Expert: Sean Halliday - 7/8/2006

Question

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Followup To

Question -
I bought a 1980 Fiat from an 85 yr old man about 5 months ago. The gentleman had not driven it in years and he was the origonal owner. After a tune up, oil change, new tires, brake pads and an assortment of spark plugs it ran like a champ. Last night I was on my nightly drive to the beach and as I was accelerating I heard a noticably, somewhat loud clicking noise in the back right area under the hood. As soon as I let up on the gas it did not make that noise anymore. But as I mashed the gas to accelerate it clicks again. On occasion it does... skip or sputter like there's no gas getting to the engine. Any ideas. I would've thought they changed the fuel filter when they did the tune up, wouldn't they? Any info would me greatly appreciated. Jenni

Answer -
they probably didnt change the fuel filter ,it could be your problem and also the fuel pump..did you flush out the old gas?...as the car sat for so long theres no way to tell really what youre going to run into engine wise until you just drive it for a while but the fuel pump and filter are probably gonna need looked at.any moving parts at all will have to be lubricated ....throttle ,,carb,,,cables,,,did then clean out the carb.,,,the fuel bowl?......the fuel tank as well,,,,,,,i believe the fuel pump on this car is mechanical under the hood so i would get it looked at,,,,,,so as i would need to actually know which part is clicking i would be guessing what it is ,but do the major service and just see what you find.put some carb/injector cleaner through the fuel system that will help,,,,check all fluids thoroughly,brakes ,wheel cylinders,,coolant,hoses,anything rubber usually perishes over time just sitting around so drive carefully until you get it all checked out.basically,give it a good going over.

Hi Sean,

I studied my shop manual and gave the car a good lookover and figured out that the fuel pump and filter is under the car in front of the rear driver's side tire. I had a friend look under the hood while I pressed on the accelerator and she noticed that the exhaust manifold was not tight up against....whatever it's up against. After getting under the car and using one of those dental mirrors I saw that there were 2 bolts (double threaded) missing from the exhaust manifold causing a small gap between the manifold and the engine (?). Is this something that is easily fixed and somewhat inexpensive and are the bolts pretty generic. I've decided to take it to the shop. Is the Fiat a pretty basic vehicle or should I take it to someone who specializes in Italian or Import cars? Thanks for your help. I appreciate it.

Jenni K

Answer
yes an easy fix ,this car is metric size so you can get a bolt or bolts pretty much anywhere.Take a sample with you to the parts store(remove one of the bolts) and they should have the studs for the manifold,you will have to tighten them up or you will get a lot of noise/rattles in the engine and eventually the manifold will come loose .Fiats a simple car to work on but the manual will help,,a good investment.If you found the fuel pump/filter good idea to renew them.The loose manifold will make your engine run poorly and pretty noisy .The dead spot you describe is probaly the manifold also.That may be the noise you said it makes.Check all the rest of the engine bolts while youre in there.Especially the steering.Have a good look all over the car as its been sitting for so long.