Searching for a Fiat 500 manual/stick 'Plague' car (1 Viewer)

[Francois Caron]

[Farnsworth] Good news, everyone! [/Farnsworth]

The car's no longer for sale.

That's because I just finished my first day AT MY NEW JOB!!!

The only catch is that my car has now become a daily driver!

It's mostly highway miles, so it should perform very well under those conditions.

Travel time is 25-30 minutes by car. It's an hour and a half by bus!!! That's why I'm taking my car to work! I ain't wasting TWO HOURS of my life each and every working day!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

That's great news! Congrats on the new job (and being able to keep and make even more/better use of the car amongst other aspects), Francois!

_Man_

 

[Francois Caron]

That's great news! Congrats on the new job (and being able to keep and make even more/better use of the car amongst other aspects), Francois!

Thanks! On the first day, I was in a "lost puppy" phase! The second day went much better and I finally got some work done!

The car's doing great during the commute! It's been running very smoothly! It's in its element!

 

[Jeffrey D]

[Farnsworth] Good news, everyone! [/Farnsworth]

The car's no longer for sale.

That's because I just finished my first day AT MY NEW JOB!!!

The only catch is that my car has now become a daily driver!

It's mostly highway miles, so it should perform very well under those conditions.

Travel time is 25-30 minutes by car. It's an hour and a half by bus!!! That's why I'm taking my car to work! I ain't wasting TWO HOURS of my life each and every working day!

Nice to see that everything worked out for you. I agree with you about a long daily commute to work- takes too much out of your day. I couldn’t do it.

 

[Francois Caron]

A recent landmark!

 

[Francois Caron]

An update. The job is going great! I've passed my three month probation with flying colours after making some extremely significant improvements to their software!

The car's still going great especially now that it's a daily driver. I still had the dreaded dry dipstick syndrome last week, which is now making me wonder if the listed oil capacity in the engine might be wrong especially with the presence of the turbo taking up some of the oil. Because I change the oil so often, even the "dirty" oil during an oil change looks extremely clean, making it very difficult to read. At least the car isn't complaining about being overfilled or running low on oil. I just need to monitor the situation.

The only other problem is a surging issue when running at below 2,000 RPMs in first or second gear. It translates into a jerky pulse which is very annoying during stop-and-go traffic. A few people have advised me this might actually be normal. It doesn't seem to be a problem with the clutch because there are no issues in accelerating even a bit hard in Sport mode.

Latest part swap: new coil packs and connectors! The old connectors were so bad, three of them wouldn't lock into the coil packs anymore! So I ordered five of them from Digi-Key for $30 CAD including delivery and customs.

The old coil packs didn't really need to be replaced. But considering this is almost a 10 year old car, I figured I'd start replacing a few plastic parts before they disintegrated and caused huge problems.

 

[Francois Caron]

How it's going...

On June 20 2023, the car suffered from a failed exhaust valve in cylinder #3. It happened on my way to work in the morning shortly before the March Road exit on Highway 417 in Kanata. The engine sound had changed abruptly, but with no sudden loss of power or seizing issues with the engine. I was able to make it to work five minutes later.

When I parked the car, the Check Engine light finally lit up and started blinking. I then shut down the engine, took out my OBD2 scanner, and scanned for codes. It was a P0303: cylinder 3 misfire.

During lunch, I started with a basic diagnostic by swapping the coil packs between cylinder 3 and 4 to see if the misfire would change cylinders. No change.

I tried to have the car towed by the CAA that evening after work but they never showed up. It was a Thursday night, beautiful evening, no major incidents on the roads, no firm arrival hour given after over four hours of waiting.

I did a spark plug swap the next day before leaving the car at work for the weekend until I could work out what might have happened and to brush up on my diagnostics procedures. The only thing I could do was test for proper conductivity in the wire loom on Monday. My best guess was an engine control module (ECM) failure but there was no way for me to confirm this conclusively since I didn't have the proper tools and an engine failure was still a possibility.

I arranged with the dealer where I often buy my parts to have the car towed to them where they would check it out. They were very busy at the time (their closed parking was full of cars waiting for service) but still managed to check the car over during the following couple of days.

On the first day they were able to rule out any electrical issues and confirm the ECM was working fine. They also did a compression test and found out cylinder 3 had very low compression. On the second day they removed the valve cover to explore inside and work out what had happened. That's when they discovered the broken exhaust valve.

Top-end estimated cost of repairs: $4,600 Canadian plus 13% sales tax. That comes to $3,471 USD plus tax. This includes replacing all exhaust valves, other cam parts, do a timing belt change while they're in there, send the head to a specialty shop to be machined, new gaskets and fluids, and of course the labour (they're charging me a lower fleet rate).

I agreed to the estimate because I knew exactly the amount of work that would be required to get my car running again after they mentioned the broken exhaust valve. I also love this car very much, and so did one mechanic at the shop who was ready to buy the car in its currrent state if I refused the repairs. The supervisor had told me this after I agreed to have the work done. Apparently, they were very impressed with the car's overall condition.

