General Neglected 2001 Punto 1.2 8v needs attention

[richieGT]

Hi all after a long absence approx 10 years im back and in a fiat no less!! i have to say the happy birthday emails every year were a nice touch ? but anyway heres the story of my latest punto its 1.2 8v ELX? 2001 reg, 89,000 miles, 2 months nct (MOT)

owner was terrible no clue about cars so you can only imagine the state of the car! it had no oil in and dangerously low on water! newish battery but flat as a pancake, exhaust rotted just after flexi, both front shocks blown, both outer Arb bushes non existant, red steering wheel light on dash, engine light flashing constantly, rear shock weeping, water pump half seized. im likely forgetting things (rust)

so i obviously bought it and paid €200 for a car i should have been paid to take away! but i do like to save a car from the crusher.

so far I've filled it with oil / water also brake fluid, fixed bad oil leak from rocker cover, stopped blinky engine light found the answer to that on here so great resource! steering wheel light went off on its own.

my questions for here are my heater is hotish but will go lukewarm/cold if on while idle seems to stay hot while driving? poor circulation? seems to be a slight whine from the waterpump or altenator. car doesn't overheat anyway thankfully. coolant hoses all warm plus rad fan working.

car appears lop sided but from looking it seems like both springs have all coils intact would one shock being slightly less blown out cause this?

the rear brake drum backing plates are corroded i cant seem to find them is this a main dealer only part?

part number for an oil filter for my engine it seems to be awkward to order one online.

my parts bill is at €183 so far exhaust center section, timing belt + pump, coolant, arb bushes, two front shocks, exhaust rubber and its not all the parts i need but ill see how they go before the next round

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi and welcome back

Elx.. nice interiors

Did you check on ePER for the original filter options..?

Charlie

 

[richieGT]

good to be back lol this is fiat number 8 roughly its been too long! once i viewed it i couldnt leave it behind! i didnt know about ePER looks great ill use that later to find my part numbers ? im going out braving the cold doing some rust treatment today wish me luck!

thanks

 

[varesecrazy]

This might help you get started

http://eper.fiatforum.com/eper/navi...INT_MODE=0&EPER_CAT=SP&GUI_LANG=3&WINDOW_ID=1

 

[richieGT]

hey guys! i did loads of tidying underneath one bodge but hope to sort in future but anyway, my punto is leaking fuel at the top of the housing only while running it appears to be fractured not visible to my eyes. i will try add a picture but its filling up the little circle piece on the housing slowly then spilling over gradually not enough to cause a drip just dampen the underside of the tank and have a shot glass amount of fuel in the circle thing. hope that makes sense ?

 

[judderbar]

my questions for here are my heater is hotish but will go lukewarm/cold if on while idle seems to stay hot while driving? poor circulation? seems to be a slight whine from the waterpump or altenator. car doesn't overheat anyway thankfully. coolant hoses all warm plus rad fan working.

Could be the thermostat is partially stuck open. It has to be quite cold for the heater to cool the engine down when the car is idling. The thermostat is in the housing at the engine end of the top radiator hose. If the top radiator hose is getting warm after a few kilometers of driving the thermostat is not working properly. Even if the engine is getting quite hot the top hose should stay coldish until the engine if fully warmed up

 

[richieGT]

photo added of fuel pump where its filling up with fuel i guess i just need a new housing i can get brand new pump roughly €60 odd (thamks brexit)

ill add a themostat to the list of parts it needs a flush anyway the water is like orange juice!

 

[judderbar]

photo added of fuel pump where its filling up with fuel i guess i just need a new housing i can get brand new pump roughly €60 odd (thamks brexit)

ill add a themostat to the list of parts it needs a flush anyway the water is like orange juice!

The visible broken part of the pump comes altogether with the rest of the pump. Getting the retaining ring off will be difficult. I made a tool from bits of metal from the builders merchant that looks a bit like a large H with a handle. All bolted together with threaded rods. Even with the handle it was very tight. If you try to drive that ring off with screw drivers or bits of metal and a hammer you will cut off the locating parts and make your job even harder

 

[richieGT]

Thanks, ive not got the tool its been in my ebay watchlish since 2016 ? but i wil try not break it! what i don't understand is how the pump/housing is broken in this fashion? fair enough the plastic is 19ish years old but ive never seen this before in my many years

 

[richieGT]

ive taken it out no special tools i used a hammer and small 1/4 drive extensions and the fuel pump cap has split, the fuel pressure regulator is under the circle where the leak is, maybe my fuel filter is clogged causing the cap to split who knows! im currently trying to source one thin on ground second hand approx €72 new on ebay due to customs

 

[varesecrazy]

ive taken it out no special tools i used a hammer and small 1/4 drive extensions and the fuel pump cap has split, the fuel pressure regulator is under the circle where the leak is, maybe my fuel filter is clogged causing the cap to split who knows! im currently trying to source one thin on ground second hand approx €72 new on ebay due to customs

Compare part numbers

Maybe all Petrol FIAT pumps are similar..

