General My Marea decided to self destruct :<

[MrMigs08]

Proper gutted, driving along the other day enjoying the sun where there wheels started ragging back and forth, immediately i know something was up and only occured when taking corners (Differential issues) so i drove on and the next thing that happens is theres debris all over the road and oil of parts of gearbox flying out so i crawled at 10 to the nearest safe place and popped the bonnet.

All that remained was a sheared in two gearbox housing that had completely taken itself appart,

I guess the old girl couldn't handle the miles i was putting on her, she will meet her end later today .

Been awesome being part of the fiat owners club (Y), but i recon i will go back to a little nissan i know as micra ! (Going to miss my throaty 1.6 loads though, apserlute power horse that fiat).

 

[rat20v]

Thats not good news buddy, but you could get a new gearbox for peanuts and pop it in

 

[MrMigs08]

Aye matey however the engine took a real battering and people who saw it even commented saying metal fragments were leaving the exhaust in good numbers,

By half the day the engine sounded completely different and wasnt able to hold idle, with the gearbox completely siezing up the engine was along with it and it just took the blunt of it, still it ran until i got her where she needed to be and it was great for it to be like that,

Alot of issues with that marea though, but will greatly be missed :<

 

[bluejohn125]

Sorry to hear of her demise, sounds like she went out in style!

You just can't trust these "one little old lady owner" cars...

 

[Venters]

 

[loveshandbags]

Aye matey however the engine took a real battering and people who saw it even commented saying metal fragments were leaving the exhaust in good numbers,

By half the day the engine sounded completely different and wasnt able to hold idle, with the gearbox completely siezing up the engine was along with it and it just took the blunt of it, still it ran until i got her where she needed to be and it was great for it to be like that,

Alot of issues with that marea though, but will greatly be missed :<

Sorry to hear about that MrMigs08.
I was following a lot of your very interesting posts.
My Marea failed its NCT yesterday on little things that all 'add up'.
If I was in the same country as you I'd consider donating it to you.
A nice Panda with a 1.2 engine would be a great little workhouse and a 100HP may not be too bad on the insurance.
Can't see you driving a Micra.

 

[MrMigs08]

Got proper attached to that marea as well, and had just spent a day trialing induction setups, the end results had the power feeling like it would rev so freely to 6.5k before dropping off, where as the stock system i would feel a power drop at 5.5k, engine was so responsive and the noise was jaw dropping, the drive was spot on, pumped my tyres up and took it around the country roads like a sports car.

A panda would be nice, but after my gutting experience with this exploding gearbox, i'm a bit hesitant to return to fiat .

Marea is a beautiful thing.

 

[loveshandbags]

Got proper attached to that marea as well, and had just spent a day trialing induction setups, the end results had the power feeling like it would rev so freely to 6.5k before dropping off, where as the stock system i would feel a power drop at 5.5k, engine was so responsive and the noise was jaw dropping, the drive was spot on, pumped my tyres up and took it around the country roads like a sports car.

A panda would be nice, but after my gutting experience with this exploding gearbox, i'm a bit hesitant to return to fiat .

Marea is a beautiful thing.

When I checked back on the cars that I've owned I've had 12 'Fiats' in 27 cars (nearly half) so that says it all. If you looking to rev to 6.5K and experiment with induction kits you can can't go wrong with a 1368cc 16V engine with a 6 speed gearbox to make the most of the 'power'. You might be a bit smashed now with the Marea out of action but if you can muster some funds together over the next couple of months £3K should get you a very nice 100HP (make sure the cambelt is done). Looks like the 1.4 may no longer be available in the smaller Fiats now so this could be a bit of a classic. There are none for sale in Ireland at the moment.

 

[rat20v]

dude don't be put off, i have alot of fiats and fords and vauxhualls, and to be honest the fiats have been the best of the bunch, i have had alot youngers cars to launch theer gearbox, exhuast manifold and timing belt 6 months old i migght hasten to add, i personally would of perservered with the marea got a new gearbox and had a go at fitting it myself, it is a sad day, but i would love a panda 100 bhp think they look very nice and go very well too

 

[CFREITAS]

Dont be put off mate


i blew 5 gearboxes in my Bravo, 2 in my Marea. i think you have to persivear.

one in a while 1 of the 20,000 parts will break, it ust so happend that it was a gearbox

 

[MrMigs08]

Its why i like this forum, dam friendly community !

Yeah, well shafts would have been totalled, box and engine too, so rebuild would have been a tad hard, and she was an old girl.

If i return it would probably be a 2.0 marea next *In style* or even a coup, beautiful cars.

Fiat really suprised me with these mareas though, they were something else when compared to ordinary saloons!!

 

[Venters]

The 20vs are a lot of fun. I've wrecked gearboxes in every car I have owned. Including the Marea, only one I have broken yet is the 126 despite is having a notoriously weak gearbox.

 

[andy ilsf]

dont get rid! get another lol...

 

[marzon]

venters, in every car you owned ? you might consider learning how to shift properly ? ;-)