Panda Panda 1.3 Multijet Sporting - what a beast!

[Viper Panda]

Hi all,

im new to the world of Fiats and picked up my rather tatty and neglected sporting panda yesterday.

I decided i wanted to save money and not own an expensive car and be debt free, so i sold the Audi and bought this little beast for 60% less than the asking price due to several faults that im sure i can sort.

faults:

Engine warning light always on (possible egr? need to get faults read)
ABS light comes on now and then
Hand brake doesn't work at all
well over due a service!
Rear damper rattles like crazy defiantly needs replacing.

anyway hello and if you have any advice im all ears.

many thanks Ahhhh

 

[Jamie500lounge]

Welcome!

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi all,

im new to the world of Fiats and picked up my rather tatty and neglected sporting panda yesterday.

I decided i wanted to save money and not own an expensive car and be debt free, so i sold the Audi and bought this little beast for 60% less than the asking price due to several faults that im sure i can sort.

faults:

Engine warning light always on (possible egr? need to get faults read)
ABS light comes on now and then
Hand brake doesn't work at all
well over due a service!
Rear damper rattles like crazy defiantly needs replacing.

anyway hello and if you have any advice im all ears.

many thanks Ahhhh

Hi, and welcome,

sounds like a good project, does it still start + run o.k.?
Charlie - Oxford

 

[Viper Panda]

Yep so far starts and runs just fine.
Failed it's mot as expected on hand brake not working and general braking issues.
Have ordered new rear shoes and fitting kit and new front discs and pads.

 

[ytareh]

NOOOOOOOOO! Rear brake issue is most likely passenger side hand brake cable . Can you cancel shoes ? I had nightmare trying to sort rear brake imbalance changing everything except cable ( which LOOKS OK) ....I reckon shoes must have design life of 150k miles .Front brakes real easy to work on , rears not nearly as easy .Almost broke my heart.
Check rear 'shocks' issue , could be rubber top mount .Some garages might change shocks and leave problem there ... :-(

If you drive your new toy with a bit of restraint and only replace what's needed ( front wishbones and tyres will be a weakness) you will save a fortune in fuel if an average to high mileage driver . If turbo actuator isn't seized it can be nippy enough ( but they often are )Search posts including some of my recent ones which describe 4 years usage .

 

[Wee Smurf]

Hello and welcome :wave:

Probably a good start would be getting any fault codes which are stored read and reset to see if they return. It'll give a better idea of problems.

My Panda hasn't been too hard on suspension parts but there's not a lot of ramps around where I live.

I'd probably disagree and replace the rear brake shoes. The Sporting is after all a 2005 model and it would do no harm to replace at 10 years of age.

How many miles are there on the car? Hope you get things squared up with it and you enjoy it.

 

[Sweetsixteen]

Hi. If you cancel rear shoes as good advice above, use the money to get a code reader and save yourself even more. Plenty of suggestions here as to best code readers.

What year and milesge?

Read up about the weeping scuttle screw on several threads. Easy fix for peace of mind. Enjoy your motor!

 

[Viper Panda]

Hi all,

Its actualy a good thing i ordered new shoes as on on the drivers side was horrendous.

New brakes all round now, handbrake nicely adjusted and new tyres all round.

Rear damper fitted and the horrid rattling noise i had has now gone.

Got a cheap code reader and read DTC's and no surprise its the EGR.

The ABS light still comes on so will need it read with a proper reader to find out whats going on, as i suspect its a possible sensor fault.

As for the EGR im not going to even attempt to replace it as it looks like a right pig to do, but want to give the electrical cheat a try i saw on a thread somewhere by wiring in a few resistors and a diode to lock it closed.

need to get a new set of glow plugs as the light flashes from time to time after start up.

a decent code reader would probably be best over all.