Technical Have I bought a lemon?

[Superdad]

Hello fellow Fiat bods,

I recently bought a Fiat Stilo Multiwagon 1.9 JTD 2003 reg and I love it . I am however worried that I have bought a lemon (hope that's the correct term) because now I have a knocking noise coming from the front passenger side.

It happens whenever I go over a bump and it doesn't have to be a big one either. In some ways its like a really bad grinding noise.

I have also noticed that the ride of the car in general is extremely firm, you really can feel every little little bump in the road - is that normal or am I being paranoid? When you take a corner it rolls nicely and there is no problem with the steering of any kind.

I apologise if this has been covered in a different thread but I searched around and got a bit lost - not the best mechanic as you can probably tell.

I love my car as it ticks every box for the new family and I really hope I can get if fixed cheaply :bang:

Thank you for your help

Stuart

 

[Oakley28]

Have a look at the sticky thread at the top of the stilo section about the JTD Ratlle and see if thats anything the same to what you are experiencing.

Thanks, and welcome the forum. There are plenty of people here who will be able to hep you with anything you may need to know.

 

[Ffoxy]

Hello fellow Fiat bods,

I recently bought a Fiat Stilo Multiwagon 1.9 JTD 2003 reg and I love it . I am however worried that I have bought a lemon (hope that's the correct term) because now I have a knocking noise coming from the front passenger side.

It happens whenever I go over a bump and it doesn't have to be a big one either. In some ways its like a really bad grinding noise.

I have also noticed that the ride of the car in general is extremely firm, you really can feel every little little bump in the road - is that normal or am I being paranoid? When you take a corner it rolls nicely and there is no problem with the steering of any kind.

I apologise if this has been covered in a different thread but I searched around and got a bit lost - not the best mechanic as you can probably tell.

I love my car as it ticks every box for the new family and I really hope I can get if fixed cheaply :bang:

Thank you for your help

Stuart

Hi and Welcome to The Fiat Forum! I dont think you have a lemon, did the car come with service / maintenance history?
The diesel version of the Stilo is probably the best example to have in terms of engine reliability, your rattle / noise may be a drop-link, well known on all Stilos and not hard or expensive to do / have done. Alternatively it may be a broken front spring (also well known) but both springs can be replaced for around £150. Worth having the top suspension mounting bearing checked too at this point. In terms of ride, formness is normal, as long as the car isnt crashing and banging its way down the road, just ensure the tyres are not over inflated.

 

[Superdad]

Thanks guys, that was quick.

I did check the messages you mentioned and my problem is I am not sure how to tell if the drop-links are damaged. I have read quite a few threads in fact but they never give a great deal of detail on diagnosing the problem - an amateur mechanics nightmare.

I will probably just have to take it in to the garage for diagnosis.

Thanks for the encouragement - I did read up about the 1.9 JTD and the engine istelf seems sound a pound - fingers crossed.

Stuart

 

[Argonought]

I will probably just have to take it in to the garage for diagnosis.

Try to take it to a Fiat specialist garage if you can as they will almost certainly have prior experience - which counts for a lot

 

[Ffoxy]

Thanks guys, that was quick.

I did check the messages you mentioned and my problem is I am not sure how to tell if the drop-links are damaged. I have read quite a few threads in fact but they never give a great deal of detail on diagnosing the problem - an amateur mechanics nightmare.

I will probably just have to take it in to the garage for diagnosis.

Thanks for the encouragement - I did read up about the 1.9 JTD and the engine istelf seems sound a pound - fingers crossed.

Stuart

Its best done at a garage if you are not sure Superdad, make your choice of gagrage carefully.... also not the potential of the 1.9 engine in my Sig below...

Edit :- I agree with Argo

 

[JayEm]

To test the drop links, open one of your front doors and rock the car from this position (Picture stolen from Ben R ):

If the drop links are gone, you usually hear a knocking noise from the opposite side to the one you're rocking. Mine did the same straight after I bought it, not sure if this applies to the multiwagon though.

 

[cris1117]

Hi all
I think I paid about £20 for a pair of drop links the last time, it take about 30 minutes to change them both once the wheels are off (easy job) all you need is a spanner and an allen key.
They seem to go at around 40/60k miles so if you’re near that mileage I would just do them anyway.
Good Luck

 

[Superdad]

Thank you JayEm for the help on fault finding, I have tried to rock it but its a big car and all i could hear was the petrol tank gluging away. I'll get someone to stand near to it next time.

