Panda (Classic) Grumbleweed

[firstcar-Y10]

Well, still not done anything about the Pug, but a productive day on Grumbleweed. All of this lot swapped out for new:


and the block is reassembled and ready for the head to go back on:


Just got to keep it clean now while I'm on a mission to clean and paint round all the bits I usually can't get to round the back of the engine bay.
Although, anyone know where I can get some new bolts for the big ends? One bit I forgot to lay in and Father in law reckons he didn't change them last time either.

 

[Aston Martin]

How many rebuilds has he had?

 

[firstcar-Y10]

How many rebuilds has he had?

First time the engine's been apart for about 15 yrs and just over 100k miles which was the first one.

 

[Cento78]

Out of curiosity, Is it possible to fit a temperature gauge instead of the red warning light on the 899 Cinquecento, cos I would like to know at what temperature the car is running at. Any ideas?

 

[Freebo]

Out of curiosity, Is it possible to fit a temperature gauge instead of the red warning light on the 899 Cinquecento, cos I would like to know at what temperature the car is running at. Any ideas?

Ask in the cento section?

 

[Cento78]

Sorry, put that question in the wrong section, realised after I'd sent it.

 

[blu73]

the easiest way is to put a temp sender in the top rad hose and wire it to an aftermarket gauge - the is a guide in the cento guides section

You could in theory just swap the on/off temp sensor for resistor type and then take a wire from that to a gauge and this would give you a temperature while the engine warms up but the other way is good as it shows the thermostat is working as the gauge should sit at cold and then suddenly shoot up to 60-65degrees when the thermostat opens.

 

[Aston Martin]

First time the engine's been apart for about 15 yrs and just over 100k miles which was the first one.

So fairly bulletproof then.

 

[blu73]

FIRE engines are stupidly strong and reliable when maintained - so much so i find it hard to believe Fiats ever got the 'fix it again tomorrow' image. Pretty sure its just because so many people buy fiats because they are cheap and don't spend any money ever looking after them like they would if they had spent loads of money buying it. Every fiat i have ever bought has had all new fluids, filters, belts changed when i got them and to date i have found fiats to be very reliable cars, fire engined or not to be honest. My stilo jtd was on 200k and running sweet as you like when i sold it, my old cinq turbo did 80k odd as a turbo converted car and never broke down once during my ownership, the sei turbo only ever broke down once and that was due to a fuel pump i fitted (turned out to be a fake walbro not a genuine one so i don't blame the car at all for that), and countless other cento's - I have never been stranded in a fiat and not able to get home under its own steam even if something has gone wrong. Betty got home from Stanford hall couple of years back with a dodgy misfire due to crank sensor and the stilo got me over 200miles home in 2nd gear when a pin in the selector mechanism snapped.

 

[firstcar-Y10]

So fairly bulletproof then.

Yes. And to be honest I've changed piston rings and big end bearings as a 'might as well while I've got the top off' thing but to be honest I might as well not have bothered looking at what came off.

 

[kolza]

A. Have a look on the inside/ outside face of core plugs " while you're there".
What is rough total cost for top/bottom strip and rebuild?

 

[firstcar-Y10]

A. Have a look on the inside/ outside face of core plugs " while you're there".
What is rough total cost for top/bottom strip and rebuild?

Core plugs look healthy, spilt oil all over them regularly in an anti rust sort of way and always had something suitable inside. As to cost, couldn't tell you really, depends how far you want to go and what you find when you get in there. The bits I've put in I've bought as and when they've come up cheap on ebay so the piston rings only cost me about £20 rather than the normal £60 or so, big end bearings were £20 (still on at that) and that's all I've put in the bottom end because there was virtually no wear on anything when I got in there. Had the big ends been worn then it would have meant crank bearings as well but I've left those alone. Wear to the cylinder bores and you're looking at an overbore (£no idea), and new oversize pistons (£150 or so)
Top end is the same, depends what's worn when you get it apart. Mine was all pretty mint so just the head set which I got for about £25.
All in I've spent probably £150 or so, head gasket set, big ends, piston rings, water pump, timing belt, couple of shims for the valve clearances, sealant to refit the sump, plus some paint, carb gaskets (done that while I've had it off), fuel pump and new bottom radiator hose. But I've got lucky when I've taken it apart really, no machining work and nothing's worn, the only things I've found are the slight blow on the gasket and the piston rings on a couple of cylinders had managed to line themselves up which is probably why I was getting so much blow by from the cam cover breather.
Having said that I'm taking a chance on the head being true, still flat as far as I can tell but if it turns out to be warped then fine I'll get it machined and another gasket, not the end of the world. Really don't want to do it if I can get away with it though because it was skimmed a bit when it went on last time and any more off those valves won't be 'safe' any more.
So top tip, forget expensive high performance oil, just change cheap and often. 150k miles on that engine and it just looks new inside, crankshaft, camshaft, valve guides, cylinder bores, pistons all tight as when it rolled out the factory. Amazing really.

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

So top tip, forget expensive high performance oil, just change cheap and often. 150k miles on that engine and it just looks new inside, crankshaft, camshaft, valve guides, cylinder bores, pistons all tight as when it rolled out the factory. Amazing really.

I've always been a believer in regular normal oil changes being as good / better than expensive oil

Glad you've got the proof to confirm it

 

[homeward]

I've always been a believer in regular normal oil changes being as good / better than expensive oil

Glad you've got the proof to confirm it

Strange, isn't it (maybe...)? But when I was (a lot) younger, and ran old Beetles and Escorts, and do my own servicing, I used to change the oil religiously, every two or three thousand miles. (A friend of mine worked at the local factors: and used to get a big discount: so it was as cheap as chip-pan fat....)

Having had company cars, and more modern motors (until a few years ago), though, I got into the habit of relying on prescribed service intervals; and I know modern oils are supposed to be a bit more 'resilient', etc. -- but, not having owned a 'classic' (i.e. old!) car for ages, I can see the sense of getting back to more frequent oil changes (although, currently, none of my Pandas are doing that many miles per year); and using proper 'old-fashioned' oil. (I used to be a big fan of Morris oils -- anyone have a favoured brand...?)

Thanks, guys...! :worship:

 

[Most Easterly Pandas]

I like comma oils myself, no real reason, just all the motor factor used to supply and seems decent in both quality and price

 

[allen fletcher]

I use wilkos own brand oil and change every 2k I just like gold coloured oil on the dip stick

 

[kolza]

A. what have use used to remove carbon deposit?

 

[blu73]

Well i have been using shell helix stuff for a while now which i would consider decent stuff but you can get it really cheap from EuroCarParts delivered to your door for free.. this stuff

Intervals i have used depend on the car really - the cento turbo's only ever did few thousand miles between changes - 4k max. On my cinq atm i have always stuck to either 12months or 10k whichever comes first.

The alfa 159 had 20k intervals for oil changes which i just thought was ridiculous - i did that every 10k as well and it was plenty dirty and nasty after 10k i can tell you!!!

A. what have use used to remove carbon deposit?

I don't really recommend anything for that, i think oil flushes are more likely to do harm than good. If you do regular services its not really something ot worry about anyway. But when i first get a car, if i don't know the service history or think it has not been done often enough i would just do a normal oil & filter change with cheap oil and run the car at high idle for 10-15 mins and then drain it again, fit another brand new filter and refill with whatever oil i was going to leave in there until the next service.

Other than that, a good ole italian tune up every so often keeps deposits at bay.

 

[kolza]

I was meaning removing the carbon deposit from top of the pistons and valve heads while me cyl head is off. Is sinking in diesel over night any good?

 

[blu73]

ah i see, paraffin works well.