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Panda Our Panda 6 months on.

Introduction

Now had it about 6 months and 1100 miles, 22150 miles on the clock,
2006 Panda Multijet , it's suffered a bit from not being used, been garaged from new one owner no real rust just a little light rust on the rear spring cups rest of the axel still as paint, now covered with Waxiol.

I noticed a staggered row of plastic bungs down the length of both sills are these normal or as it had anti rust?

Needed a new battery due to not being used two rear tyres due to age cracking being 16 years old.

It also started to leak Diesel from the High pressure pump but just as I was going to do the seals it stopped and as not leaked a drop since, odd.

It also had a habit of resetting the clock and trips on start-up cured by giving the switch part of the ignition lock a good squirt of switch and contact cleaner.

You can replace just the switch bit for about £15 but not sure
which one I need as mine only as 5 wires going to it.

It could also at times be hard to start when hot, the last time it did it I decided to check the tank and could not get the fuel filler off due to vacuum, freed the anti vacuum valve in the cap and it's been fine since, it would also almost stall as you came to a stop now and then, switch cleaner and a check of the connections to the clutch switch seems to have fixed that,

It did have a lot of tyre noise but the two new tyres on the back sorted that and once up to speed you honestly cant hear the engine it's smooth and it catches me out as I tend to let the revs drop to low if not careful,

I can just hear a little turbo whine when accelerating at low speed, it's suffering form lazy car syndrome but getting better with added miles.

It replaced a 139,000 mile Clio that was noisier not as smooth but faster they seem about the same on fuel 60/70mpg non burn oil Panda has a better steering lock and seats, the Clio more storage and a rear parcel shelf that lets it's self down after it's been up I have had to get out to shove it down in the Panda many times, and the Clio had a bigger boot, Panda lights are better, and the clutch and accelerator much lighter.

It passed it's MOT with no advisory s

Will see how the next 6 months go.
My.post was on about how some rust much more then others not why they rust at all

As people have already said, the variable rust is probably different batches or different suppliers.

But solving the problem on those that do rust is just as relevant, especially as the aftermarket replacement axles are likely to be at the top end of the rust league.
 
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Presumably how much care owners ydkw care for them plays a part such as regularly washing down the reax axle with a hose pipe

nope, although it may be cleaned via the rain

mine has a hard life. Down Farm tracks and across fields

I have never sent it for a undercar body wash

I have had soil with grass growing on the front suspension arms

although the underside does get washed eventually via wet motorway drives.

we can speculate, but I doubt anyone knows, mine last two had virtually no paint left on them and no serious rust

we can guess, which is fun, but without evidence or data it will never be fact


Its not the paint
its not how it was cared for


it might be as simple as how much salt the local council puts down
or cars that only do local small mileage

thats my two guesses and I like the two different manufactures mentioned earlier
 
nope, although it may be cleaned via the rain

mine has a hard life. Down Farm tracks and across fields

This gives a thick protective crusty coat which is almost impossible to shift but when it does get shifted the underneath is really good. This especially when the mud is a reddish colour like clay.
 
just been looking through some other forums

seem some springs caps broke after as little as 6 year ?

The axle I scrapped was rusty and at a glance looked like a grit blast and new paint would rescue it. However, the spring pans had deep grooves of rust about 25mm inboard of the welds to the swing arm. This would be stress corrosion where the forces are concentrated. It was repairable with reinforcing plates but they would have to go well past the weakened area to avoid the welds adding more high stress points. The axle would have to come off the car to do the job properly.

A nearly new used axle complete with shocks and brakes was just £150 so the decision was easy.
 
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Not long after we got the Panda it started to leak fuel from the HP pump,
it then stopped and as been fine all summer, anyhow now we are back to
cold weather it's started to leak again so that's the next job before the winter
really sets in, nothing else as happened and the car is running fine, hopefully
a seal kit will cure the pump and we will be ok for a few more miles, now at
24250 miles ish, I am surprised how well it will cruise on the motorway.
 
