General Fiat Panda 1.3 Multijet water in air box

[Panda55]

Hello everyone,

Just joined this forum due to a starting problem with my Fiat Panda diesel(55 plate).

Went to start the car yesterday morning & It took quite a few attempts to fire off. It kept starting for a split second then stopping.

On closer inspection rain water had been dripping from a self tapping screw that goes through the bulkhead/scuttle panel & straight onto the top of the air box!!!

So took off the air box & as I tilted it, water came running out through the airflow meter! there was also a pool of water between the head & inlet manifold.

Took the air filter & MAF out and dried them out dried everything out & the car now starts on the button so hopefully nothing has been seriously damaged.

I have now replaced the self tapper with a nut & bolt with a couple of washers & rubber grommets on to stop the water coming in. Thought that would make the best seal, and will see how it goes.

I did a quick search of this forum first & noticed that it is a known problem (at least by us owners) but just thought by other peoples experiences is was serious enough to bring up again.

The thing is the hole & small rectangular shaped plastic clip that the self tapper goes through is pretty large. It might not have caused such a problem if the hole was a similar shape/size to the self tapper.
Or if the scuttle could have been attatched the the vertical face of the false bulkhead.

Also I think in future I will remove the air box completely when changing the filter as it seems trickier than most cars to get the top of the air box fitting correctly. So at least you can see if the 3 fingers are located correctly (worth checking yours, mine were not!)

Sorry that the post is a bit long but this is a really bad fault (when a part worth pennies could cause thousands of pounds worth of damage).

Thanks to all members for a great forum. Within 5 mins I had found something useful - Fitting a DIY boot light, will give this a go. Thanks Creamola .

Chris.

 

[richardllew]

I had my MJ for 6 years before this water penetration problem occurred on my car.
My car normally gets used every day, the longer the car is unused the more the water builds up. ( I know it seems obvious, but maybe was the reason it took 6 years to show up)
I undid the screw and put loads of silicon sealant all around and replaced the screw, all has been fine since.
It may be worth putting a bit of sealant around the bolt you added just for a bit of extra protection.
So to other forum members even if your MJ hasn't leaked water yet, its worth putting a few pence of silicon sealant on the screw.

 

[Panda55]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for a quick response. Was thinking of that but I dont have any silicone, I think as it works for you I will get some.

Only got the car in October, and never had this problem. But we have had alot of rain over xmas and the car (like you say) had been standing.
Other than that the car is great. Had a Cinquecento 900cc years ago and it was a great little car (a right laugh to drive) inspite of all the usual fiat jokes about reliability.

The Panda is actually my wifes car, but I usually make an excuse to pop out in it rather than my Astra G dti, even though I am a Vaux/Opel man at heart, (got a ancient Monza GSE in the Garage) because it is so easy to drive & it feels modern too.

Chris.

 

[bob1969]

Common problem with water ingress. There was an article on the internet which showed that due to the bad design of the air box and location it suffered water ingress. The article was written by a garage owner and their customer had had to have an engine rebuild as a con rod had been bent. I will try and find the link....their customer had tried new injectors and all sorts....but it was all due to water ingress.

 

[bob1969]

http://m.totalcarmagazine.com/tech/2013/05/08/how_to_spend_3000_on_a_1_3_multijet_engine/

 

[Gavv8]

Hi Richard,

Thanks for a quick response. Was thinking of that but I dont have any silicone, I think as it works for you I will get some.

Only got the car in October, and never had this problem. But we have had alot of rain over xmas and the car (like you say) had been standing.
Other than that the car is great. Had a Cinquecento 900cc years ago and it was a great little car (a right laugh to drive) inspite of all the usual fiat jokes about reliability.

The Panda is actually my wifes car, but I usually make an excuse to pop out in it rather than my Astra G dti, even though I am a Vaux/Opel man at heart, (got a ancient Monza GSE in the Garage) because it is so easy to drive & it feels modern too.

Chris.

:worship:

 

[Panda55]

Thanks bob1969,

Really interesting article. The picture that shows the centre part of the air box bowing out of shape, was exactly what mine looked like. I fitted that air filter & im pretty cautious to try to put things back right.

But unless you remove the air box, you cannot see weather the lid is on correctly. Even then, you seem to have to force it a little to get the filter in well enough so that the housing does not bow out. Shame on you Fiat. What a way to spoil a cracking little car!

 

[buttonsandzips]

Is the screw you are mentioning the one circled in the attached image? I recently replaced my MAF but at the time found some water in there so I could have this issue too...

 

[buttonsandzips]

Found the answer here : https://www.fiatforum.com/panda/152968-multijet-loss-power-after-cold-start-9.html