General Not so happy

[sniperkroz]

I purchased a 1996 uno fire 1100 about a month ago with 180 000 kms on the clock and i must say the body is in fine condition. The problem i have is the car is heavyer on fuel than the 160i astra i had before:bang: . Does anyone know what the problem may be? A mechanic set the timing on 0 deg to stop it pinging as we only get 95 ron fuel. Can this be the problem? Help?

 

[antsuno2]

get it on the co emisson tester

 

[Ralf S.]

1996.... If it has a catalyst, then it will have a lambda sensor. That's likely to be not working. An emissions test will confirm it.

Your mechanic should return the timing back to the Fiat factory settings. That's not going to help and should not be necessary. 95 RON is plenty of RON for a FIRE engine. A new lamda could solve that pinking problem too.


Ralf S.

 

[sniperkroz]

the uno has a weber carbeurettor and no lambda sensor or cat. the co is set correctly on a co meter but i was told it can only be set at idle. i think it is a uno fire as there is large fire logos on the sides of the rear doors.

 

[rawill]

I purchased a 1996 uno fire 1100 about a month ago with 180 000 kms on the clock and i must say the body is in fine condition. The problem i have is the car is heavyer on fuel than the 160i astra i had before:bang: . Does anyone know what the problem may be? A mechanic set the timing on 0 deg to stop it pinging as we only get 95 ron fuel. Can this be the problem? Help?

This might seem off the wall but how is the car running temperature wise. If the thermostat is stuck open and the car is running too cold it will make a difference, possibly only small but it does make a difference. On the road (not city) it saves 1lit/100km on my 96 Saab 900s man na

 

[M@nticore]

maybe the previous owner changed the jet sizes or fiddled with the float level, with these cars when u drive them niely u should see between 15 - 18 km per litre.

 

[kasedie]

I wish u luck as i'm only getting about 240 or so miles on a full tank with a light foot and i'm stumped. I'll be tring a carb kit as soon as i have time and money. I would try a less worn carb but those are hard to get in Jamaica. the previous owner played with this carb quite a bit

 

[Chas Uno]

I got 400 miles to a tank once, but that was 90% motorway miles, late at night and deliberately trying to be as economical as possible (very light right foot!)

Normally I reckon I get 280 - 300 miles to a tank depending on my driving.

 

[sniperkroz]

Finally got the problen sorted! The timing belt was off by one tooth at the camshaft. I now get about 16KM/L on long trips and the car has stopped pinging.

 

[alexGS]

Finally got the problen sorted! The timing belt was off by one tooth at the camshaft. I now get about 16KM/L on long trips and the car has stopped pinging.

Useful update - thanks!
Must have a bit more power now as well.

-Alex

 

[Barney vd Merwe]

Re: Timing - 1372cc MK2 - Carburettor

Finally got the problem sorted! The timing belt was off by one tooth at the camshaft...

The new timing belt has 2 white markings : One for the Crankshaft pulley and one for the Camshaft sprocket. If the mark on the belt is off by one tooth at the Camshaft (according to the alignment mark on the Camshaft sproket) - as is at the moment - will it make quite a difference on the ignition timing (although the engine is not "pinking" at the moment)

Do I loosen the belt and try again - though it was a battle to get the marks aligned at the top - timing belt & the camshaft sprocket ?????

 

[Chas Uno]

You should set the cambelt timing with the alignment marks on the camshaft and crank sprockets and the cylinder head/ crank block timing markers. Don't use the white marks on the belt!

The Haynes manual gives a good illustrated guide to doing this.

 

[Barney vd Merwe]

Re: Ignition Timing setting ...

Don't use the white marks on the belt!

Thanks for that - OK - Checked, belt is fitted correctly, Cam/Crank marks aligned correctly.

Now on the 1372cc carburetor engine Haynes does not give ignition timing specs for the distributor (thus runs off the crankcase and not the camshaft as per the 1372cc Fuel injection model) According to Haynes timing at idle is 2 to 6 degrees BTDC for the cam driven distributor on the Fuel injection....vacuum plugged.

Currently the vechile's fitted with a Marelli SE105C6C distributor so I used these specs anyway since I can't find any settings on this distributor....

Did I follow the right procedure on this operation with the timing light?

• Let car idle at norm temp
• Shut off engine, plugged vacuum advance pipe, attached timing light - spark plug lead - piston 4, loosened distributor bolt in order to adjust...
  
• Started engine, aimed timing light at timing mark on flywheel, turned distributor clockwise in order for mark to reach to 5 degrees BTDC, tightened the distributor and called it a day.

Ta

 

[rawill]

Seems to be exactly right to me. That is how I do mine, but mine are 10 deg BTDC. (84 70s lampredi engine.)

 

[Chas Uno]

Seems to be exactly right to me. That is how I do mine, but mine are 10 deg BTDC. (84 70s lampredi engine.)

:yeahthat:

Mine is an '89 70SX with the same engine.

Also use the flywheel timing marks rather than the crankshaft pulley marks. These can be accessed after removing the small rubber bung on the gearbox bellhousing (if it hasn't already fallen off and been lost!) The flywheel has one mark that represents TDC, and the bellhousing has 0, 5, and 10 degree marks cast on the hole. It's much easier to use this than trying to time the engine via the crank pulley and saves removing a road wheel/ scrabbling around on the ground trying to see the strobe marks!

 

[Ucof]

(if it hasn't already fallen off and been lost!)

You say that...
I once forgot to put my plastic cover back on after topping up the "gearbox oil" ( ) and only discovered it wasn't there a few days laster after I had been to work and back many times.

I ended taking the one from my dads NON-spares and repairs (he doesn't use it much!) and put it on mine.

It was literally a few months, a thousand or so miles and a few large bumps on country roads later, after I was poking about in the engine bay that I saw the original plastic bung jammed betwen the clutch lever and a piece of metal on the gearbox.

I was gobsmacked that it was still there and wondereed how I had missed it first time round.

 

[Louie Bee]

Trick is when filling oil or water, put cap over the hole where that spike on the bonnet for the second lock goes. You’ll never shut the bonnet till you’ve replaced the cap

 

[rawill]

:yeahthat:
It's much easier to use this than trying to time the engine via the crank pulley and saves removing a road wheel/ scrabbling around on the ground trying to see the strobe marks!

yes exactly.