Isabella - The 6 Million Dollar possessed FIat

[texanbrit]

Hope that your wife is ok.
Following your P0300 code closely - was planning the CB cam during Thanksgiving holiday - I might wait.

She came through the surgery last year pretty well. Still has some lingering health issues, apparently having people poking around inside your head is not that great after all.

Her long term survival is dubious. Over the course of a 10 year marriage she has murdered my Lexus LS (probably the nicest car I've ever owned) and my Range Rover (certainly the most expensive car I've owned). I don't think she'll survive the next one.

Dead Lexus

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Dead Range Rover

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[texanbrit]

So where was I.....oh yeah I was complaining about my wife wrecking my nice cars. Well after pumping thousands into her Lexus GX I decided to plow into a line of stationary cars on the freeway to set off 2020 on the right tone. So I guess I evened up the score although she's still still winning 2 to 1 and I was never that fond of the GX.

Anyway FIATs.....

So the Abarth had a few issues. A perpetual P0300 that I couldn't find the cause of, random codes relating to the O2 sensors, dropping into limp mode at random times (sometimes with P2261 or P0299 codes, and a battery that would drain flat overnight. After removing the meth kit (as that was the last electrical change) which didn't fix it; the battery drain problem seemed to be resolved by tightening every ground that I could find that seemed to cure the battery drain issue.

I'd installed multiple new O2 sensors and the code would still come back for that after a month or two. So I decided that my car just eats O2 sensors and I'd just install new ones every few months. After making that decision it decided not to throw those codes any more. Further evidence of the car's possession by a demonic spirit.

I also decided that the P0300 could be safely ignored, on the basis I couldn't find a good cause of it (cleaned the AOS, replaced the plugs, PCV valve, tune revisions etc etc). So I decided to fix it by having a Clutchmaster's FX250 clutch and light weight flywheel installed. In fairness it did feel like the car was slipping a little when trying to go full steam up steep hills. We did another oil change at the same time and put back the MPx flywheel, as taking it off didn't fix anything.

Bizarrely the P0300 went away after that last bunch of work. Not sure if the last oil change cleaned something up that was stuck, or if the older clutch was somehow to blame (seems unlikely). But it was gone and has never came back. Either that or the demon is just biding his time.

So everything was working now, except the car would drop into limp mode at random times, and sometimes it would throw either a P0299 or a P2261.

NGen Bryan found the cause of that. Early Abarth turbos (2012/13s) had an issue with wastegates that would become loose. When the turbo was upgraded the wastegate wasn't worked on so it it brought it's original manufacturers issue along with it for the ride. It was noticeably wobbly to the touch when Bryan had the car apart again. So the turbo was removed and shipped back to GPop for a rebuild of the wastegate, some new ceramic coating and a general spit and polish.

Of course being the reasonable human I am I only did the turbo fix........(<---that's not true)

[Romanoaf]

My bet on the P0300 would be the pulley (or pulley installation); Especially if you didn't notice any actual misfire, Misalignment or binding on any of the accessory drive could cause the cam/crank to set outside of the PCM sensor thresholds; if it were re-installed correctly, would've corrected the condition.

I'm looking at the FX250 or 350 for mine; although it's hard to swallow the cost over OEM; have you noticed any drawbacks in terms of driveability? My Abarth car is quickly approaching e46 M3 territory

[texanbrit]

The light weight flywheel is a tad harder to handle in stop and go traffic, just feels like the line between stalling and launching is finer. The FX250 seems less bitey than the FX350 did, but maybe I just got better or the car is just more stable.

The underpulley was actually my first thought, which is why I took it off. I got the code with the stock pulley too, so I put it back. As usual I changed three things at a time so hard to be sure. I’m really just happy it went away, although mindful the demon could return.

[texanbrit]

So along with the shiny, rebuilt turbo with fresh ceramic coating and I decided I wanted to upgrade my seats from the budget Cipher to the premium Ciphers and decided to do an interior make over.

Seats

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Spent a long time on the phone with Villante trying to find the wheel I wanted. New seats, new pedals and a new wheel. Really happy with the way the interior turned out. It's functional, supportive and comfortable.

wheel

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I decided to push the suspension a bit further adding DNA top hats to allow -2 degrees of camber, and DNA camber plates in the rear. Also a DNA strut bar for some additional front end communication.

DNA Top Hats

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DNA Bar

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On the exterior I traded to get Shaggie's hood with Vanhook vents, and wrapped the rear hatch to match. I also added some trim to the DRL holes to make those look a bit more intentional.

DRL Trim

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[texanbrit]

So minor update. I noticed my rear badge was loose, so decided to clean it up and stick it back on.

Left it in the sun soaking in solvent while I washed my car. Then ran over it while putting the car back in the garage. Also the solvent removed the black plastidip on it. <sigh>

Threw some wrap at it to hide the damage. Looks passable from a distance.

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[texanbrit]

I guess the Abarth agrees that the Supersprint exhaust is just too quiet.



Car is too low to see what is going on, so going to need to dig in this weekend.

[texanbrit]

Nothing obviously wrong. O2 sensor is secure, no gaping wounds. The exhaust seems to be escaping above the cat, so likely the clamp failed or a weld popped. Either way need to look at removing the downpipe (which is a bit harder with the Supersprint) due to the mounting bracket/torture device used.

[texanbrit]

So almost 2 years later I'm finally addressing this issue. Got the downpipe off, but not without some substantial effort. One of the bolts to the mid pipe is missing and the other one refused to budge. After an extensive workout program over the last 18 months I did get it to move (this is a total lie), and then the downpipe came out pretty easily.

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Couldn't see anything wrong with the downpipe, except that the heat wrap has given up. The gasket to the turbo looks fine too.

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Checking the nuts for the turbo revealed the problem.

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One of the studs appears to have backed off. So now I'll have to pull the turbo and fix it.

[texanbrit]

Finally got the turbo split. Bit of a debacle with tools but making gradual progress.

Removed the 19mm bolt from the back of the turbo (once I found the right wrench), the bolt from on top and the T60 connection from the front of the turbo. Have to loosen the front supports enough to allow you to get the T60 socket and wrench in there and if your engine is too far forward that still might not work. Then just loosen the band clamp in the middle of the turbo and you can pull the turbo out of the exhaust housing.

The turbo housing is very loose, looks like at least 2 of the studs have backed out. Next "just" need to get the 3 remaining nuts off the turbo. It's a bit cramped with the heat shielding but doable (I hope).

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