So panda..even Uno might work

 

[richieGT]

yeah been trying to find one in irl parts websites but nothing resonable priced, my pump number throws up also a pump with two outlets mine only has the one. i have done a bodge on it hopefully it will hold until i source one! i filled the circle part with plastic weld for now. i should have my other parts thursday and i must finish the undersealing weather permitting.

 

[richieGT]

well the seller cancelled my order, annoying! i have a fair bit of cluncky noise from the front of my suspension my moneys on the ARB bushes under the wishbone being worn out! any other things i should look at?

my temp gauge on dash is just under middle and the heater is mildly warm so id say my stat is partially stuck open like a previous poster said so ill order one soon.

there is a small bit of oil leaking around the thermostat area not rocket cover as ive done that?

cheers

 

[judderbar]

well the seller cancelled my order, annoying! i have a fair bit of cluncky noise from the front of my suspension my moneys on the ARB bushes under the wishbone being worn out! any other things i should look at?

my temp gauge on dash is just under middle and the heater is mildly warm so id say my stat is partially stuck open like a previous poster said so ill order one soon.

there is a small bit of oil leaking around the thermostat area not rocket cover as ive done that?

cheers

The rocker cover is notoriously difficult to seal with a removable gasket if it has been previously overtightened - it pinches by the bolts but between bolts it is too lose. Plus you need to add bits of silicon in the corners of the raised curved bit. And i think there is a leftover from a previous design where there was a distributor so that the battery end needs a properly working o ring? Something goes into the engine by the rocker cover at the battery end? It often causes a leak at that end

 

[richieGT]

Thanks for your reply IIRC i had to replace the o-ring on that side in my cinquecento way back when lol i will check this tomorrow as the leak is definitely around the thermostat area.

on a side note the rocker gasket was replaced before i got the car and who ever did it omitted the gasket maker and also managed to have a bit of the gasket not seated correctly and because if that it had a decent leak! so i reseated the gasket and added a layer of copper silicone all around jobs a good one as its not dripping on the driveway unlike the puddle that was on the previous owners driveway ?

i will have my shocks soon it needs them so badly its dangerous ? i took the car for a spin around the loop where i live and i was almost sea sick from the bouncy bouncy! im annoyed at myself for not ordering new dust covers for them mine are non existant.

 

[judderbar]

Thanks for your reply IIRC i had to replace the o-ring on that side in my cinquecento way back when lol i will check this tomorrow as the leak is definitely around the thermostat area.

on a side note the rocker gasket was replaced before i got the car and who ever did it omitted the gasket maker and also managed to have a bit of the gasket not seated correctly and because if that it had a decent leak! so i reseated the gasket and added a layer of copper silicone all around jobs a good one as its not dripping on the driveway unlike the puddle that was on the previous owners driveway ?

i will have my shocks soon it needs them so badly its dangerous ? i took the car for a spin around the loop where i live and i was almost sea sick from the bouncy bouncy! im annoyed at myself for not ordering new dust covers for them mine are non existant.

The working dust covers do not stay down on on my car. I used to pull them down but I cannot remember when I last did that. As soon as you go over a bump up they go again.

 

[richieGT]

hey all, i got my exhaust bm50025 part, it fitted but was a bit of a faff as wasnt a 100% fit and i was in a bit of a hurry but was cheap to replace! just hope theres enough of the exhaust box and sleeve pushed together.

Anyway onto this dreaded part! my sump is gone pourous by the looks of things so its sweating oil! EPER lists 46515152 as my replacement anybody know is there a way to tell from my own that this is correct before i order it? as mister auto says that number doesnt go with my car?

this poor punto is so neglected its a sin!! the list if parts is very long id say approx €400 to have it completly right wouldnt be far off the mark! thats with me doing all the repairs!

 

[varesecrazy]

Check the floor of the car is sound before too much time and money invested..
Up around the fuel filler is a bad place

Thats what finished our 2001 sporting

 

[varesecrazy]

Plenty of sump info around on here..
as every FIRE with a steel sump is open to corrosion

My 04 panda had a dribbly oil seal.. it kept the sump damp.
And rust free after 14 years

 

[richieGT]

Check the floor of the car is sound before too much time and money invested..
Up around the fuel filler is a bad place

Thats what finished our 2001 sporting

i have around €200 + €200 (cost of car) invested at the moment, the floor has approx 4 proper patches, it will need some welding in the near future on the nearside along where the sill and floor meet. also the wheel tub has a patch of fiberglass which is ok for now but would really need a welding in the future!

it really could do with Sump id say as if i wipe off the oil it stays clean until the next day when the drips will be back the sump is fairly blistered.

parts list number 2 is oil + filter, spark plugs, oil breather pipe, brake pads, sump, drivers seat, interior map light, rear shocks. this list is somewhat not urgent.

The engine is going very well i have done approx 80 miles since i bought it averaging 53 mpg on the dash computer! has a slight miss when its idling when up to temp but none while moving along.

by the looks of it id be happy to scrape throught its next Nct (mot) and drive it for 7-9 months, i could decide then if the welding is worth getting done.