Happy new year!

I am looking at replacing the subframes on my Tipo, but Haynes says little about jacking points. Where is it safe to jack up the car and put supports underneath?

I have also been looking at forum posts about the throttle potentiometer and I am afraid I need a new one. On ebay there is one type on offer that looks the same, but it is supposed to be for a 1.6 i.e. while mine is the 1.4 i.e. Are these compatible or do they have different resistance? Does anyone know more about this?

Best wishes,
Stefan

I have used the 2 bodyshell lifting points at the front corners of the floorpan in the past. I believe they are only for moving the shell round in the factory, not the actual car so you have to be gentle, use a cup fitting if possible, very slow descend, and stack the wheels and wood under the floor as a back-up. On the TD these eventually crushed, but that was after numerous lifts and not much care. Oh and check that area isn't corroded.

To clarify my earlier post you should jack the car up under the gearbox (piece of angled wood in between the gbox and the jack) and gently lower onto your axle stands or whatever you have positioned under the lifting points

Thank you for clarifying. You don't by any chance have a picture of these lifting points?

What do you mean by a cup fitting? Is that like a U shape?

Tipo19GR said:

Thank you for clarifying. You don't by any chance have a picture of these lifting points?

What do you mean by a cup fitting? Is that like a U shape?

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My camera is broke but if you look at Stephen79's thread 'Another Tipo' post 61 that shows the lifting point on the left side and the one on the other side is just the same. My jack has a nice dished shaped top. The problem with most axle stands is that they don't, so you just need to be careful dropping the lifting point on to the axle stand i.e. position them widthways to maximise the strength of the lifting point and avoid weight on the 'open end' of the lifting point.

Thank you, Jonti.

Do you know the answer to my question about the throttle potentiometer?

I can take and post fresh photos of the 'lifting points' tomorrow. Why do you think you need a new throttle potentiometer? Can you post a photo of yours? I have looked on ebay and on fiat eper but can't find a stand alone potentiometer for either the 1.4ie or 1.6ie or in the case of Ebay certainly no reliable data such as a part number.

stephen79 said:

I can take and post fresh photos of the 'lifting points' tomorrow. Why do you think you need a new throttle potentiometer? .

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I didn't know I had one but if I do, I would like to know what is it for?

That would be great, I feel a little uncertain about putting the car on stands to remove the subframe.

My Tipo's consumption is still too high, even if it has improved with the new oxygen sensor and exhaust + cat. All sensors outside of the throttle body have been replaced already, so I drew the conclusion that I need to further investigate the throttle body. The throttle potentiometer seemed like the most likely culprit. But I admit I could be making the amateur's mistake of replacing bits and pieces in a wild goose hunt

rightio I've googled this and it's the throttle position sensor? I did notice on my throttle body that this is attached with anti-tamper bolts (probably the only thing on the car that is) so does this mean that it shouldn't be disturbed? Obviously if it was malfunctioning I suppose it would have to be opened up.

Please see attached photos of the offside front lifting point and the electronic position sensor. I would be surprised if this is faulty. I have factory manuals in my shed and will dig these out when time permits to see if I can get the appropriate resistance figures. In relation to using the lifting points I had no major issues using these in conjunction with an axle stand but then again mine were very solid. I used these all the time with stands when i had the front jacked up.

This is the only photo I could find of my Tipo supported by axle stands when I had the rear subframe removed for overhaul.

This is the schematic of the 1.4ie fuel system from the Porter manual.Item number 2 is the electronic throttle position sensor.

stephen79 said:

This is the only photo I could find of my Tipo supported by axle stands when I had the rear subframe removed for overhaul.

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That looks like its on the rear jacking points? Those largely dissolved on both my cars

jonti said:

That looks like its on the rear jacking points? Those largely dissolved on both my cars

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Haynes or Porter don't make any mention of these being jacking points (see photo where I used them to support the body on stands). Porter says the jacking points are 20 cm in from the end of each sill for the jack supplied with the car for a wheel change or as you previously said you can use a trolley jack and timber support under the gearbox/bell housing at the front or under the valance at the rear with timber support although I wouldn't jack using my rear valance!

I used a trolley jack under the centre of the subframe to jack mine up to get it onto the stands in the last photo.

Thank you so much Stephen79 for all the pictures. Did you coat or galvanise the inside of your subframe?


Two of your pictures show the idle control valve I believe rather than the throttle potentiometer. Jonti says it is an item that should not be dealt with, but anyhow, I have news that changes the game. My mechanic told me yesterday that I have a leaking head gasket. Its effects were to a certain extent disguised because of a blockage in one of the coolant hoses on the back of the block, but once that had been cleaned, the problem became obvious.

So, I can leave the throttle potentiometer where it is. It has become a totally different job. Strangely enough, I feel happy, after tracing this problem for almost a year.

Stephen - I assume those were intended as 'proper' jacking points, although the manuals are silent about it. There doesn't seem to be any other point for them.

Tipo19gr, it's always a relief to get a diagnosis and this shouldn't be too difficult to fix, it could be the face of the head dissolving above the HG, but that's easily fixed.