Opinion sort engine rebuild or new one

[skelz]

I have been advised by my mechanic that 126 has a severe oil leak..whilst not super urgent he has recommended that we pull down the engine and replace all gaskets and look at replacing pistons ring etc (if needed) while we are there...his ballpark estimate for labour is approx $1000 for this to happen. New engine kits pistons, gaskets etc are about $300 delivered...
 I have been on a few websites and see that I can get a new engine delivered to Australia for about $1300 AUD. Then this will have to be fitted..  anybody have any opinion on the best way forward or advice ?

[Rusty's Uncle]

Hi , my first question is - How well do you know your mechanic & does he know about the aircooled engine ?
Next - How many miles has the engine covered & does it run OK apart from the oil leak ?
Then - Where is the oil leak as if is just a simple gasket or seal then that could be an expensive fix ?
Also - Is your mechanic basing his opinion on a simple compression test ?
Just to replace the cylinders , pistons and the associated gaskets should take about 4 to 6 hours for a decent mechanic so a 1,000 Oz buck paycheck seems a bit top end. If the pistons and cylinders are that worn then the chances are that you will also need a bottom end crank rebuild and a cylinder head overhaul .
First priority is to check out the oil leak source as there are only a few options there and could give you an indication of engine condition  [-/ xmas2

[gsxr126]

Have to agree with Rusty - does the mech know aircooled Fiats I've seen "mechanics" do terrible things to 650 engines.

If you can afford it why not go new, if your on a budget, i would try sourcing a spare engine or even a whole car. Most of the cars i have i got for free and found that the engines were in decent knick even though they sat around for a while. The reason being that they were parked once the gearbox went (being too expensive to fix at the time) and you can still find them sitting in backyards with only 40000k's on them. There was one on ebay for $200 recently.

I personally would not use a mechanic and would have a go at it myself, all depends on how hands on you want to be.

[skelz]

Thanks guys.. The mechanic I trust... altho he hasnt worked on aircoolled engines before.. The car has done approx 70K KMs and runs nicely, its only the oil leak that seems a problem.. as the car is not mine main source of transport I am leaning towards keeping the servicing and oil up to it and then running it til it goes bang and then doing a total replacement... there is a well known fiat mech in brissy so I might take it to him for a second opinion. I cannot remember exactly where the oil leak was but its towards the top of the engine.. Mech mentioned taking off the head ?? I will ask when I see him next ... unfortunately I am not able to do the work myself..as I lack the skills.. What are peoples thoughts on engine stop leak products..

[Darrell]

One way trip to another trashed 126 engine...
8 head bolts 2 rocker cover bolts 2 rocker bolts and a few others on exhausts etc, a torque wrench Head gasket set and instructions in a full manual on this website...

Sorry but 126's are temremental little bugs, in it's life it will need a whole lot more tinkering. Perhaps this would be a good place to start to get to know your engine.

Just my opinion...

[Amateb8]

If the mechanic is going to take off the head, you might want to consider replacing it with an unleaded cylinder head. A bit pricey though.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/FIAT-500-126-650cc-UNLEADED-CYLINDER-HEAD-BRAND-NEW-/200438976583?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item2eab181047

[gsxr126]

If its running and you keep the service up it should never go bang [-/ I would still source spares as it will give u a chance to muck around with it. Skills are only measurable by one's willingness to learn.

Just keep on motoring i rekon

[Rusty's Uncle]

I cannot remember exactly where the oil leak was but its towards the top of the engine.

There are only two options for oil leaks at the top of the engine , rocker box cover gasket & push rod tube seals. Spend $5 on a new rocker box gasket and see if it cures it. If not it is a "cylinder head off" job to replace push rod tube seals so you would need a decoke gasket set which I guess would be less than $50. Also if that were the case then Amateb8 has a point about the unleaded head although you would have to be totaly bonkers to buy a new cylinder head when all you need to do is have two exhaust valve seats fitted , cost is about £60 in the UK. If you were thinking about this then I would consider looking for a motorbike engineer as the 126 head is more like a bike. Also if you get the right bloke you could consider a bit of porting & polishing , perhaps bigger inlet valves then you would get a lot more power under your noise pedal  [-/

[Aaron]

Silly question here.  What's the difference with the unleaded head?  Question is that petrol cars sold after about June 1986 in Australia had to run on unleaded fuel, so by rights we should have unleaded compatible heads already.

GSXR126's indicated eBay Niki is still there at the moment by the way
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Fiat-650-Niki-Bambino-/170583596798?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item27b7931efe

[Rusty's Uncle]

I did wonder about that myself . The only difference would be the more resilient exhaust valve seats to cope with the higher gas temperatures. Do any of you guys over there have an Oz Bambino 126 handbook to see what it says about fuel   [-/

[gsxr126]

An "oz bambino 126 handbook" would be a rare thing in Oz Rusty. To the best of my knowledge there arent any company/dealer imported pre 89 126's in Australia. Privately imported 126's may be here but i havent seen one. The FSM Niki Handbook states unleaded in the Lubricants chart.

[skelz]

i see there is a guy in melb selling a lot of parts including engine.. which is all I am interested in will be watching with interest !!

[bis13]

save your money and do it yourself that way you will learn a whole heap of stuff about the engine that if you pay someone else to do will be missed then of/when you have a problem in the future with any engine issues you will know exactly what has been done as you did it!
and to be honest everyone who has taken one of these apart has always managed to get it working properly again! just make sure that the parts are the correct type and that you log, label and take some good pictures of what you have done in the case that you find a break is needed between rebuilding as your memory is never as good as a picture! 

[Rusty's Uncle]

An "oz bambino 126 handbook" would be a rare thing in Oz Rusty. To the best of my knowledge there arent any company/dealer imported pre 89 126's in Australia. Privately imported 126's may be here but i havent seen one. The FSM Niki Handbook states unleaded in the Lubricants chart.

You must excuse my "Bambino" like comment , think I got my Nikis in a twist 
So on a brghter note it seems that you guys down there have got the unleaded thing covered  [-/

[fiat126.com.pl]

Skelz,

126p engine is very simple in construction. With a book on your lap you can do it yourself fix it:)

Engine in good condition, you can buy in Poland for 100 euro + shipping. For the same price you can buy new pistons, bearings, seals and make a general overhaul of the engine. In the latter case, the shipment will be cheaper:)