General Help needed please!!! Gears!

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Hi there. I'm kinda new to all this stuff. My mom "gave" her old uno to me. Was a stunning car once. But now....Well paint is faded (was RED) and has some problems here and there, otherwise it is still nice. I'm wanting to get it all fixed up now and I really need help with it. Firstly I'll start with this... I'm finding it hard to get gears 1st and 2nd and 3rd...4th and 5th seems fine... I have to force it into gear. I'm not to sure what the model is... All i know it is a rebuild.. The front part '98 and the back '95... And it has an 1100 engine. Please help me out with the problems. I will try to keep you all posted on the progress. Thank you all in advance!!! I LOVE THE UNO

 

[Rob-mint-mk1-uno]

Sounds to me like the clutch isnt clearing the drive properly making it tight to get into gears...
The gearbox will have to be removed to gain access to the clutch, then if the clutch seams ok then its the gear box shot....
I had a cavalier that was tight gettin it into gear and turned out to be the gear box.
hope this helps....

 

[jjhepburn]

Maybe check the oil level in the gearbox. But I would also suspect the clutch.

 

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Thanks for the replies guys! Will try have it checked out soon... My dad had it checked before, think the mechanic said it the clutch plate. So going to have to buy a clutch kit and let it be installed By the way.. Where do i check the transmission oil? Forgot to say it a Uno Fire. Thanks guys! Gonna be a while before I can let the clutch be fixed then... Oh well

 

[the mk1 kid]

You check it by removing a large allen key bolt on the casing, kinda behind the bumper and half way up the box. Idea is you pump oil in here until it starts to overflow, then you're done.

Tom

 

[TRACEY]

I think you will probably find your clutch is on the way out. We have just had ours replaced - same problem!

 

[alexGS]

I agree with the others, but suggest you try a clutch adjustment first (if a cable clutch) or try bleeding the clutch hydraulics (if a hydraulic clutch).

If it's a cable clutch, is the pedal level with the brake pedal? Official figures say it should be just below, but later FIAT revised the specification to specify the travel rather than the pedal height. In my experience, many Unos end up with the pedal too low, which means the clutch doesn't disengage properly.

If a hydraulic clutch, you could be having problems with air in the system perhaps due to a corroded slave cylinder. Bleeding the air out may get it working again, and if the fault returns you can then try changing the cylinder.

Still, you've had a mechanic look at it and they think the fault is internal... so, probably worth changing the clutch (you can do it yourself, I wrote about how to do it and it's in the Guides section). But I just thought I'd suggest the easier checks first.

-Alex

 

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Thank you for the replies once again My dad broke the handbrake cable today. So having that replaced sometime. I have a cable clutch, but trying to figure out how much it will cost to have the clutch replaced (Clutch kit) It costs R1250 (Around $178) or for it to be done, quite a bit for me. Have to get a job now and start saving. Thanks for the help! Much appreciated!

 

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Sorry just checked now. The brake pedal and clutch pedal about the same height, the clutch is a very very very very slightly lower. AlexGS, Where can I find that guide? Thank you all!

 

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Well heres my Uno. The paint not that good anymore. And both front doors rusted. Nothing special about the Uno. But thought you all might just wanted to see how she looks like. Poor thing. My plan is actually to spray paint her black, with all that rust proofing and all. Tint the windows silver. Get better looking mags than those ones. Colour coded bumpers and mirrors. But the problem is she has no aircon. So she gonna be quite hot inside if shes black. Is it possible to have an aircon installed? Ok before I do that all I havve to fix the clutch and the doors. Well have a look at the faded red, hate it! Isn't there a way to stop fading?

 

[thepottleflump]

Ahh poor things got sunburnt and rusting away too - typical Uno. You should be able to restore the shine to the paintwork with a bit of paint restorer polish. I'm not familiar with the SA market but here in the Uk any car shop will sell an abbrasive polish which will have it looking good and remove the fade from the bonnet and other panels. Best to the prevent fading by regular washing, polishing and waxing of the paintwork. As for the rust it looks quite bad since you'd got a hole, if possible reskin the door(s) or buy new one either from a dealer or scrapyard, again I've no idea about availability of parts in SA. If that's not an option I'd probably grind out as much rust as possible, weld in some new metal, treat with a rust eat, prime with zinc primer and then paint, along with waxoyling the inside of the doors. I'm surprised it's gone so bad, didn't think the climate was too wet in SA.

 

[(CZ)enda]

Hm.... this is no tragedy. The doors have obviously fallen victim to water condensation. The repair will be very much dependent on how much the rust affected the vertical part of the lower edge of the door.
If you have a MIG welder or know someone who has and who knows what he is doing, there is a repair piece available for peanuts - it is basically a shaped piece of metal which replaces the outer lower part of the door. The troublesome part of the job would be matching the color.
Theoretically, you should find a silver label on the inner part of the rear door with the code of the original shade (saying e.g. "Rosso Corsa 123"), which should be useful for having the exact shade mixed by your paint provider. In practice, this never works .

