General New cambelt but engine sounds noisy and seems hot!

[TaglienteAlessi]

Hi all, recently bought a low mileage seicento and no idea if cambelt had been changed (nothing in service history) so booked it in with a local guy that's done other work for us. He hadn't done a Sei before he said but I've just picked it up and drove 5 miles home and the car sounds different, certainly noisier, (rattly)and you could really feel the heat off of the engine from 6" or so away by hand which I didn't know if that's normal with these.
I bled a little bit of air out of the valve near the headlight, couldn't get the heater one undone without air filter cover off really as is tight. It is blowing hot air with fan on.
Water pump was changed, no leaks that I can see and coolant level didn't change. The very bottom rad hose is cool and top ones hot..is that right?
She used to sound like a sewing machine so am worried it's going to overheat and cause head gasket issue ultimately.
The cambelt and drive belt was changed. I also felt a little hesitation pulling away that wasn't there before, could timing be off or would it be more obvious?
Thanks for any pointers..bit stressed, maybe just paranoid it's been done right!

 

[bugsymike]

Hi all, recently bought a low mileage seicento and no idea if cambelt had been changed (nothing in service history) so booked it in with a local guy that's done other work for us. He hadn't done a Sei before he said but I've just picked it up and drove 5 miles home and the car sounds different, certainly noisier, (rattly)and you could really feel the heat off of the engine from 6" or so away by hand which I didn't know if that's normal with these.
I bled a little bit of air out of the valve near the headlight, couldn't get the heater one undone without air filter cover off really as is tight. It is blowing hot air with fan on.
Water pump was changed, no leaks that I can see and coolant level didn't change. The very bottom rad hose is cool and top ones hot..is that right?
She used to sound like a sewing machine so am worried it's going to overheat and cause head gasket issue ultimately.
The cambelt and drive belt was changed. I also felt a little hesitation pulling away that wasn't there before, could timing be off or would it be more obvious?
Thanks for any pointers..bit stressed, maybe just paranoid it's been done right!

If it feels and sounds different to you, take it back and have a word with the mechanic.
You don't know what is wrong as a "lay person" but if it feels different, use your instincts and get him to check.
Hopefully all good, but if it fails later then you have pointed it out to him.
I used to listen to my customers, they don't know what is wrong, that was my job to find out, but as they drive a lot further in their cars than I would on a short road test they can feel if something is different.
Usually with mine after, say a service , they would say their car goes better and brakes feel better etc. which is nice they notice the positive things.

 

[TaglienteAlessi]

Thanks Mike, yes I know what you mean, those things tend to make your car feel good, hence getting this done I thought I was doing the right thing for the little Sei! I really like it and hope to hang on to it. I have been in touch with him to have a look back over it as you say rather than leave it.. if the water pump wasn't working would it still drive ok but just overheat and obviously the light on the dash would come on fairly quickly into a journey?

 

[bugsymike]

Thanks Mike, yes I know what you mean, those things tend to make your car feel good, hence getting this done I thought I was doing the right thing for the little Sei! I really like it and hope to hang on to it. I have been in touch with him to have a look back over it as you say rather than leave it.. if the water pump wasn't working would it still drive ok but just overheat and obviously the light on the dash would come on fairly quickly into a journey?

It is difficult to say without being there, but basically I would check there is plenty of coolant in the car , plus a spare supply just in case then if only a short journey , drive slowly and keep an eye for anything not right.
If you feel unsure pull in and check, keep revs down and drive off from cold, don't let it warm up first otherwise it may encourage problems.
Any strange noises or signs of getting worse pull in and check.
If in doubt as your mechanic if he feels it's safe to drive it too him, put the onus on him.

 

[TaglienteAlessi]

Good advice, thanks again Mike