FIAT Cinquecento (1993 - 1998) - Oil leak - serious?? | Motoring discussion | Back Room Forum

Thu 13 Dec 2007 14:02

Oil leak - serious?? - Man without a plan

Hi guys,

SWMBO has a 1997 Fiat Cinquecento Sporting 1.1i that she has had for two years. She now has a new car so is looking to see the Fiat.

Its been a great car and has just flown through its MOT, but it has a small oil leak (as noted on the mot advisory).

I have known about the oil leak for ages (little patches on the drive) but to be honest its never caused any problems for the car... i regularly check the oil and it never needs topping up that often, no more than my Citroen without an oil leak.

I'm wondering it if is likely to be anything serious? I think it is coming from the sump seal as there is oil residue on there.... would it be easy and cheap to get fixed.

I'm thinking i'll just stick it on ebay and mention the leak and see what she goes for.... but wondering if i'll end up letting her go for £50 if I do that....

Any thoughts appreciated.

Edited by Man without a plan on 13/12/2007 at 14:03

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Thu 13 Dec 2007 14:20

Oil leak - serious?? - Collos25

If it keeps dripping out and you don't have to fill it up maybe its gearbox oil, you need to find out where its coming from first before you come to any decisions.

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Thu 13 Dec 2007 15:04

Oil leak - serious?? - wozjohn

i've had a sporting for 7 years,
hopefully it's only the rocker cover gasket.
it only lasts a couple of years before perishing,
and weeps oil ending up at the sump.
its about a fiver takes less than half an hour to fit.
you'll find a good source of info at
www.fiatforum.com/cinquecento-seicento/

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Thu 13 Dec 2007 15:17

Oil leak - serious?? - Man without a plan

Thanks very much wozjohn...

Is it a job that I can do myself (in the words of Haynes manual, a 2 spanner job)?

Do I need to drain all the oil out of can I manage without?

Cheers

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Thu 13 Dec 2007 15:31

Oil leak - serious?? - Lud

You don't have to drain the oil. If the leak is from the rocker box gasket you should be able to see where it is by looking all round the top of the engine. Depending on the design of the car you may have to remove the air cleaner and/or disconnect cables, wires etc. that may be clipped to the box. But when removing the rocker box and the old gasket, take care to avoid leaving dirt and bits inside the box or dropping them down the pushrod cavity or cavities.

You can adjust the valve clearances at the same time (if they are adjustable and not hydraulic).

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Thu 13 Dec 2007 19:06

Oil leak - serious?? - bell boy

might be the driveshafts where they go into the gearbox ,they have a weird setup and do often le-ark
is oil cle-arn or mucky as a guide?
if mucky melud has the answer as a learned man
if cle-arn then its the gearybox

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