Panda back on road, took pump to Diesel Bob up at Ribchester he
overhaled the pump and sucked £169 out of my card but though I
could likely have done it myself I was well happy with that the pump
came back looking like new having had a hour on the test rig to give
it time to quit he had it 24 hours so quick turn round.
Panda alive and well again.
 
Taking the pump off the car is easy enough.
Opening it up looks easy enough.
Putting it back together with new seals "looks" easy enough.
Having a pump that works after you've done all that is anyone's guess.
I would have a try but probably end up sending it away in a box of bits.
 
So out in the Panda, stop for a brew, get back in press the radio button and get
CANBUSS no sound, turn on ign no immobiliser light, no start, turn it off back on
get the immobiliser light as normal engine starts, radio come on set off notice trip
clock led panel in speedo is flashing, ignore it drive home, turn it off turn it back on
everything back to normal, give all the fuses, relays, connections I can see a wiggle
and push, try it again still acting normal, this dam car is getting to be a bit of a pain.
Keeping me on my toes that's for sure.
 
Yep they are both ok scan came up with no codes the radio coming up with CANBUS
makes me think it was a communication between computers problem.
 
clock led panel in speedo is flashing,
Was it flashing the correct time or had it reset

If its reset the power to the body computer has fallen below 6V

As the ECU will not be able to supply 5 volt reference there will be loads of other errors such as the immo and canbus

have you got a volt / multi meter ?
 
Clock did not reset it shows 12.8 v engine off and 14.2 engine on its started 5 or 6 times since with no problems no codes will have another look at it tomorrow.
 
Clock did not reset it shows 12.8 v engine off and 14.2 engine on its started 5 or 6 times since with no problems no codes will have another look at it tomorrow.
do you have Blue&Me ?

tomorrow measure the volt before you start the car, and how much the volts drop down to while you Crank it over. Easier with an assistant to Crank the car over while you hold the leads and watch the meter. Can be done solo. But a faf as you have to find some bulldog clips, rubber bands or similar to hold the leads on the battery and place the meter on the bonnet

Any scanner that has data logging is handy for this. Just log the voltage and you get a nice curve showing the drop with a min and max

14.2V is correct for the alternator, mine are 14.1V

12.8V sound like its after the engine been run. You need the volts after its rested for a few hours
 
This morning after standing overnight 2c temp battery showed 12.44v same across bat and engine/body.
every thing seems tight radio acting normal car started up and ran as normal, didn't get the cranking volts
but it spun over well will try that later as have to go out.
They talk of Italian electrics but the kit on the Panda looks good, I had a Morini 350 for over 30 years and
that never missed a beat.
 
This morning after standing overnight 2c temp battery showed 12.44v same across bat and engine/body.
every thing seems tight radio acting normal car started up and ran as normal, didn't get the cranking volts
but it spun over well will try that later as have to go out.
They talk of Italian electrics but the kit on the Panda looks good, I had a Morini 350 for over 30 years and
that never missed a beat.
12.44V sounds about right

my battery's have measured around 13.2V after a drive dropping fairly quickly to 12.7V
in the morning around 12.6V on a new battery
when it gets below 12.4V in the morning its getting towards end of life but will often still last another year or more as long as I Don't leave the car standing for too long.

But that's at around 10-20C. Different battery's measure slightly differently.

Can I confirm which display is flashing

mileage or time ?

Mileage might be nothing to worry about (just a glitch) if turning the ignition off and back on fixes it
 
It's the little lcd display between speedo and rev counter, it displays the clock
and can be switched to display mpg, instant mpg, total miles and so on, that one
was flashing.
The display that came up CANBUS is the one on the radio that normally shows the station.
I cant see anything and all seems well so it's likely a case of let it develop or not as the case may be.
Don't have Blue and Me.
 
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Italian electrics are largely made by Bosch and Mageneti Marelli. Both are good suppliers. At least Fiat don't make the wiring with connector tails too short to fit without staining the connections (Renault).

Italian motorbikes in the 1970s had nasty switchgear. Nobody mentions "Joe Lucas Prince of Darkness" from Birmingham.
 
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