The car is in the very capable hands of their best engine mechanic who often works on Chargers, Challengers, and Vipers. It might even be ready by the end of the week if all goes well.

Now I have to work out how to pay for the repairs. I can pay at least half of it at the end of the week, but paying any more than that could leave me in a precarious position considering I'm still trying to recover from six months of unemployment. I'll contact my insurance company to see if my policy can cover part of the repairs, and I'll ask at work if the company has any financing assistance available. Worst case is that I take out a short term loan, but my credit rating took a hit during my unemployment, meaning very high interest rates.

As for public transportation, it's usable, but not good in Ottawa. The Comfederation Line LRT broke down again shortly before my car did, and the LRT won't be up and running for at least 10 days. With the car, I always made it to work on time in 23 minutes in the morning and made it home in 40 minutes. With the LRT down and bus schedules being even more unpredictable due to buses being hijacked for the LRT's replacement bus service, it can now take between 1.5 and +2 hours to get to work with no on-time guarantee, and longer to get home! I'm spending half my work day just to commute on a highly unreliable service! And the big drop in personal time is leaving me very exhausted, especially now that I have to wake up at 5:20 AM to get ready and hope to arrive on time.

Moving closer to work isn't an option. That alone will increase my monthly housing expenses by some $700 per month, and I'd be stuck in a stroad-infested car-dependent suburb where many are both miserable and very fat from lack of exercise. At the same time, I don't want to change jobs. I'm getting deeply involved in some very exciting projects where I've already made a huge difference in the past five months.

Pictures of the engine carnage will be posted later as the mechanic sends them. I'll also ask that they leave the broken valve in the glove box as a souvenir.

 

[Francois Caron]

How's it going now...

The "wife" is back on the road!



Yep! She's all fixed up and running beautifully now!

This is why she broke down.



One completely demolished exhaust valve. According to the mechanic, it looked like it was burnt.



Here's how much it cost to fix the car. Do note this is in Canadian dollars and includes a tow, a side job, and 13% sales tax. The labour was $139 per hour, the dealership's fleet rate instead of their regular rate of $169 per hour.


This is why the labour was 2/3rds of the bill. They needed to remove the entire front end of the car! And I knew this would happen when I agreed to the repairs! I know this car all too well.



Once they took the head off, the damage was clearly visible. Luckily, that was all that was damaged. The rest of the engine was still in excellent condition.



The head was sent to a specialist shop to be machined. New valve seats were added to all valves, and only a second exhaust valve needed to be replaced.



The mechanic did a fantastic job. Along with replacing the bad valves, he also recharged the AC, replaced the oil and coolant with the same brands I use, changed a ton of gaskets including the thermostat (the gasket for that one isn't sold separately), and did a full timing belt job.

The extra job I asked them to do while they were in there was to lubricate the shifter levers on the transmission. Unfortunately, it didn't loosen things up as I had hoped so I'll need to replace the shifter cables at a later date.

Yes, the repair job seemed excessive, nearly half of what I paid for the car back in 2020. However, a salvaged engine very likely wouldn't have saved me any money whatsoever. Also, the car was fully paid since last year. Replacing this car with another one would have simply dropped me into more car payments.

Surprisingly, there was already a buyer lined up to buy the Fiat if I had refused the repairs. One of the mechanics at the shop wanted it! That made me feel better about paying a huge amount to get it fixed. The mechanics were very impressed with the overall condition of this 9 year old car and how well it rides with my mods.

That's it for now. Cross your fingers I don't have to post an update too soon!

 

[LeoA]

Out of curiosity given that you're relying on this as a daily driver these days and obviously are in love with it, are you doing anything special to combat road salt like spraying fluid film on the undercarriage?

 

[Francois Caron]

Bad news, everyone! I have another busted valve!

Good news, everyone! It's only the valve in the left front tire!

It's a slow leak that's kept under check by the valve cap for now. I'll have it fixed later this week as soon as I can set up an appointment.

Aside from that, the car's running great!

Out of curiosity given that you're relying on this as a daily driver these days and obviously are in love with it, are you doing anything special to combat road salt like spraying fluid film on the undercarriage?

Nope. I just take it more often during the winter to a touchless car wash that sprays the undercarriage. I also keep the car outdoors where the cold weather makes the water freeze and ineffective at generating any significant amount of rust.

 

[Francois Caron]

New issue with the car. I lost the air conditioning! I think the refrigerant leaked out. This should be covered under the repair warranty since the AC was working fine before the repair job.

Good thing it's happening at the end of summer instead of the beginning. Also, I have some vacation time coming up and I can leave the car at the shop so they track down the leak.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

^You probably don't really need AC very soon, if not already, anyway, especially up north where you are, hehheh...

Pretty sure I'd just get by w/ regular air vent and probably rolled down windows (at least when not on fast moving highways) anyway given what you can likely expect (99% of the time) going forward...

