Technical "The Metal Coolant Pipe" and other pipe Id Help please.

[Murena]

2007 1.2L 4x4 with Manual Aircon.

I am getting towards the end of my fix up on the above car . At the moment I need to fix two hoses/ pipes as below. Does anyone have some as good as new parts or best option to buy new.

1. The “Metal pipe” seems quite an issue so probably best I get new but is this the correct part # 55185422? Is there one pipe for all versions ( Air con / No air con etc..) ?

2. The T piece is weeping on the pipe which goes between the heater matrix, Block and header tank, Part # 51711354 . There are alternatives 355 as well, what is the difference ?

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

2007 1.2L 4x4 with Manual Aircon.

I am getting towards the end of my fix up on the above car . At the moment I need to fix two hoses/ pipes as below. Does anyone have some as good as new parts or best option to buy new.

1. The “Metal pipe” seems quite an issue so probably best I get new but is this the correct part # 55185422? Is there one pipe for all versions ( Air con / No air con etc..) ?

2. The T piece is weeping on the pipe which goes between the heater matrix, Block and header tank, Part # 51711354 . There are alternatives 355 as well, what is the difference ?

I got the metal pipe for our 1.2 Eco Dynamic 2WD from Shop4parts. It was well priced compared to what the dealer wanted for one and I'd bought some stuff from them once before which proved to be good stuff but brands I didn't know. The pipe was labeled "Original Birth" which again was not a brand I know but it's proved to be of good quality and now, years later, still absolutely fine. https://www.shop4parts.co.uk/?name=store&op=Product&ProdID=18786 They seem to be out of stock of the Original Birth one when I checked just now but often their on line stock is not quite up to date so well worth a call to them (friendly people). they might even have another alternative as they don't list everything they can supply on their website. I've been very pleased with everything I've ever bought from these chaps and I'd say you can buy from them with confidence.

 

[DaveMcT]

I bought a replacement pipe for our 1.2 but when it got the old one out, it wasn’t as bad as it looked. Take yours off, wire brush any rust and decide if a few dabs of rust converter and coat paint will do the job.

 

[DaveMcT]

When you put it back - no lube on the pipe but a little red rubber grease on the outside of the seal does help.

 

[koalar]

Any part not made in-house will have at least two different part numbers

Fiat will never use just one supplier. If there a quality or quantity issue they can swap supplier. The numbers are different to track inventory

It’s not unusual for a part to have 6 or more different numbers for the same part. There’s no database that tells you what’s backwards compatible or if it’s even been upgraded

You need to order parts by year and model but be careful with eBay or Amazon some are misleading or just plain wrong

I normally use the cheapest supplier for most parts. So check pictures or contact the seller

Sounds complicated but in fact Fiat rarely change a part. Some parts from early puntos are still the same 30 years later

I never had a problem with this coolant pipe 3x Pandas. That includes a car with over 200,000 miles. Probably depends on salt, short journeys or some other variable. Generally if it’s visibly fine it will last. Same with the axle some rot some just go scabby

 

[DaveMcT]

Any part not made in-house will have at least two different part numbers

Fiat will never use just one supplier. If there a quality or quantity issue they can swap supplier. The numbers are different to track inventory

It’s not unusual for a part to have 6 or more different numbers for the same part. There’s no database that tells you what’s backwards compatible or if it’s even been upgraded

You need to order parts by year and model but be careful with eBay or Amazon some are misleading or just plain wrong

I normally use the cheapest supplier for most parts. So check pictures or contact the seller

Sounds complicated but in fact Fiat rarely change a part. Some parts from early puntos are still the same 30 years later

I never had a problem with this coolant pipe 3x Pandas. That includes a car with over 200,000 miles. Probably depends on salt, short journeys or some other variable. Generally if it’s visibly fine it will last. Same with the axle some rot some just go scabby

My Punto Mk2 had a scabby coolant pipe. But Seicento was fine. Mrs Dave’s looked dodgy so I replaced it when other stuff was getting done. In reality a wire brush and paint would have been enough.

 

[Murena]

Thanks for the info and advice, The pipe is weeping so will be swapped out especially considering it ~£30.

The car is odd as it was well looked after until recently when it was rear ended and Cat S'ed. Then some one has taken it swimming so it had a tide mark about 2ft all the way around with the swing axles, sub frames and rad's being full of silt. Once cleaned they are all very solid and its a good runner just needs some love in certain areas.

 

[Pugglt Auld Jock]

My Punto Mk2 had a scabby coolant pipe. But Seicento was fine. Mrs Dave’s looked dodgy so I replaced it when other stuff was getting done. In reality a wire brush and paint would have been enough.

Becky's looked very good over most of it's surface but had one small, but very deeply pitted, bit around where the support bracket joined it. Also it was weeping around where it fits into the back of the pump. I just thought, for what it costs, replacing it was the best thing to do. Wee bit awkward maneuvering it into place around the back of the manifold - I took the heat shield off but managed without removing the manifold itself - also you have to get a bit "physical" with it when pushing it into the back of the pump housing. A wee clean up of the casting with some emery and a dollop of red rubber grease as suggested by Dave above (silicon grease would work as well probably) helps a lot. With a good quality pipe if you look at the position of the support bracket hole relative to the threaded hole in the front of the block it gives you a good idea of when you've pushed the pipe fully home into the back of the water pump housing. It has to be a tight fit because it relies only on it being compressed slightly between the sides of the hole and the pipe to achieve a watertight seal.

Unlike Koalar (whose opinions I've come to greatly respect by the way) I've seen a lot of these pipes quite badly corroded but nearly always in very localized areas only. So the pipe looks generally good - nice and shiny black paint when you wipe it down - but one or two small areas of deep pitting. Probably due to the amount of salt on our roads up here in the winter. I am always highly envious of the, pretty much, rust free older cars I see when we are down in the West country and that has to be down to less salt being used?

 

[DaveMcT]

Cars (and bikes) that live near the sea don't fare so well with salt. Thankfully we are not that close. My coolant pipe was rusting around the support bracket. I could not see any deep pits and it would probably clean up, but as Jock says, for £30 its not worth the faff.

By the way put the seal on the pipe end and smear rubber grease on the outside of the seal. Leave the pipe itself dry. That way the seal slips all the way into the housing behind the water pump. Grease both and you risk it going in part way and then leaking.