Panda Panda newbie

[A11RON]

Hi all
just bought a Fiat panda, 2009 1.2, new to Pandas but not Fiats, have had a couple of Puntos and a 126 over the years. This one is going to be for my daughter. Looking forward to learning more about the car and reading through the various threads on here.
Aaron

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi and welcome

They are good tough cars

Coolant is crucial..same as the punto

Corrosion.. sills and floor pretty good.. but rear suspension can fail spectactularly through rusty welds

How many miles on this one..??

 

[A11RON]

Hi thanks for the welcome.
67k, looks good all round, nice clean well looked after car. From what we can tell.
Saw mention of a coolant float on one of the posts will have to look in to this.
Will check out rear suspension, thanks for tip. The other thing I want to check out is aux port for the stereo, not sure mine has that facility it’s a dynamic 1.2 model.
Thanks
Aaron.

 

[varesecrazy]

As importantly..

Does your dash have a working temp. Gauge..??

Radiator fan .. check it spins freely too..

Years of inactivity can take a toll

 

[A11RON]

Yep temp gauge was working, will check fan spins freely.
Many thanks.

 

[irc]

Hi thanks for the welcome.
67k, looks good all round, nice clean well looked after car. From what we can tell.
Saw mention of a coolant float on one of the posts will have to look in to this.
Will check out rear suspension, thanks for tip. The other thing I want to check out is aux port for the stereo, not sure mine has that facility it’s a dynamic 1.2 model.
Thanks
Aaron.

Yours has AUX port capability as it has the MP3 logo.
You want Cable or Bluetooth?

 

[A11RON]

Thanks irc, that’s handy to know.
Apparently the car has Bluetooth already for the phone. Would be good to have Bluetooth for Spotify rather than a cable.

 

[irc]

Thanks irc, that’s handy to know.
Apparently the car has Bluetooth already for the phone. Would be good to have Bluetooth for Spotify rather than a cable.

There's plenty about ranging from
- basic 3.5mm to mini-iso cable
- basic Bluetooth 5.0 module
- Bluetooth module with handsfree phone
- CD Changer emulator
Used to use the Yatour S06 CD Emulator but they have got expensive.
Last few I have done have been Bluetooth with Handsfree. I bought 6 of them and just fitted the last one a couple of weeks ago. Annoyingly seller has disappeared so will have to investigate before buying next batch (or buy some and fit my own connectors)
If going the same route, best to find one with audio on pins 1, 2 and 3 (yellow section) and power on pins 15 and 16 (blue section) of the mini-ISO connector as it should then just work.
Although it's quite easy to swap pin positions within the connector block if needed.
More details available if you want them.

 

[rmjbn1]

Hi and welcome
I think the first things I would do on a newly acquired Panda are:
Check the 'duckbill' scuttle drains below the wipers are clear - they block easily.
Check transmission fluid level - should be up to filler plug (12mm allen key on front of 'box). Mine was low, I suspect they rarely get checked.
Clean up the negative terminal post & connections of the battery - reliable starting and the electric power steering need a good earth connection.
Rust treat the rear spring pans, rear sills (access through bung in rear wheel arch), coolant return pipe across front of engine, and engine sump pan.
Clear out the mud trap behind front springs
Clean rust off the brakes (build-up of rust on sliding surfaces of front calipers & inside of rear drums)
Monitor tyre wear - Pandas can be a bit heavy on tyres. Mine was shredding its left rear when I got it.

 

[A11RON]

Brilliant, thanks so much for this, I’m getting a Haynes manual for the car. But these tips are excellent and exactly what I need.
Aaron.

 

[DaveMcT]

My 100HP is pretty good for tyre wear and I don't treat it like Miss Daisy. My wife's 1.2 is correctly tracked but still rips the edges off the nearside front tyre. I suspect the tyres are borderline too narrow.

 

[A11RON]

There's plenty about ranging from
- basic 3.5mm to mini-iso cable
- basic Bluetooth 5.0 module
- Bluetooth module with handsfree phone
- CD Changer emulator
Used to use the Yatour S06 CD Emulator but they have got expensive.
Last few I have done have been Bluetooth with Handsfree. I bought 6 of them and just fitted the last one a couple of weeks ago. Annoyingly seller has disappeared so will have to investigate before buying next batch (or buy some and fit my own connectors)
If going the same route, best to find one with audio on pins 1, 2 and 3 (yellow section) and power on pins 15 and 16 (blue section) of the mini-ISO connector as it should then just work.
Although it's quite easy to swap pin positions within the connector block if needed.
More details available if you want them.

Hi IRC, just wondering if the Bluetooth and hands free linked in the existing phone connections in the car ? Do you have a link to the type of device you fitted ?
Cheers Aaron.

