Maintenance challenged

Jeez the X is a difficult car to work on. :mallet: Not only is the engine crammed into a tiny little space, you have to lean over the trunk to get at it.

I think I need a hug.

I thought that from years and years ago, almost didn't get one because of that fear, found out they're not that bad, but maybe I just got used to it. The Porsche my son and I are working on is pretty terrible too. Front engine even.

Routine maintenance like fluid and filter changes are done from the top or bottom like most cars.

Repairs to the front of the engine are aided by the distributor access panel between the spare tire compartment and the engine compartment.

Repairs to the rear of the engine are aided by the trunk access panel, under the trim of the trunk's front wall.

I've been slowly stripping the engine in the car. I just finished removing the air conditioning compressor to remove the compressor mounting bracket to remove the water pump. Basically I'm stripping the engine to freshen it up. New engine seals, timing belt and tensioner, lap the valves, piston rings, water pump, etc, etc. I'm making progress, but it's slow. I'll bet the shop charges for maintenance were pretty costly back in the day. It's not a simple task for regular maintenance items like a timing belt or v-belts.

I have been asked how I got all the little scars on my forearms. It is from squeezing my hands down inside Fiat engine compartments.

Then again, you can change the timing belt in about an hour. It's an all-day project in many cars. It's the Chinese water torture of having a constant list of things to repair/replace that drives me nuts.

beezee said:

Jeez the X is a difficult car to work on. :mallet: Not only is the engine crammed into a tiny little space, you have to lean over the trunk to get at it.



I think I need a hug.

Click to expand...

Some things are very easy and some things are very hard. There is not much in between.
Good luck and oh, I found out about the rear-trunk access panel after I did my water pump swap.
V/r, Mike


Nebraska Mike

You do know about the rear trunk access panel to the engine bay...

Right?

I see you have an '83 with air so that does complicate things a little... but if you ask here first before you even put air in the tires, we can save you lots of time, money and FRUSTRATION.

If you are indeed planning to do all that work on the engine I am hoping you dropped the entire hunk of engine and trans out the bottom. Then split them apart and mount the engine on a stand ($49 bucks at HF) and make it easy on yurself~!

HTH!

p.s. I cared for my '79 for 15 years with a '74 - '78 Haynes Manual. I found that in '79 they added an access panel between the rear trunk and the engine bay and posted that HERE! I only got a few comments and those guys didn't know there was one either. I think there were many more too but they were ashamed to admit it! HA! For those with earlier rides... they need to cut one themselves as the time it takes to do the job is less than the time it would take to change and alternator out from below.

Yep, the air conditioning complicates things. I decided not to drop the engine, maybe a bad decision, but I'm limited for space working in a single car garage and lifting the engine without a hoist is a problem. On other cars I've always removed the head and accessories before removing the block just to make things more manageable.

I did find out about the access panel on this forum, thanks folks! I can't say the access panel makes things easy, but it does make it possible.

One thing I've found out is that there is not enough adjustment in the alternator and air compressor to get enough slack to easily remove the v-belts. The water pump is different, you split the crank pulley to free up the belt but then the motor mount is too close to the pulley to easily remove the belt. There are 2 v-belts that must be removed to get at the timing belt which was the goal to start with.

Regardless, I've made good progress and now the engine is pretty much stripped bare. I've removed some seals and they are so hard that the rubber shatters like hard plastic when I pry them out. I guess that explains the oil leaks. The valve seals were the same, hard and brittle. The advantage of oil leaks is that it preserves the engine parts so there is very little corrosion. Once they are degreased they look brand new.

I've been methodically replating hardware with my home plating kit and using a yellow zinc treatment. It will look good once it goes back together. If I get motivated I'll post a few pictures soon.

Well... ya see... Ya don't hoist the engine...

Ya hoist the BODY using the rear bumper brackets...

(Remove the lower trans mount cross bar after unbolting the the CV joints, pull the tires and set the body on the ground with the hoist and with cardboard under the engine and trans. Now attach the hoist to the engine to support it and remove the dog-bone and snail mount. Affix the hoist to the body again and lift leaving the LUMP of a trans and engine on the ground. Slide it out using the cardboard [or a creeper will do] and reinstall in reverse order.)

Lots of fun and easy!

Thanks Tony, I'll keep that in mind when I drop the engine block out of the chassis.

beezee said:

It's not a simple task for regular maintenance items like a timing belt or v-belts.

Click to expand...

The air conditioned cars are harder to work on, the fuel injected cars are more crowded than the carbed cars, and the smog equipment clutters up the engine bay no end. But a carbed X1/9 in more or less Euro trim isn't that bad once you learn the most efficient angle for reaching everything.... much better than my shopmates' Porsche 928s or any modern car.

Back in the day (1980 or so) I watched an experienced Fiat mechanic do a timing belt change in less than ten minutes, working underneath a tree in his yard. That was time from when I stepped out of the car and handed him the new belt to when I got back in the car and drove off, and it included checking and correcting the timing (but not changing the timing belt bearing).

I have never been able to come even CLOSE to that level of efficiency.