Fiat punto 00 engine problems. Possible head gasket...

Tautas

Hi all,

I've a Fiat Punto 00 with 37k miles on it. Had it for 5 months. Two weeks ago (just as I decided to sell it) I started having some problems with it. The first thing I noticed is some minor vibrations coming form the engine when it was idling. As soon as I pressed the accelerator it was fine again. I could feel that for about a week, but I thought it was just something temporary as maybe a bad batch of petrol or smth. Then one of the evenings last week, just as I was pulling out of my estate I noticed it lost some power at higher rpms for few seconds. Didnt think too much of it at the time as it was just a split second. The next morning few minutes after I left for work and got on the motorway it happened again. But this time it lasted for few minutes. The car just lost power at rpms between 1500 and probably around 2500. It was very slow to build up the speed so I had to drop down a gear to keep it out of that range and get going again. Thats where I knew there was something more to it. After few more days seeing how it goes I noticed that it happens only in the morning when the engine is cold and only for few minutes (usually at the first set of lights). The other things I noticed is that petrol consumption has doubled and I get a smell of not properly burned petrol when I stop. So I spoke to few people who know a thing or two about cars and we came to a conclusion that it might be the o2 sensor as there is definately something wrong with the way engine burns the petrol.

Today I took the car to a local garage I got recomended by a friend (as I dont trust the place I've taken it few times before) who carried out some tests on it. In result I was told it didn't return any error messages from computer, the co2 test (if thats what you call it) sayed the mixture was all over the place (obviously as twice as much petrol is beeing burned) and there was a one more test that was performed where blue liquid (starts with p.... i think) in tester tube looking thing was stuck on top of coolant hole and engine was reved at high rpms for a min or so which resulted bubles coming out and change of colour from blue to slightly green. I was explained that it shows air is getting into engine and that indicates a crack/hole in the head gasked. I was told it has to be changed as well as top part of the head gasket compartment (dont know whats the name of it) taken to get straightened.

I dont know what to do now... It does sound a bit too much for what is wrong with it. The engine is not overheating, coolant level is fine, oil is a bit below average. No obvious missfires or anything like that apart from loss of power.

I will get an exact quote for the job tomorrow afternoon but I was told it could be around 700-1000eur for the job. And that is the last thing I need when I'm about to buy a new car.

I would appreciate any help or opinion on this.
Thanks a lot.

Tautas

Bobo78

1000 euro for head gasket replacement is way too much.
I had a head gasket on my Rover 45 replaced for 320 euro in Limerick.
Even if they have to skim the head 1000 euro is very expensive.
I think more realistic price would be around 550 to 650 euro the most for head gasket replacement including head skimming.

colm_mcm

yup. it shouldn't exceed €500, even with new head bolts and gasket included. you may as well get the timing belt ?(and water pump) changed as they have to take it off to do the gasket anyway.

i don't think even Motorzone would charge €1k for this work :eek:

Tautas

Thanks guys for your input. I thought that 1000eur was a bit too much too. Especialy as a mate of mine said he changed his on Audi A3 in 5 hours and that was his first time. So I'd say a skilled mechanic will all the tools should be able to do that a bit quicker... The other thing is that it hasn't blow or anything so I don't think (theoretically) the head would need any skimming. On top of that the belt and water pump were done 1000miles ago as I had problems with the tensioner...

So I guess he certainly is asking a bit too much. Might do some ringing about tomorrow to see if anyone could do it cheaper.

But the main question I have is if that is the case with the car? What if he get that done and then we work out it was the Lambda? Or am I completely off here with that?

Thanks again.

cena

that sounds a bit like what happened to me around christmas. i too own a punto 02. i lost power on the car, was no speed in it at all. engine would shake like mad when idling. the problem for was the injecters they werr worn. cost 300 for the job

colm_mcm

I'd have any possible electrical faults diagnosed first (coil pack, leads, oxygen sensor, MAF sensor, plugs) before doing the head.

how much oil is it using?

If you're doing the head, you may as well get the head skimmed anyway, it only adds €40 or so to the cost.

Tautas

Hey Cena, thanks for sharing. Mine isn't shaking crazy but I can certainly feel it vibrating, especialy at the steering wheel. I think it might be getting a bit stronger as well...

Colm, thanks for te tip about the skimming. Dont know about oil consumption. Its a bit bellow average. Why are u asking?

cena

your welcome. is the engine shaking. was told when i got the car looked at that was lucky it hadn't bowln up while i was driving it. i was gretaful i knew a guy that is very good with working on puntos

itarumaa

I think the biggest problem here is that you might have two issues with the car, a head gasket (based on test result) and something else as well,

There are over 100 Fiat Puntos year 00 in carzone, and you can get something worth buying for approx 1,500 euros,

If you are really buying a new car, you have to think hard, the worst option is that you spend loads of money fixing the car, try to sell it and no-one buys, so then you stuck with that Punto.

Tautas

Still havent heard back from the mechanic who's supposed to give me a quote on that head gasket job. But I got aranged to see my mate's brother on friday who is a mechanic as well (and he's someone I can fully trust). So I think I might just try everything else I can think of and you guys have mentioned here over the weekend. Only then if that nothing helps.... I'll have to agree with that mechanic who saw it yesterday and go for the head gasket no matter how much I don't want to do it.

Itarumaa: I do have the cash for the new car so I can buy that and just keep the punto in the car park untill it sells. But I do know how many puntos there are on carzone and therefore I do understand that I might have difficulties selling it. Especialy if I tried to sell it in a state its in now....

Thanks for your tips guys. I'll let u know if I find anything over the weekend.

T.

Tautas

Hey guys,

Just got a mechanic I trust to have a look at my punto who confirmed the previous mechanic's conclusion that it is most likely to be the head gasket. So I guess I have to face the fact and get it sorted. The main problem that I have is that I dont know any decent garages. Previous mechanic gave me a quote for 790eur... which I can see to be a bit of a ripoff after doing some reading on few forums. The thing is that I live in Dun Laoghaire and thats just what it costs over here...

I would really appreciate if someone could recomend a place in town or anywhere in Dublin where I could expect to get this done cheaper.

Thanks in advance.
T.

Masada

what size engine is in it? if its the 8valve engine then those quotes are ridiculous.,
it only takes about half and hour to do the 8v engine if your good at it and its a really easy engine to work on.
the blue liquid test you mention is the "sniff test" and its a chemical reaction with the carbon in the exhaust fumes that gets into the coolant through a leaky head. you could also get a compression test done and that should show up any loss of compression in the engine, that'll only take a few mins aswell.
Another possible cause id the coil pack on that car, they are prone to having problems with the one on the 8v and it cause an intermittant missfire. it can also make a clicking noise in some cases. if the coil pack is the problem, you could pick one of them up from a breakers yourself and replace it in 5mins yourself.,

Johnycomelately

Gasket set €50 Bolt set €15 coolant €20 skim €60 labour to do properly 5 hours (mostly cleaning gasket faces, & delivery/collection from machine shop ). €300 is a fair price for a good job.
Jonny

Alanstrainor

THis thread is a year old. Don't drag up old threads for no good reason.
Closed