Technical Negotiating Dealer Repair Cost?

[SB1500]

water pump seal is the easiest bit, you squeeze the tube of liquid gasket and draw over the recess fiat have made for you in the w/pump. If you can put toothpaste on a brush then you can do it.

you unbolt the old one, clean the (engine side) face with an old credit card. do the above then re-bolt and wait 30 mins while youre having a cup of tea or doing something else that doesn't involve you putting the coolant back in.

Good luck

Watched a video and saw this, okay, that bit does not seem hard anymore.

But I did see the guy had to scrape away the remains of the old seal for the existing water pump which looked a pain. He had to sand it down to get it smooth - I'm sure lots of bits of matter went IN to his engine :-/

So there's that ^, but also, I think there's some specialist tools needed to get into the very narrow area? Such as little hand tools to hold the sockets - and probably a socket set that fits them?

When I go up later to ask my uncle about it he'll probably ask about the tools, so if anyone here could basically list them so we can check if he has the and then buy them. That's the real last hurdle - now that I've ordered the parts - between £100 for a mechanic to fit them or maybe spending £30 on tools and doing it ourselves


:worship: All hail the Fiat Forum - the knowledge on here is impeccable!

 

[SB1500]

Oh, and also, what sealer / glue / solution do I use for the water pump? Does this come with the kit?

 

[daveofkent]

Hello

tools off the top of my head:

*Good socket set and if possible short sockets for clearance.
*Jack + scrap wood for under the sump.
*Axle stand
*Bottle of tippex (can come in useful for going over timing marks etc)
*Breaker bar (optional but worth it you have)
*Torx and regular screw drivers. (i cant remember 100%) nothing too special

As far as cleaning off the old silicone, i think you're referring to that german bloke that made something to raise the engine. Hes well ott + do you want that abrasive glass power possibly in your cooling system. I found it was ok with plastic scraping tools and a bit of time.

For the liquid gasket - Youll have to buy it as far as i know, the motor factor will advise, i used granville brand instant gasket but im guessing they are much the same. Small tube.

 

[SB1500]

OP Response

Update

Showed him what I ordered, the guide, the German guy video on YouTube etc.. He said when the parts come we'll take a closer look, when I mentioned "Oh maybe I should just take it to a mechanic" it was a "No, sure bring the parts up and we'll see", so fantastic in terms of saving money!

Just need to get myself some of that sealant for the water pump now! What type would Fiat use or does it not matter?

The way I see it, even £40 on tools is cheaper than £100 for a mechanic so it's worth a shot eh?!

 

[daveofkent]

I think it might be part no. 71713687 I'm unsure if it'll make any odds over whatever your motor factor will sell you so long as it's liquid gasket for a water pump.

For the tools it's pretty basic stuff if you did the suspension I'm sure you got mostly everything.

Remember to do the aux belt if you can at same time will cost £5 and you'll regret it when you take the old one off and see it's knackered.

 

[jrkitching]

I think it might be part no. 71713687 I'm unsure if it'll make any odds over whatever your motor factor will sell you so long as it's liquid gasket for a water pump.

To paraphase Colin Chapman, it's about "adding lightness".

If you buy the genuine Fiat part instead of a good aftermarket equivalent, then your wallet will get lighter .

Seriously, any automotive water pump liquid gasket material will do just fine.

 

[SB1500]

I think it might be part no. 71713687 I'm unsure if it'll make any odds over whatever your motor factor will sell you so long as it's liquid gasket for a water pump.



For the tools it's pretty basic stuff if you did the suspension I'm sure you got mostly everything.



Remember to do the aux belt if you can at same time will cost £5 and you'll regret it when you take the old one off and see it's knackered.

Okay I'll get an aux-belt too.

And as for the tools, were more worried it'll take special tools for accessing the narrow areas to be honest

 

[SB1500]

To paraphase Colin Chapman, it's about "adding lightness".

If you buy the genuine Fiat part instead of a good aftermarket equivalent, then your wallet will get lighter .

Seriously, any automotive water pump liquid gasket material will do just fine.

Okay, so as long as it's purposes for the water pump gasket seal it'll be good enough?

 

[SB1500]

Is the aux-belt okay to be the Dayco brand? (As stocked by Shop4Parts?)

 

[daveofkent]

Is the aux-belt okay to be the Dayco brand? (As stocked by Shop4Parts?)

yes any branded aux belt will do the job nicely.

 

[SB1500]

yes any branded aux belt will do the job nicely.

Okay, going to order that. Before I do, could you point me to an adequate sealer for the water pump? the word gasket and sealer is bringing up a whole range of different products and knowing me I'll order the wrong one! :-S

 

[daveofkent]

Okay, going to order that. Before I do, could you point me to an adequate sealer for the water pump? the word gasket and sealer is bringing up a whole range of different products and knowing me I'll order the wrong one! :-S

I got something like this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Granville...899902?hash=item1eac5e9a3e:g:ZeIAAOSwZ8ZW1jgS

Notice its got a picture of a water pump on the box, that should set your nervous mind at rest

 

[SB1500]

I got something like this.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Granville...899902?hash=item1eac5e9a3e:g:ZeIAAOSwZ8ZW1jgS

Notice its got a picture of a water pump on the box, that should set your nervous mind at rest

That's ordered now.

