General New owner

[JCRR]

Hello all

Just purchased a 2008 1.2 lounge for my daughters 1st car. Car has only done 55k
Notice gear knob seems loose. It’s the one where I need to get the full top section off. Anyway to remove without breaking so I can refit.
No record in service history for timing belt so going to need to get replaced. Any other things I need to check?

Thanks

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

You definitely want to check the wiring between body and hatch for wear and tear. Pull the rubber boot right back and look for chafing, split insulation, even bare wires, and make sure everything electrical on the 'gate is working as it should.

Welcome to the forum by the way...!

 

[JCRR]

Thanks. I’ll have a look. Not aware of anything not working but worth checking

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Hello all

Just purchased a 2008 1.2 lounge for my daughters 1st car. Car has only done 55k
Notice gear knob seems loose. It’s the one where I need to get the full top section off. Anyway to remove without breaking so I can refit.
No record in service history for timing belt so going to need to get replaced. Any other things I need to check?

Thanks

The gear knob is a sod to get off - at least mine was. The knob is held on by a 10mm bolt which is then hidden by gluing the black hemisphere down securely. If yours is the same you need to get a lever just under the edge (of the black only) and then angle it upward and break the glue's bond all around the top. The black dome is fairly flexible and won't break easily. If you hear cracking noises it's either the glue separating or the grey inner dome breaking around the bolt head - as mine did. See the photos;

Mine's destined for the bin but I'll keep the black top for now - if you break yours you can have it.

 

[Baglady1990]

Brakes .. handbrake cables
All 4 springs & rear beam for rust
Top cups front suspension check for rust
All fluids under bonnet
My list could go on & on for a 2008 but I’ll let others jump in

 

[JCRR]

Thank you both for reply’s. I have seen the issues regarding suspension on what looks like every 500 on MOT history. I know front shocks were advisory. Rear shocks just changed. No mention on MOT for rear axle rust yet . If when I remove gear knob grey part breaks can it be refitted or would I need to replace? Fluids fine however checking radiator level difficul

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

If when I remove gear knob grey part breaks can it be refitted or would I need to replace?

If you follow the above you shouldn't break the grey part - I had no idea how it was assembled and must have gotten the screwdriver under the grey bit when levering it up. If you don't expect to ever remove the knob again I'd Loctite the bolt and reassemble the knob with two-part epoxy or similar.

 

[John202020]

How loose is it? our 2009 cars knob turns about 1/8" so if yours is the same just leave it?

 

[JCRR]

It rattles when driving which is annoying

 

[John202020]

It rattles when driving which is annoying

Blutack?
Always select 4th immediately before reverse and it will never crunch.

 

[JCRR]

Now there is a simple fix.

Will gear knob eventually fall off if I don’t tighten the bolt?

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Now there is a simple fix.

Will gear knob eventually fall off if I don’t tighten the bolt?

The bolt has possibly loosened enough that it's rattling against the top of the knob under the black cap. It should still have a few threads in contact with the lever assuming it's the same as mine. It probably can't go any further if that's the case. Can you pull the knob upward a little?

 

[JCRR]

Yes. It can be pulled up a little and left / right a small amount

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Yes. It can be pulled up a little and left / right a small amount

Definitely the bolt is quite loose. I don't think it can come off altogether but if it did it might make it easier to open up, or even replace it with a universal type. The new one I put on is a FIAT part but it's still only held by a couple of grub screws, not the original bolt.

If you can't live with the rattle (and I couldn't!) there's no option but to have it off.

 

[JCRR]

All fixed. Got black cap off. Nothing broke. Retightened bolt and double sided tape back together

 

[markfor]

You definitely want to check the wiring between body and hatch for wear and tear. Pull the rubber boot right back and look for chafing, split insulation, even bare wires, and make sure everything electrical on the 'gate is working as it should.

Welcome to the forum by the way...!

Body and hatch flexible wiring - brown wire broken but everything seems to work-could it be for heated rear screen?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

Always select 4th immediately before reverse and it will never crunch.

That made me think of some of the first cars I owned. Back in the days when manufacturers started introducing synchro to gearboxes it was very common to find that only 2nd, 3rd and 4th (or more likely 2nd and 3rd because a lot of cars only had 3 forward gears) had synchro. Consequently you had to be very careful about engaging 1st (or reverse of course). People very quickly found that if you selected 2nd gear and then immediately put it in first the synchro on 2nd gear would stop the shafts spinning so 1st could be engaged smoothly without crunching. When they started building boxes with synchro on 1st it was very difficult to get out of the habit of briefly going for 2nd before slotting it into 1st!

Doing what you suggest here is, as I'm sure you know, the same in that by selecting 4th you are using the synchro on 4th to stop the shafts spinning so reverse, which to this day on most boxes has no syncro cones, can be easily selected. It's a useful thing to know because if you have a slightly dragging clutch or "tight" spigot bearing and find that reverse gear always crunches, then if you select a forward gear and immediately quickly slot it into reverse then it won't crunch - unless the drag is severe in which case you probably need to pull the gearbox and sort the problem properly.

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

Body and hatch flexible wiring - brown wire broken but everything seems to work-could it be for heated rear screen?

I can't say - the cabrio boot wiring is different - but I daresay someone with experience will be along to answer that! It must do something... Does your boot light work?

 

[Piccolo Nero e Bella]

That made me think of some of the first cars I owned. Back in the days when manufacturers started introducing synchro to gearboxes it was very common to find that only 2nd, 3rd and 4th (or more likely 2nd and 3rd because a lot of cars only had 3 forward gears) had synchro. Consequently you had to be very careful about engaging 1st (or reverse of course). People very quickly found that if you selected 2nd gear and then immediately put it in first the synchro on 2nd gear would stop the shafts spinning so 1st could be engaged smoothly without crunching. When they started building boxes with synchro on 1st it was very difficult to get out of the habit of briefly going for 2nd before slotting it into 1st!

Doing what you suggest here is, as I'm sure you know, the same in that by selecting 4th you are using the synchro on 4th to stop the shafts spinning so reverse, which to this day on most boxes has no syncro cones, can be easily selected. It's a useful thing to know because if you have a slightly dragging clutch or "tight" spigot bearing and find that reverse gear always crunches, then if you select a forward gear and immediately quickly slot it into reverse then it won't crunch - unless the drag is severe in which case you probably need to pull the gearbox and sort the problem properly.

Something I never knew! Bit late now of course. I've always been in the habit of pausing briefly before selecting reverse immediately after a forward gear.

My 74 Mazda F1000 Bongo had no synchro on first - I'd almost forgotten...