Still, I guess you do wanna get that fix at some point anyhow, especially if/while it's still under warranty of course...

_Man_

 

[Francois Caron]

Still, I guess you do wanna get that fix at some point anyhow, especially if/while it's still under warranty of course...

Definitely. I'll send them an email this weekend and see what kind of response I get from them. The warranty on the work is 12 months as indicated on the invoice. Considering the AC went out exactly two weeks after I picked up the car, It's safe to state that it was very likely the result of the work they did. The AC was working fine before the work despite the refrigerant level being a tad low.

I didn't mention this before, but they had forgotten to refill the windshield wiper fluid reservoir. I found that out this morning when I heard my wiper system pushing air.

 

[Francois Caron]

How it's going.

New issues have cropped up since last August. First, the right CV axle boot developed a rip and the axle is shaking a little bit when you move it with your hand. Ordered and received a remanufactured axle last October.

Since I now use public transportation to get to work (one train and one bus, highly reliable, minimal wait times, no more traffic stress, can nap along the way), the car was hardly driven, so I had time to get this fixed.

Second, the shifter's stiffness is getting worse especially in cold weather. This is a sign that the shifter cables and transmission bracket need to be replaced. Parts ordered, received the cables last month and will receive the bracket this week. The mechanic who will be doing both jobs indicated the bracket's lever was also stiff when he checked it during the valve job.

Third, I'm also asking the mechanic to replace the upper radiator hose. It's been leaking at the radiator, but only when the car isn't used and it gets pretty cold. I suspect the hose has deteriorated enough to be temperature sensitive. $50 part, worth a shot.

Do note that this car is almost 10 years old. Use the car or not, plastic and rubber will break down over time. I'll be replacing other rubber hoses over time as a precautionary measure.

Fourth, the rear right hub went bad on me. I've replaced it last September. Reasonably easy and cheap fix, but my lack of experience meant that it still took me five hours to finish the job at the DIY garage at $30 per hour while a seasoned mechanic would have probably finished the same job in an hour and a half at $139 per hour.

For the shifter, axle, and rad hose jobs, I've asked the dealer to do those jobs for me. Even with instructions, I just don't know how long any job will take me to complete, and these are all reasonably big jobs. I can't just book whole days at the DIY garage when it'll only cost me an extra $100-$200 to pay someone else to do the work during wintertime when I hardly drive it especially in a province where winter tires still aren't legally required. Ottawa drivers are completely disillusioned about how effective their "all-seasons" tires really are in cold weather.

Once the weather gets a little warmer, I'll try to change the AC's evaporator in my apartment building's parking. I don't have to lift the car or perform major surgery in the engine bay to complete this job. Most of the work happens inside the cabin. This means I can take my sweet time to take apart the dash.

The good news? Everything else is still running great including the engine! Also, my total repair, maintenance, and modding bills for this car still hasn't reached the price I paid for it. And if you include the used price of the car in the total, that's still only 2/3 of what the previous owner paid for the car brand new!

And I still love driving this insane little car! Just not daily.

 

[Jeffrey D]

Good deal that you are able to park the car in the Wintertime- maybe you can delay rust.
I don’t drive my backup car (2015 Charger) in the snow, or if I know any of that liquid ice melt is on the roads.

As for repairs, I just let my Chrysler dealership do whatever service my cars need, don’t have the time for even the easy
stuff. I put my 2017 Grand Cherokee in the shop a couple of weeks ago- I bought it in 2019- had 10,700 miles on it. As soon as I left the dealership parking lot, I knew something was amiss- vehicle shimmied when I hit the brakes. I took it back, and told them what was going on. They turned the front rotors, and it helped- temporarily.
Maybe I should have pressed the issue, and told them to put new rotors/brakes on, but I figured they had it under control. This time, I had them put new rotors/brakes on the front- problem solved. Cost about $400. When I got it out of the shop, and started driving away, I immediately felt a noticeable difference and improvement in feel, so my Jeep was never mechanically 100%. My assumption is the previous owner(s) either constantly rode the brakes, or had to do a lot of hard braking, due to aggressive driving. I also put new rubber all the way around- $850 (I thought that was reasonable, considering the size of the tires). Vehicle feels/drives like new now.
I’m lucky in that I put very few miles on either car, so I’m set, as far as transportation is concerned.

Wishing continued enjoyment of your car.

 

[Francois Caron]

Good deal that you are able to park the car in the Wintertime- maybe you can delay rust.

In Canada? I'll need a lot of luck!

I left the car at the dealer on a Saturday, they received the last part on order at the beginning of the week, and finished working on the car by the following Wednesday. I picked it up the same evening.

Everything works! The shifter now moves around like a ping pong ball instead of a medicine ball! I'll be performing a bit of forensics work on the old parts. I'll also rebuild the CV axle myself.

As expected, labour was only an extra $200 compared to how much it would have cost me to rent the shop to do the work myself.