Why are Fiats so aggravating?

[digitech]

So, I've had a great couple of weeks with the Spider on the road - the weather is so nice right now, I'm driving it every chance I get and for every reason I can make up. Finally made it back to the ATL Italian Car Day. I didn't show my car because I didn't think it was good enough but I had a great time just making the drive let alone the show! The car has been starting, idling and running great!

Today I get in for a quick run to the store and smell oil. Get out, check around and find the distributor oil seal has begun to fail, letting a little oil drip onto the exhaust manifold. Wouldn't bother me too much except I put a rebuilt distributor in 2 years ago and replaced the seal at that time with a new one - just in case the rebuilt one had an old one. I've put 1500 miles on it since.

Then I see even though the cooling system is totally new and so far has been behaving, coolant has been overflowing into the bottle (when it gets hot, as it should) but never gets sucked back into the system when it cools. So, after several days, there is air in the system. There's never any external leakage or seepage. As I said, the whole system is new, I've tightened every connection but obviously, a tiny bit of air is able to get into the system upon cool down thus destroying the closed system suction action.

And of course, sometime this winter, I get to have the bushings in my 3 year old "A" arms replaced because they ALL dry-rotted.

[So Cal Mark]

your baby just craves attention

[htchevyii]

It's not just Fiats, it's cars in general, especially old ones. Unless you replace everything, there is always something else and with parts quality at an all time low,(replacement parts in general, not Fiat specifically ) new parts might be worse than what you take off. At least they haven't started reproducing fiat parts in China yet It is especially frustrating for me, I love old cars, but want them to be like new, so it drives me nuts when something isn't right. It's most frustrating doing the job over, because the replacement part is junk.

[mgbgtn]

Try replacing the rad cap. If the seal is weak it maybe allowing air to be sucked in when it cools down.

[katsi]

Try replacing the rad cap. If the seal is weak it maybe allowing air to be sucked in when it cools down.

See their is a reason for everything. It's not the car, it's the really old parts on the car.

[JEEPER]

Are you sure you got all of the air out of the system initally? Air can be a real PITA. You think you have it all out ,but you don't. Disconnect the hose from the throttle plate heater. Pour coolant into the hose until the heater overflows. Reconnoct the hose. Start and run the engine in neutral. If the system is completely bled, temp gauge will rise slowley to operating temperature and the radiator will heat up. After passing operating temperaturethe fan will operate. Allow this to occur for at least two fan cycles.If the system is not completely bled,guage wll rise rapidly,radiator will be cool and fan will not operate even though the temperature is above normal. If this occurs,bleed system again.

[RRoller123]

There is a lot of controversy about this, but I have had great results by jacking up the front end when bleeding it.

[digitech]

Thanks guys but my problem is not bleeding the system - the system is bled properly, the fan comes on when it should, all hoses are hot and the system isn't overheating. The problem is the coolant in the overflow bottle isn't being sucked back into the system when it cools back down - which means there is a tiny air leak somewhere but good luck finding it! I may just put some Bar's in it and see if it will find and seal it.

I just get tired of doing the job multiple times and everytime I think it's all done and I can go driving, something else pops up. No wonder my wife has no confidence in the car - she's afraid to go for much of a ride in it because she figures we'll be coming home in the AAA tow truck.

[RRoller123]

Mine was the same way, but is now very reliable. Unfortunately they just need lots of sorting out after so many years, and usually a bunch of POs that may not have known quite what they were doing. BUT once you get them right, they are really pretty reliable. I am going on a few thousand miles now with no issues. Knock on wood.