General My First Panda! 4x4 Sisley

[Pandaman13]

Hi I recently bought this beauty in Spain. She is a 1990 Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley. The previous owner just restored the entire body and its got a brand new paint job to go with it. I was just wondering if i could get some advice on how to maintain it since this is the first fiat i have ever owned. i really like the car and want to keep it in tip top shape. Any tips or lessons learned would be a great help also.


P.S. I would also love to get the bull bars for her and the front lights that go with it if anybody has some for sale please let me know.

 

[Dragon Man]

Hi Welcome to FiatForum!

I am not sure how much rain you have, but first thing is first and change the filler cap for one from a cinquecento, uno or another panda. them universal ones just let loads of water into the tank when it rains

other than that is just simple things, check the condition of the CV boots, check gearbox oil level, keep up with service intervals and avoid salt (i bet it doesn't get that cold where you are though)

the biggest issue is rust and CV boots that start leaking. a leaky CV boot will lead to gearbox problems.

 

[onemanmade]

Welcome to the club! Love the colour, alpine postal yellow

 

[Pandaman13]

Hi Welcome to FiatForum!

I am not sure how much rain you have, but first thing is first and change the filler cap for one from a cinquecento, uno or another panda. them universal ones just let loads of water into the tank when it rains

other than that is just simple things, check the condition of the CV boots, check gearbox oil level, keep up with service intervals and avoid salt (i bet it doesn't get that cold where you are though)

the biggest issue is rust and CV boots that start leaking. a leaky CV boot will lead to gearbox problems.

DragonMan thanks for the tips i guess i should of also metioned that i am not too good with cars period and i am in the learning phase so im not sure what a CV boot is or how to check the gearbox oil level. I did notice today when i was driving to work it was the first day i have had it that there was a lot of morning dew covering the car and i was losing power my headlights would flicker and the radio would go off and on this is the first time i seen this happen since i have had the car any idea what it could be?

 

[Bartpanda]

Love that "scrambled eggs" colour

 

[Dragon Man]

Ahh now that would be down to the earthing points not making a good contact. You can fix them by undoing all the connecting wires and cleaning them up with a bit of sand paper. You will find them near the battery, behind the drivers side headlamp and there's one behind the rear drivers side light but I bet that one would be ok.
When you have cleaned them up put some copper grease on them to help conductivity and stop future corrosion.

Another cause could be the ignition switch.. But try the earthing points first.

The CV boots are a dust cover that protect the "constant velocity " joints which are on the front drive shafts that come out the gear box.
On the panda they also hold in the gearbox oil. When they split you loose a lot of gearbox oil and let grit and water into the gearbox.. That causes huge ware on the gearbox. It's good to check them over.

To check the gearbox oil level you will need a 12mm hex key. There's a small plug on the front of the gearbox (facing the radiator) undo that and look in at it from the top. If you see oil in it then you are good to go!

 

[Pandaman13]

Ahh now that would be down to the earthing points not making a good contact. You can fix them by undoing all the connecting wires and cleaning them up with a bit of sand paper. You will find them near the battery, behind the drivers side headlamp and there's one behind the rear drivers side light but I bet that one would be ok.
When you have cleaned them up put some copper grease on them to help conductivity and stop future corrosion.

Another cause could be the ignition switch.. But try the earthing points first.

The CV boots are a dust cover that protect the "constant velocity " joints which are on the front drive shafts that come out the gear box.
On the panda they also hold in the gearbox oil. When they split you loose a lot of gearbox oil and let grit and water into the gearbox.. That causes huge ware on the gearbox. It's good to check them over.

To check the gearbox oil level you will need a 12mm hex key. There's a small plug on the front of the gearbox (facing the radiator) undo that and look in at it from the top. If you see oil in it then you are good to go!

Thank you so much that is extremely helpful. I have one more question when i reverse i have to have in 4 wheel drive or it will kangroo on me really bad after i go forward a lil bit i can switch it to 2 wheel drive. I pretty sure thats not normal just hoping its part of a bigger problem.

