SupraDan24 Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Last week, me and the GF were driving back from her Dad's in her Stilo, it drove fine, I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, I didnt notice any high temperatures or anything, not that I was particulary looking. We parked up outside my sisters for about 20mins then got back in the car to go home. When i started the car it sounded horrible, like it was running on 3 cylinders. I got out the car went round to the rear and there was alot of white smoke and you could clearly hear through the exaust that it was running horribly. I gave it a quick couple of revs and it went back to normal and there was dramatically less white smoke, so I figured at the time it was possibly a dodgy plug or coil pack so we drove it home and parked it up. The next morning I started it and it ran okay, but there was alot white smoke again and it wasn't going away, so i hooked up a diagnostic machine and found no error codes. At this point it occured to me it might be the HG. I checked the header tank and it was way below the minimum mark, i dont check it that often as its her car, but everytime i have its been up near the full mark. I've checked the engine oil at the dip stick and it was fine, no signs of milkiness. What i'm thinking is the HG is maybe leaking into the combustion side, which would be why it sounded like it was running on 3 cylinders when i started it at my sisters? My Q's are: Is there any way I can say for 100% that it is a HG leak before i tackle it, maybe get the coolant tested for CO2 or something like that? Secondly, because of the cost of labor I am toying with the idea of tackling this myself, her Grandad used to be a mechanic so can help me out with the more techincal side of things and I would do all the physical labour. Are there any special tools I would need to do the job, maybe Fiat specific ones? Also, is it best practice to just get the head skimmed regardless? Lastly, is there anything I should particulary look out for when removing/putting it all back together. I've got a friend who works at an autofactors that can get me all the bits at cost price as a favour which is also making me think I should have a go at it myself. The car in Q is a 54 plate Fiat Silo 1.6 petrol. Any input would greatly be appreciated. Thanks Daniel/Tasha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Block test it. You need the 16v camshaft locking kit mate. I've got one but if i lend it to you and don't get it back I'll remove your fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Haha well I am in most ways attached to my fingers, so I would defo be making sure you got it back. Do you mind if I message you nearer the time (i'm out of the country for the next 2 weeks) and sort something out? Is it postable if I covered the postage cost? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Yeah no worries dude. It's only small box anyway Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted December 30, 2012 Author Share Posted December 30, 2012 Nice one, thanks Ben. It's looking more and more likely that I will be doing it as the GF's dad got a price at his local garage and they told him circa £500 without even seeing the car. Not sure if that was including parts or not, but it's enough to warrent at least having a go at it myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted December 30, 2012 Share Posted December 30, 2012 Last one I did was £400 on a 1.2 16v Punto. They're not that bad. Lock the cams up, tip-x the crank, belt off, head off. Leave the inlet attached to the head, you'll find it easier that way. Stick a new water pump and cambelt kit on it and make sure you get the head skimmed, even if it's flat. Those fiat heads like to "pit" so a skim will help it. Make sure you blow the head bolt holes out, as if you don't, it can hydraulic and crack the block and the head won't torque down flat either. Other than that they're pretty simple mate. Pretty sure the cam belt only goes around 1 cam pulley and they're connected the other end of the shafts, so that's pretty simple too. The cambelt tensioner has 2 little holes in to tension it, and there's a special little tool for that in the kit. Just make sure you line the marks on the tensioner up otherwise it'll be slack and slapping or too tight and whistling. Think there's a bleed screw on those on one of the matrix pipes. They're a PITA to bleed usually so you might find the best thing to do is Kamakaze run it up the road with the rad cap loose. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marc_p Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 Fiat Think I see the problem here:d Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bradleyh_15 Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 You can get a second hand engine for £250!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 You say you checked the dipstick for mayonnaise, but did you check the radiator cap and oil filler cap? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benjy Posted January 4, 2013 Share Posted January 4, 2013 You say you checked the dipstick for mayonnaise, but did you check the radiator cap and oil filler cap? Only sure fire way to diagnose a head gasket where there is a misfire as a symptom is a block test and/or compression test. A misfire and white smoke were the symptoms with clear oil, which says it's gone between a water jacket and the cylinder. Pressurises the coolant when running, when switched off, if a cylinder is on the induction stroke, it'll syphon the coolant into the cylinder and smoke when it's burnt off and run like a dog on a wet plug. It's all very well and good checking for shit in the oil cap, but that will only show emulsified oil which can also be caused by condensation through short journeys. Gunk on the dipstick says the engine oil itself is emulsified, and therefore mixed with enough water to cause it, which condensation isn't. I've bought many a car suffering from "head gasket failure" that has actually just needed an oil flush and the cam cover cleaned out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I'm home next thursday, so i'll hopefully have a go at stripping the engine down over the weekend if i'm free. All in it should cost me less than £200 so it's worth doing myself. The idle wasn't great either so i'm going to look into that as well, probably just a dirty throttle valve. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SupraDan24 Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Think I see the problem here:d Haha tell me about it. Tbf, it's been a pretty good daily runner, Tasha's put about 45k miles on it sicne she's been driving it and all i've had to do is change the oil, plugs and tyres. The crap bit is i made her get the cambelt done about 2months ago, it's going to have to come off again when I tak the head off, so a bit of a waste of money in the end Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverSoop Posted January 19, 2013 Share Posted January 19, 2013 block test it. You need the 16v camshaft locking kit mate. I've got one but if i lend it to you and don't get it back i'll remove your fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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