 

[The Panda Nut]

My 100HP is pretty good for tyre wear and I don't treat it like Miss Daisy. My wife's 1.2 is correctly tracked but still rips the edges off the nearside front tyre. I suspect the tyres are borderline too narrow.

Thats an interesting suggestion re tyres. Our 169 certainly eats tyres and its definitely correctly aligned and had a total front end rebuild 30K back. My younger daughter drives it and shees a bit hard on it to say the least. The 319 1.2 runs 185 tyres and tyre wear is pretty even so maybe you have hit on a point. I may consider changing the tyres size on the 169 and see if it changes things.

 

[irc]

Hi IRC, just wondering if the Bluetooth and hands free linked in the existing phone connections in the car ? Do you have a link to the type of device you fitted ?
Cheers Aaron.

Hi
I've been looking for similar ones for a while, but they seem to have been superseded by a simpler (and cheaper) version.
Ebay item 353630237115 might be suitable, although it seems to want separate power feed.
I'll get hold of one and investigate....

Hi IRC, just wondering if the Bluetooth and hands free linked in the existing phone connections in the car ? Do you have a link to the type of device you fitted ?
Cheers Aaron.

Hi
I've been looking for similar ones for a while, but they seem to have been superseded by a simpler (and cheaper) version.
Ebay item 353630237115 might be suitable, although it seems to want separate power feed.
I'll get hold of one and investigate....
May be possible to hook it up to use the built-in power pins in the Mini-ISO connector.
Pretty sure steering wheel controls won't work with it though.

 

[rmjbn1]

I may consider changing the tyres size on the 169 and see if it changes things.

If you do, could you let us know, please? I'd be very interested.
I think I've managed to cure my heavy rear tyre wear by shimming the hub (there's no provision for rear adjustment), but both my front tyres wear quickest on both inside and outside shoulders. At least it's even!
I've had tracking checked and tried raising pressures to 32psi. I assumed it was just down to elderly components or my driving style.

 

[rmjbn1]

Would be good to have Bluetooth for Spotify rather than a cable.

Maybe not what you're after, but as a cheap & simple solution I use one of these Bluetooth FM transmitters to play music from my phone. It was about £6 on eBay and works fine, but with occasional interference if something nearby is on the same frequency (you can set it to any frequency).

 

[The Panda Nut]

If you do, could you let us know, please? I'd be very interested.
I think I've managed to cure my heavy rear tyre wear by shimming the hub (there's no provision for rear adjustment), but both my front tyres wear quickest on both inside and outside shoulders. At least it's even!
I've had tracking checked and tried raising pressures to 32psi. I assumed it was just down to elderly components or my driving style.

Will do we have the same both sides worn both tyres. Currently 1.8mm edges and 3.9 centres... Annoying.

 

[rmjbn1]

I wonder if the fancy folk in the posh 169 Pandas with 14" alloys have the same issue with their 165 section tyres?

 

[jrkitching]

The 169 is notorious for uneven tyre wear.

Most of the time, it's due to rear beam geometry issues. The factory tolerances are extremely wide, and many beams are outside of those tolerances even when new. Lack of any easy adjustment options doesn't help. Back in the day, quite a few out of tolerance beams were replaced by Fiat under warranty.

If you're serious about trying to tackle this, the first step is to get the rear wheels aligned with the centreline of the car. If this isn''t correct, no amount of front toe adjustment is going to stop the uneven tyre wear.

If you've just replaced the beam and the bolts aren't corroded, you might get some adjustment from the bolt holes by loosening the beam. Trying this on a 10yr old car that's never been touched since it's left the factory would be a nightmare.

After that, you're down to improvising with homemade shims.

Another issue is that the rear beam can get bent out of alignment; two easy ways to do this are to slide the rear end into a kerb or use a jack in the middle of the beam to lift the car.

One more way to get the front alignment wrong is to install the top mount rubbers (the ones inside the wing) the wrong way round.

My own gold standard for Panda wheel alignment is no uneven tyre wear over a considerable mileage. If you are lucky enough to have one which isn't wearing the tyres excessively or unevenly, don't let anyone mess with the tracking.

Also there are plenty of places out there that have expensive, sophisticated 4 wheel laser alignment kit, but lack staff with sufficient knowledge to use it correctly.

 

[rmjbn1]

I've got into the habit of giving my sister's car (not a Panda) a discreet once-over when I visit her, after I discovered she was merrily beetling about in a Cumbrian winter with front tyres that were completely smooth on the insides
They looked fine from the outside.
Not wishing to gender stereotype, but if @A11RON's daughter is anything like my sister it's one of those things she'll never think to check. I wouldn't want her to find herself in a ditch.