So the other week our 2005 "B" got it's MOT AOK.
That was the good news. The slightly bad news was that the tester (before I got under the car myself for an inspection which I'm always allowed to do) pointed out a slight split / crack in the underseal. Also in another place, both offside. N/S looked all OK.
Suggest owners check their "B"s carfully.
1) Directly infront of the rear wheel on the lower edge Fiat have put an addition strenghtening plate. You can clearly see it's outline due to the raised edges. It is on those raised edges that a small split in the underseal had occurred and of course water/damp had then then the edges all away around. Thankfully once the underseal was removed there was only mild/faint surface rust.
2) In the upper part of the wheel arch there is a flat box section behind the fuel filler cap and tank feed hose. The box section has a seam on the vertical inner side to the bottom flat side. Here also a small split in the underseal had allow water/moisture to travel along the seam. Again only mild surface rust.
Thankfully we caught this in time. Repairs underway. All cleanes back to shiny metal, no holes or large pits. Hopefully the repairs will last for another 18 years.
The downer for me is that I'm no longer really up to grovelling inside wheel arches and doing these types of repairs.
That was the good news. The slightly bad news was that the tester (before I got under the car myself for an inspection which I'm always allowed to do) pointed out a slight split / crack in the underseal. Also in another place, both offside. N/S looked all OK.
Suggest owners check their "B"s carfully.
1) Directly infront of the rear wheel on the lower edge Fiat have put an addition strenghtening plate. You can clearly see it's outline due to the raised edges. It is on those raised edges that a small split in the underseal had occurred and of course water/damp had then then the edges all away around. Thankfully once the underseal was removed there was only mild/faint surface rust.
2) In the upper part of the wheel arch there is a flat box section behind the fuel filler cap and tank feed hose. The box section has a seam on the vertical inner side to the bottom flat side. Here also a small split in the underseal had allow water/moisture to travel along the seam. Again only mild surface rust.
Thankfully we caught this in time. Repairs underway. All cleanes back to shiny metal, no holes or large pits. Hopefully the repairs will last for another 18 years.
The downer for me is that I'm no longer really up to grovelling inside wheel arches and doing these types of repairs.
