front Tyres
- Brake Disc's
- Shocks
- Lower Control Arms.
- LH CH boot rubbers.


So first time I changed the shocks

since I bought the car in 2008 ( 1 owner, bought on 24000 km)
Can't remember if the brake disc has ever been changed.
Also changed the lower control arms

, this was a challenge since I bought from a spares shop which shown in the book that the lower control arms important from Italy fits all Stilos, but on the Abarth the one hole is to small.
So I had to increase the size to 14mm.. (Note: I had an engineering company do this at slow speed not to overheat the metal, also clamping the steel bush not to stress the rubber.


On the old front tyres, you can see the wear on the one tyre, hence the front suspension maintenance.
I opted now for Good Year Eagle F1 sync 3. (Front)

I also recharged the air con, Note! the aircon never required refill and I am very impressed how good the Stilo Dual climate control works, compared to X2 and Si4

 

[Abarth L]

While under the running in period after the schocks, cv's etc where changed I had to look at all the ECU faults.


So I took the car to a BOSCH dealer whom also have a dyno for later use


Below you can see the Christmas Tree eek: ECU errors)
The Bosch snr. technician advised to:
1. Clean MAF sensor
2. New cam sensor
3. New Lambda sensor for nr.2
4. New Knock sensor nr.2
5. Piston 5 ignition coil??


I analyzed the results vs his advise and since all ignition coils and cam speed sensor were giving alarm, I read somewhere on google how a faulty knock sensor will let your ecu advance and retard the timing to try to eliminate the "knock", hence all ignition coils and cam sensor alarms.
So I decided to only:
1. Clean MAF sensor and connections with electrical cleaner (Note I removed the sensor using pliers to "unscrew the 2 odd bolts")
2. Replace Knock sensor 2 (piston 5), was a liitle tricky , had to do it from the bottom.

NB! The knock sensors must only ne tightened to about 3Nm, extremely lightly, just lock it, if you turn to hard you are going to damage the sensor (maybe I did this is why it were broken)
3. Replace Lambda sensor 2 (after catalytic convertor, well after my mini cat)


I also bought a ECU OBD 2 Bluetooth dongle to test myself before going back to Bosch.


After all 3 items done on my list all faults cleared, engine light cleared it self next morning when I started the car, and I could fell an immediate boost in power like seriously much better, took a test drive and stopped by Bosch to check ECU again, all faults cleared

The MAF sensor I still doubt if it were to dirty, Fiat don't use the thin oscillating wires but a temp diode which is much more durable.
To remove the MAF was quite simple:
1. REMOVED the engine and battery covers.
2. REMOVED battery
3. LIFTED the battery plastic cage on the LH front.
4. LOOSENED the clamp.
5. UNSCREW the 2 bolts on the MAF.
6. TWISTED 45% anticlockwise to remove plug.


When I started I thought I would have to remove the whole air box again, luckily not.

 

[mdrazic]

Hi. I am Marin from Croatia. Your work is impresive. I have 2001 stilo abarth and I will put leather seats inside. I got them for only 150€. For another 300€ i got complete engine with ecu, selespeed gearbox and all other parts inside the engine bay. I plan to "refresh" that spare engine with new piston rings, seals, gaskets, bearings. Can you tell me where you got piston rings...original fiat or alternative solution? I must ask someone will I use original dimensions or use first higher dimension for bearings and rings and rework crank shaft.

 

[Abarth L]

Hi. I am Marin from Croatia. Your work is impresive. I have 2001 stilo abarth and I will put leather seats inside. I got them for only 150€. For another 300€ i got complete engine with ecu, selespeed gearbox and all other parts inside the engine bay. I plan to "refresh" that spare engine with new piston rings, seals, gaskets, bearings. Can you tell me where you got piston rings...original fiat or alternative solution? I must ask someone will I use original dimensions or use first higher dimension for bearings and rings and rework crank shaft.

Hi Marin
Thank you.
I got the majority of the spares from FIAT (Original), so rings were from FIAT.
Since it is a second hand engine you are getting, I recommend to re-sleeve the block since the sleeve will now be more oval than round and out of spec. (If you don't it will leak oil into the combustion area, also DON't hone the sleaves)
The bearings I got were all original FIAT, did not do any work on crank, there were now damage that required work to be done after 257000km, but it depends on the condition of your engine.


Please ask if you require any information or procedures, good luck it is a lot of work but worth it.
Replace also the con rod bolts with new ones, head bolts, whelsh plugs and oil pump.

 

[mdrazic]

Thanks for informations. Fiat dealer in Croatia has price for spares like it sell parts for ferari instead of fiat. How much did you spend for rings and other parts?

 

[Abarth L]

Hi Marin


I quickly created a bill of material for what I have at hand, I will have to spend some time to create a more comprehensive complete list later going through all my emails.


But the list below can give you some idea.

 

[Venomvzyl]

So I though it might be good idea to record times, then this can be used as a guide for someone in the future, obviously some bolts come out easily and some don't etc.

8 Feb 2015

1. 00h02 Removed engine cover
2. 00h02 Removed battery cover
3. 00h02 Removed battery
4. 00h02 Moved fuse box and cables safely out of the way
5. 00h04 Removed battery holder/foot bracket (nr 13 socket)/drip tray
6. 00h15 Removed Air filter box and pipe's (2x metal clamps, 1x air flow meter plug)
7. 01h00 Removed exhaust, from 5 to 1 flange to flange before 1st silencer box (lost time due to long bolts used by shop during decat, grime & dust lie on thread causing it to seize)
Tip: use short bolts and lubricate with copper compound

Good day sir can you maybe help me on my airflow sensor wiring colors from 1 to 5 on my fiat stilo 2.4 the person who worked on my car cut the wires so I'm not sure where it goes please sir tanx. Rudi