General I just bought a x1/9

[fastrendy]

I just purchased one yesterday and I am now a happy owner of an x1/9. But I know nothing about the car. I would appreciate any help I can get.

Here are some questions...btw, this is a USDM 80' and is carburated.

1. Does the x1/9 come with only one side-view mirror?

2. How many quarts does it take to change the oil? and the viscosity grade to use?

3. The pop-up lights doesn't seem to work, it only stays up. Could it be the motor for that?

4. The exhaust likes to squeak, how can I tone it down?

5. The clutch is sticky and sometimes doesn't want to lift back up, what could be the cause?

 

[jimbro1000]

I just purchased one yesterday and I am now a happy owner of an x1/9. But I know nothing about the car. I would appreciate any help I can get.

Here are some questions...btw, this is a USDM 80' and is carburated.

1. Does the x1/9 come with only one side-view mirror?

2. How many quarts does it take to change the oil? and the viscosity grade to use?

3. The pop-up lights doesn't seem to work, it only stays up. Could it be the motor for that?

4. The exhaust likes to squeak, how can I tone it down?

5. The clutch is sticky and sometimes doesn't want to lift back up, what could be the cause?

Congratulations on your purchase!

Just quickly - to answer your questions

1) Only the very last cars came with both side mirrors - thankfully the RHS glass and mirror assemblies can be obtained from the UK fairly easily.

2) quarts? no idea - I just buy in litres in which case a 5 litre can usually does the job with a little to spare. As for grade - a 15w50 of the latest standard will do.

3) most likely a relay or diode fault. You will have to check the wiring back to the switch unfortunately. Diode failure is fairly common by now but tends to only affect one side. Try opening the little panel behind the light and tuning the motor by hand (a convenient grip is built into the motor for this very purpose).

4) would hazard a guess and say someone has damaged the manifold and it is not mounted correctly any more. the studs holding the exhaust on are prone to damage and it is not unusual for one or more to need replacing. The other mounting is straight onto the gearbox via an arm. The mounting bolts are supposed to be sprung loaded to prevent this sort of thing.

5) much harder to isolate but most probably a hydraulic issue - check the slave cylinder in the engine bay first and make sure it isn't weeping fluid. If that looks intact then check the master cylinder (under the dashboard). The pipework is usually sturdy enough but is not immune to damage or decay.

 

[fastrendy]

Thanks Jimbro, that was great help.

But I have one more question to ask you...

I'm curious to why it takes 15w50 grade. Most four-cylinder cars that I've owned took 5w30 and 10w30. By the way, my engine is a 1500cc and is carburated. Does Fiat recommend 15w50?
Oh and how many liters does it take? Sorry that I used quarts but I'm from the U.S.

 

[jimbro1000]

Thanks Jimbro, that was great help.

But I have one more question to ask you...

I'm curious to why it takes 15w50 grade. Most four-cylinder cars that I've owned took 5w30 and 10w30. By the way, my engine is a 1500cc and is carburated. Does Fiat recommend 15w50?
Oh and how many liters does it take? Sorry that I used quarts but I'm from the U.S.

The four cylinder engine you have now uses the same grade oil as pretty much every european engine of the last 30 years. The basic design is based on a full race engine developed for Fiat and benefits from a number of points that were subsequently incorporated.

The original oil specified (made by Selenia which used to be Fiat's lubricant business) has varied over the years making it potentially a little tricky to buy the right thing if you were to try. Ultimately a 5w-40 or 15w-40 is what you would get now depending on requirements. 15w-50 oil used to be easier to obtain here but since I haven't needed to buy any for quite some time (other than some fiendishly expensive oils for race cars) I cannot say for sure that it is still the case.

I believe the crankcase capacity for the oil is just 4 litres (all from memory) but ultimately I have always just filled to meet the "full" mark on the dipstick rather than measuring the oil in and the oil always came in a 5 litre can. The only time I have bought oil in quarts was for some (hideously expensive again) Redline gearbox oil.