Or, you can do what I did - find a complete rust-free door with matching color at a scrapyard No welding, bolt-off/bolt on job

 

[alexGS]

Good advice thepottleflump and (CZ)enda (though it's Rosso Corsa 140 or 854/F, tsk tsk !)

Now since they made Unos in Pretoria until a year or so ago, I'm sure there will be more red doors around. I only saw one slightly-rusty Uno in coastal Durban; in general I was impressed by the condition of the Unos rolling around (though many of them were only a few years old, of course). The climate in hay-fever-capital Centurion was ridiculously dry (didn't rain for 35 days!)

That red is nowhere near as bad as 'Punto Pink' (as I call it) and I'm sure it will polish up nicely. Imagine the bumpers and black plastic black again, and you have a smart little driver.

Fitting air conditioning is going to be expensive - more than the value of the car. Painting it black sounds like a good idea until you appreciate the work involved - it would be much easier to polish what you have! I used to paint cars different colours, but have pretty much given up this lark unless the car is stripped for some other reason.

You just need appropriate products. You don't want waxes and polishes from an auto accessory shop until later on (for preservation); to get the colour back you want something like 3M Finesse-It from a paint shop. You can use a polishing machine, but the results obtained in polishing by hand are just as good. And the cheap vibrating polishing machines of the two-handled type are USELESS, save your money You need something that looks like an angle-grinder and does several thousand RPM. Or, use your hands. You really will be surprised. Please take a look at https://www.fiatforum.com/uno-styli...aint.html?highlight=polishing+roof#post432996 if you want to spoil the surprise.

You could try tightening the clutch cable a little anyway. Slacken one of the two 10mm nuts (holding the other nut), then turn the nuts a few turns towards the cable (5mm should be enough of a difference to notice.)

I've had good results with red paint matches, but only if the rest of the car is polished-up FIRST before painting.

I think though, given the number of Unos around (thepottleflump: there are LOTS , and loads of Mk1 Golfs - yes, Mk1! - also made locally, don't know if they're still in production) that you are better off to find a replacement red door and bolt it on yourself.

Hope you have fun with it!

-Alex

 

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Hey! Thank you all for the replies. Saw that Uno, AlexGS, looks almost like this one when we got it. So what do I actually need? I have turtle wax scratch&swirl remover in the cupboard. What is T-Cut? I tried the turtle wax i have on a small spot on the bonnet and it made quite a difference I just want my old red colour back. I will try to post pics of when we first got the car tomorrow. Thanks for the help guys! Gonna try to get the nice red back soon, just need to buy the stuff.

 

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Sorry forgot to ask as well, what can I use to get the bumpers and mirrors back to black again? Will try tighten the nuts tomorrow, AlexGS, thanks! And I do have a spare door, the left one. Its not red though but can be sprayed. Just need to replace the right one as well because it is just as bad. I think what started the rust was that the rubbers that run over the window, when opening and closing it, wasn't sealing it and to much water would then go in? Because while closing the window the rubber on the outside would be pushed out.

 

[alexGS]

The usual trick is to swap the rubber from the inside of the door window to the outside. The mounting strip is slightly different (has notches to clear the door framework) but the furry rubber seal is interchangeable.

As I mentioned before, 3M make a number of fine, silicone-free, cutting compounds/polishes that are intended for 'industrial' use and probably obtainable internationally. Comes in a large black plastic bottle, called 'Finesse-it II'.

Your Turtle Wax on the other hand will be loaded with silicones and light on abrasives, so the result will probably not be as permanent - although great for protecting the colour after using something else to polish it up first.

-Alex

 

[TeRRoRBytez2007]

Thank you My dad got some stuff to make it all nice again. Got it from someone that works at a car paint shop. I have seen the results of this before, we had a Ford Cortina also same red as the uno, was very faded like orange. After all the buffing and stuff that Cortina came to a nice finish, cherry red. I will keep you posted on the progress, and will attach some photos. Here are some of how she looked when we got her. Nice hey! (sorry about the quality)

 

[rodmallia]

Now that's more like it!

 

[allly's uno]

Hey, where in SA do you stay?? If ur in CT area and u can do it urself, i've just had my clutch kit replaced, bought a kit for R500.00.

If u do it urself it's easier 2 take out the engine n go thru that way.

 

[unoracer]

If you want any repair panels etc for doors and other uno panels, this site is worth looking at www.beeversautopanels.co.uk They are pattern parts but have a good range and are reasonably priced