Thank you Ffoxy as well, nice job on the car by the way - doesn't that much power give you problems with the clutch slipping all the time?

I'll send it to the garage and let you know what it turns up.

 

[Ffoxy]

Thank you JayEm for the help on fault finding, I have tried to rock it but its a big car and all i could hear was the petrol tank gluging away. I'll get someone to stand near to it next time.

Thank you Ffoxy as well, nice job on the car by the way - doesn't that much power give you problems with the clutch slipping all the time?

I'll send it to the garage and let you know what it turns up.

Hi Superdad, I get no clutch slip at all, I dont beast the car, and I am careful to fully take my left foot off the clutch pedal at all times except when I actually need to use the clutch. Strangely I get no torquesteer or tramping either, maybe I'm just an empathetic driver. I spoke for quite a while with Peter at Red Dot Racing who did my re-map, he advised me what to do and what not to do, to be fair its common sense! The re-map does transform the car in performance terms though.

 

[Superdad]

RESULT - well kind of...

I did get a result in the respect of the firm ride I had - I took it to my lovely local garage and they told me both bushes on the rear suspension were shot to hell. Luckily for me the dealership said they would get it fixed and its much nice over bumps now.

The problem is that I'm still getting a dodgy suspension sounding noise every time from the front passenger side when I go over small bumps. My garage got out all the lever bars and managed to create the noise on the MOT testing machine but could find the fault in the suspension - "there is absolutely no play in any of the suspension mate" - so I'm back to square one on that one. but at least I'm not getting kicked in the spine now that the rear bushes have been replaced.

Any ideas on the rattle/clunking noise would be greatly appreciated.

Stuart

 

[trumpeter]

Had this issue on mine since i bought it second hand.
Usually when i catch a speed bump a bit to quickly!
Dealers found nothing wrong with the suspension but suggested that it could be the engine undertray flexing and hitting a pipe. Can't remeber which one it was about 18 months ago now! They managed to move it slightly and now it only clunks when i really hit a speed bump wrong!

Just out of interest what kind of mileage do you get from a tank of diesel with mixed driving. I'm averaging about 350 miles per tank and about 33 MPG.
Goes up to 42 MPG on a motorway run.

 

[Muppet1]

Thats terrible fuel consumption, i only see fiquires like that when im ragging the hell out of mine, i would expect at least 450 to the tank if not 500 mixed use.

Unless ofcourse you foot is lead like mine, but even so thats terrible, i could better that in my old ecort td estate 400 miles to the tank.

 

[Sussex Stu]

Same thing for my MW - hit a speed bump & sometimes I get a noise then sometimes I don't I've given up worrying about it now !

As for the mpg , 350 out of the tank is terrible. I'm getting 600+ out of mine & according to the trip computer returning 54 to the gallon. Granted a majority of the mileage is motorway though.

 

[Superdad]

I'm getting an estimated £450 to a tank but thats mixed mileage right now 70/30 town/motorway.

The noise I'm hearing is definitely coming from the passenger side but when my partner drives I can't quite place the noise, its just vaguely in the front wheel area.

Any ideas on how to check the engine under tray?

 

[kev1]

check if a spring catcher has been installed on the springs (part of some recall work issued by fiat a year or two ago) - it's a metal cradle thing on the spring.

mine were not installed properly on one side causing a knocking noise and if it is this will be a free fix from a fiat dealer.

you will be able to tell as there will be a lot of play when you wiggle it about.

 

[coffee]

Had this issue on mine since i bought it second hand.
Usually when i catch a speed bump a bit to quickly!
Dealers found nothing wrong with the suspension but suggested that it could be the engine undertray flexing and hitting a pipe. Can't remeber which one it was about 18 months ago now! They managed to move it slightly and now it only clunks when i really hit a speed bump wrong!

Just out of interest what kind of mileage do you get from a tank of diesel with mixed driving. I'm averaging about 350 miles per tank and about 33 MPG.
Goes up to 42 MPG on a motorway run.

I get similar. mine is about 37 mpg. 90% city traffic. short distances.