Siecento Suite 1100 - clutch cable £11, fitting it £100 !!! Does anyone know the trick for fitting the cable end to the linkage inside the car. There is a set of cranks and pushrods which connect the pedal on the right to the cable on the left. Short of removing the entire one piece dash, I just can't see how to gain access.
I've asked Fiat dealers, who just won't tell me!
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Don't use a fiat dealer (unless the cars under some evil warranty clause?)
U could try consulting Dr haynes
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The AA guy ran away screaming when I mentioned Fiat clutch cable, so, I though I had better ask my local garages first if they had done one before - I just got blank looks.
There is a Haynes joke book (which I have), for the Cinquecento but the interiors are different. Haynes have no plans to produce one for the Seicento.
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Nick have a look at www.fiatforum.com
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It may be hard to believe but my Seicento was probably the first rhd example delivered. I can therefore claim intimate knowledge of the underside of my dashboard.
The trick is to leave the protective black metal plate off the underside of the dash - this way when the cackmobile clutch snaps you can reduce overall repair time by about ten minutes.
My clutch cable has snapped about four times and the split-pin has failed on three occasions. I have joined the legion of those adept at driving home with no clutch, with a spare cable in the boot in case I am miles from redemption. I used to quite like my little yellow car but this fault makes every journey a miserable lottery with every clutch depression a vehicular form of Buckaroo or Jenga.
Fiat have no knowledge of the Seicento clutch phenomenon - what a load of gash. Every time you go in the dealers for some tyres, wipers or anything mundane they need to order it from the warehouse but they always seem to have a pile of 20 Seicento clutch cables under the counter.... why? because five minutes after you leave another poor sap will come in ordering the same thing. Fiat's gross UK profit must be 95% supplying and fitting of Seicento clutch cables.
The last time I was in the dealers he said the part number had changed because the new cables were made stronger - indeed, the 'question mark' hook on the end seems to be a different colour. However, making one part of the clutch system stronger only moves the problem onto the next weakest part - the split pin.
This has popped off three times and I have just fixed it back in place with a new Halfords split pin and a good-sized washer. This seems to have done the trick in the short-term but rest assured I will not risk crossing the alps in my Seicento in the near or distant future.
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