As well as this, http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIAT-PAND...odel:Panda&hash=item488473a571:i:311459816817

It's Gates so a good brand. Same OEM part number as the one on Shop4Parts, but delivery to NI gave me a £20+ total there so I decided for £8 all in on eBay a branded Aux-Belt with the same part number will do the job!

Sincerely hope he can fit this, as it'll probably be over £100 now for a mechanic to fit the timing-belt, pump and aux-belt and I've ate into that £100 for the belt / sealant and possibly a bit more for tools if we need them!

 

[daveofkent]

Gates is a top brand, its fine. You and your uncle will be fine. Take your time, work methodically and youre worried about access:

A lot of the time youll be working through the wheel well anyway so its fine you have more space than you can see from youtube. The real access difficulty and its not too bad is with the engine mount. You can give your self a bit of access by lifting a tiny bit on the jack under the sump and if you want that little bit more 1 of you can physically manhandle the block a bit while the other removes. youll be fine. Remember to post how you get on, for others in the same situation.

 

[SB1500]

Gates is a top brand, its fine. You and your uncle will be fine. Take your time, work methodically and youre worried about access:



A lot of the time youll be working through the wheel well anyway so its fine you have more space than you can see from youtube. The real access difficulty and its not too bad is with the engine mount. You can give your self a bit of access by lifting a tiny bit on the jack under the sump and if you want that little bit more 1 of you can physically manhandle the block a bit while the other removes. youll be fine. Remember to post how you get on, for others in the same situation.

I keep forgetting about removing the wheel, but I suppose that does help the situation a lot!

Is it worth following the eLearn instructions or would they be like the German guy in the video? (OTT)


Really looking forward to doing this now, just hope he says he thinks it's possible!

Will definitely take pictures. The problem is as he does most of the work I'm the guy standing handing the tools back and forth so I don't want to seem like I'm on my phone, but I have a lot of photos to contribute. Maybe to be added to existing guides to support them as they're lacking in terms of covering the entire start to finish fuel pump, suspension etc photos I can contribute. Will try and get as many from the timing and the water pump!

If any more questions come up I'll post them on here. Thanks for all your help, this will either be the best (or worst) thing I've done on the Panda depending how it goes! Haha

 

[jrkitching]

Will definitely take pictures. The problem is as he does most of the work I'm the guy standing handing the tools back and forth so I don't want to seem like I'm on my phone, but I have a lot of photos to contribute.

Just explain beforehand what you're doing, and why.

 

[SB1500]

Update

So today the following parts arrived;-

Timing Belt
Tensioner
Water Pump

Some strange things I noticed...
They came in Ricambio Originali boxes with the stripes, sealed. The parts don't seem to have the Fiat / Alfa and Lancia logos on them as I suspected.. The tentioner has 'DAYCO' printed on it. Perhaps these brands manufacture or are used by Fiat? But I'd like to know if I've been done over? Cant see it with it being Shop4Parts but am I witnessing anything strange here? I've attached some photos of the water pump.

The belt has the arrows, yellow mark and white mark as well as some print over it, but nothing clearly Fiat. Looks very pristine and new, looking forward to comparing it from the 105,000 mile bull of a belt still on from new. Will be FURIOUS if I find the belt has been replaced and didn't need done all along having asked the only previous owners...

Just need that gasket sealer and auxiliary belt to arrive now and that's us set to get it all fitted next week

Looking forward to the process, the peace of mind from a new belt and of course.. saving £100.

The satisfaction when the guy from Fiat says "So when are you booking her into get the Timing Belt, pump and Suspension done?" so I can reply "Oh we did it ourselves with the genuine parts"

Do plan on getting that Handbrake repair for £127 done however as it doesn't seem such a clear repair - mostly as I haven't yet gotten to see it for myself to compare it with the excellent description on this thread. Will get a look if possible next work.

 

[daveofkent]

I had to laugh. It means original parts in Italian and it has got the logo I can see it.

As far as the brands go you've just found out that Fiat don't make their stuff in a secret lab it's all from approved quality brands as do nearly all car companies. Even brands sub it out to each other. I bought a 'gates' thermostat and the part was stamped something else.

All the stuff you have looks good quality. Don't worry

 

[Louie Bee]

I see the FPT logo on your pump (Fiat Powertrain Technologies)



Looks like the casting has been used for years with the 91 year stamp on. would not have said FPT in 1991



Edit - just noticed you have the same part number on the casting as you have on the box... just next to the FPT logo. What more could you ask for... ample preservative to prevent pre rusting would be a good idea when you're paying OEM price perhaps.

The tensioner should be ok as FIAT won't make them theirselves.

It's a bit lax if FIAT are letting their supplier have their brand on a regular service part

 

[Wee Smurf]

Ricambi is pretty standard. I've got a couple of those little boxes too! I bought a new thermostat as I suspect that mine is not quite functioning right. Also a new resistor for the heater motor. It's only working at 4 at the minute.