 

[Dragon Man]

hmm that is strange.. i have never heard of that issue.. i would check out the rear engine mount. it is on the back of the gearbox under the drivers side foot well.

check and see how much the engine "rolls" in the engine bay. if it does a lot, this mount could have failed. on my sisley it was loose and would actually pull out of the engine mount.

also.. maybe the rear brakes are binding.. when you go into reverse does the back end of the car lift quite a lot when you have it in 2wd mode?

i never use my sisley in 4x4 mode.. it should only really be used when you get stuck. you should never drive with it in 4x4 mode on a hard surface like a paved road.

you can use it on (loose) gravel though.

 

[onemanmade]

Here is a video of my Sisley using the 4x4 mode on a sand course Fiat Panda 4x4 Sisley MOT passed! Going off road …: [ame]https://youtu.be/aQtYqFV-DPs[/ame]

 

[Pandaman13]

hmm that is strange.. i have never heard of that issue.. i would check out the rear engine mount. it is on the back of the gearbox under the drivers side foot well.

check and see how much the engine "rolls" in the engine bay. if it does a lot, this mount could have failed. on my sisley it was loose and would actually pull out of the engine mount.

also.. maybe the rear brakes are binding.. when you go into reverse does the back end of the car lift quite a lot when you have it in 2wd mode?

i never use my sisley in 4x4 mode.. it should only really be used when you get stuck. you should never drive with it in 4x4 mode on a hard surface like a paved road.

you can use it on (loose) gravel though.

Yea i will have to pay more attention to it when it happens. the first time it did it i didnt want to do it again was to worried about breaking something. As soon as i go forward i always switch it back to 2 wheel drive then the car performs normal. Maybe just doing some TLC on it might get rid of the problem. I would like to get the suspension replaced have you ever done it before? Was wondering if it would be hard to get new suspension for it and how much it would cost for garage to do it since its a lil bit above my skill level.

 

[Pandaman13]

@onmanmade Thats what im talking about! I wanna do that with mine so bad nothing crazy just a lil off roading fun.

 

[Dragon Man]

the front is really easy to do if none of the bolts are rusty. it is only 6 bolts to replace each strut.

just make sure when getting new suspension strut that the struts length is 2cm longer than the 2 wheel drive panda. that way you know you have a 4x4 strut. you can put a 2wd strut on the sisley but it will sit 2cm lower in the wheel arches.

the rear suspension would be a little more hard as you have the have the whole back end jacked up to remove the springs.

if the rear springs still look good i would not bother replacing them. i would however replace the dampeners. this is a crazy easy job, all you need is a 17mm spanner.
its just 2 bolts that hold the dampener in, and you can do the job without even having to jack the car up!

 

[Pandaman13]

the front is really easy to do if none of the bolts are rusty. it is only 6 bolts to replace each strut.

just make sure when getting new suspension strut that the struts length is 2cm longer than the 2 wheel drive panda. that way you know you have a 4x4 strut. you can put a 2wd strut on the sisley but it will sit 2cm lower in the wheel arches.

the rear suspension would be a little more hard as you have the have the whole back end jacked up to remove the springs.

if the rear springs still look good i would not bother replacing them. i would however replace the dampeners. this is a crazy easy job, all you need is a 17mm spanner.
its just 2 bolts that hold the dampener in, and you can do the job without even having to jack the car up!

Alright if it isnt that bad i can try it heck why not. i gotta learn somehow myswell just tackle it. Since im an extreme newbie here (and thank you for being patient with me lol) How would i go about ordering the struts do you have any recomendations of websites to order from.

 

[Dragon Man]

hmm well i am not sure as i am not in spain, but you could try localised car parts places.

go on google and just type in car parts local to (town name) then ask in there.

you can also try eBay, dont forget Ebay from neighbouring countries and the rest of the europe.

some Seat panda parts would fit too. sadly Seat Marballa suspension would not.