Hi there. I drive an 1986 Autobianchi Y10 FIRE, that shares the engine with Uno 45s.
I recently took the engine out of the car for a minor overhaul that has become a complete disaster. I succesfuly changed both crankshaft oil seals, clutch release bearing, cambelt and filters. After refitting the engine I started it twice without problem, but the third time I tried it wouldnt start. I found that a broken ignition module cable was the cause, and thanks to your great forum and tutorials a worn diaphragm was spotted as well.
After solving the ignition module issue, the engine was still unable to start. It had spark, but at some point the starter was not capable of rotating the engine. Finally I noticed two spark plugs were not correctly connected to the distributor (oops), but that was only after I broke the cambelt pulley, obviously due to the spark igniting when the piston was travelling the wrong way...
I saw horrified how the engine would turn while the cambelt was completely stationary, can you imagine the situation?
Fortunately, the crankshaft was undamaged, and a new pulley and correcly wired spark plugs would do the trick - or that was what I thought.
After triple checking everything, the engine finally started. I road tested the car for ten miles, checked oil and coolant levels and drove for another 15 miles. When I was adjusting the distributor, the engine suddenly stalled. No prolem, put the distributor in the original position and start it again. Not this time.
AGAIN. It had happened again. The cambelt pulley had broken exacly like the previous one, but this time there was no spark plug to blame .
To make the story short, I have another pulley now (the third one), and it seems that there is some sort of problem with the ignition. Currenltly this is what I have:
- Cambelt checked and perfecly fitted and tightened.
- Spark plugs cleaned. Ignition cables checked and working.
- Distributor disassembled. Pick-up sensor cables are badly worn.
- Ignition module correct. I assume that if I had connected it the wrong way it would have burnt and there would be no spark.
- Coil pack unchecked, looks fine to me.
As there are no ECUs or sensors on this car, I assume that the distributor is causing those problems (with the distributor out of the engine it turns and sounds great, as it should be in a non interference engine).
Has any of you experienced something similar in the past? Would a new distributor help? (I could probably get a running FIRE 1100 for the same price of the new distributor, but dont want do take the engine out again).
Feedback will be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
I recently took the engine out of the car for a minor overhaul that has become a complete disaster. I succesfuly changed both crankshaft oil seals, clutch release bearing, cambelt and filters. After refitting the engine I started it twice without problem, but the third time I tried it wouldnt start. I found that a broken ignition module cable was the cause, and thanks to your great forum and tutorials a worn diaphragm was spotted as well.
After solving the ignition module issue, the engine was still unable to start. It had spark, but at some point the starter was not capable of rotating the engine. Finally I noticed two spark plugs were not correctly connected to the distributor (oops), but that was only after I broke the cambelt pulley, obviously due to the spark igniting when the piston was travelling the wrong way...
I saw horrified how the engine would turn while the cambelt was completely stationary, can you imagine the situation?
Fortunately, the crankshaft was undamaged, and a new pulley and correcly wired spark plugs would do the trick - or that was what I thought.
After triple checking everything, the engine finally started. I road tested the car for ten miles, checked oil and coolant levels and drove for another 15 miles. When I was adjusting the distributor, the engine suddenly stalled. No prolem, put the distributor in the original position and start it again. Not this time.
AGAIN. It had happened again. The cambelt pulley had broken exacly like the previous one, but this time there was no spark plug to blame .
To make the story short, I have another pulley now (the third one), and it seems that there is some sort of problem with the ignition. Currenltly this is what I have:
- Cambelt checked and perfecly fitted and tightened.
- Spark plugs cleaned. Ignition cables checked and working.
- Distributor disassembled. Pick-up sensor cables are badly worn.
- Ignition module correct. I assume that if I had connected it the wrong way it would have burnt and there would be no spark.
- Coil pack unchecked, looks fine to me.
As there are no ECUs or sensors on this car, I assume that the distributor is causing those problems (with the distributor out of the engine it turns and sounds great, as it should be in a non interference engine).
Has any of you experienced something similar in the past? Would a new distributor help? (I could probably get a running FIRE 1100 for the same price of the new distributor, but dont want do take the engine out again).
Feedback will be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
