[Samba]

We own a 2000 model Uno petrol. The car has done around 105,000 kms in 13 years. The car had been maintained through out with original parts and no modification has been done to the car. It entirely runs on stock fitments.

Now the problem is from the last one month while slowing down the car, the engine dies down. Restart the engine it starts up in the first crank itself. Release the clutch carefully it will move ahead with jerks, a little bit of mistake or if you rev less the car will again jerk and the engine will die. It will start with heavy knocking.

So what we did is a through cleaning of all the fuel lines including the carburetor jet , all fuel pipes and retuned the engine. Still the problem existed.

Then we took on the electrical's. Changed the ignition coil, the distributor module, 4 new spark plugs with plug wires. All were done. But now the engine getting off reduced but the car is very jerky right from the beginning. It feels as if its gasping.

Today i took the car for a 160kms run on the highway. At the beginning the car refused to cross 100 on 5th gear. I put on 3rd and the car touched 100 and in 4th it maxed out at 120. Earlier the same car used to touch 140 km/hr. In 5th it again came back to 100 and maxed out. So after that i drove sedately around 80 in 5th gear. It was while going. Now while coming back i was doing 80 in 5th and suddenly the power started decreasing and the speed came down around 50. So the car was maxed out at 50km/hr in 5th gear with full throttle. Some how i drove it slowly with 3rd and 4th. While reaching a fly over the car refused to climb up. It was like a total loss of power. I had to engage 1st and climb in a zig zag way, the way a very steep climb is done in the hills. After that i parked the car for 10 minutes, i just pressed the ignition coil connection and revved the engine hard and its again doing around 80 up in 5th! But still the car is running in a jerk way and its always gasping/knocking. This loss of top speed was witness once few week back too. That time the car was refusing to cross 70 in 5th but after sometimes it became fine from its own. Fuel efficiency has dropped down to 9.xx from 14.xx. When in neutral i rev the engine it revs to its max rpm with out any hiccups but while on move the gasping for the power starts.

The car runs in a new clutch plate, distributor module and ignition coil is also original and new(recently changed). Distributor is thoroughly checked by my mechanic. The battery is a no maintenance 8 months old Exide battery. Engine oil and oil filter was changed just a week back. No white smoke or decrease in engine oil level has been noticed too.There is no increase in engine temperature too. The fuel quality used is also not the culprit as we have cheeked it by refueling from different trusted fuel stations.

So now me and my mechanic all are clueless. So a guidance from here will be highly appreciated. My car is located at Kolkata.

[rikhav]

I am not an expert but could you get the fuelpump checked?

I remember my friends 1.2 Palio having similar issues and the culprit was diagnosed as a faulty fuel pump

[msaudf]

Hi,
Firstly, Kudos to your efforts in maintaining a petrol Uno for 13 years.
I can relate to your frustration when an old car that you know so well lets you down.
The problems you have describe mostly relate to knocking and power loss, its looks like the engine is running lean on fuel, either too much air is being sucked in through some broken or faulty gasket, or the carburetor is not doing a good job.
The electrics of the car tend to either work or just fail so as long as they're working its not a worry.
But, give a look check up at the gaskets of the carburetor and the intake manifold.
Good luck and let us know what happens.
Cheers
Saud.

[gsurya]

Thanks for this thread. I have a 14 year old Fiat Uno petrol that has done 96K. No major issues yet, but small annoying niggles now and then, but I love the handling, pick up (especially without AC).

The average is pathetic.. around 7-8 but I am a rash driver.. with a lot of accelerations & braking. AC has weakened, mechanic says the entire dashboard has to be opened up to clean the grille. Not ready for that yet.

Right now I am also facing a starting trouble that mechanic hasnt been able to resolve, however it has never stranded me, just takes ages sometimes.

[1100D]

Like someone else already mentioned, I would suspect the Fuel Pump (Commonly called as AC pump in our area).

The Pump may be totally failing when hot, but in cold condition it might still be functioning a bit, which ensures that you dont have a cold starting problem.

During warm-engine running, the fuel feed could be purely based on suction due to the pistons, which still would be a restricted fuel delivery, causing the engine to run lean.

The observation below, would be due to the slope, the front would have been higher than the rear, thereby requiring additional suction from the cylinders to get some fuel in.

Originally Posted by Samba

While reaching a fly over the car refused to climb up. It was like a total loss of power. I had to engage 1st and climb in a zig zag way, the way a very steep climb is done in the hills.

In situations like these, try driving up in reverse and see if the observation is different, with the nose lower than the rear, the vehicle should sail through.

Before invesing in a pump, hook up a fuel pipe, with fuel in a bottle held in the passenger cabin (probably as high as possible) and then try running. Infact tel l your mechanic to run the car with fuel in a bottle held high. If car runs fine, then only invest in a new fuel pump.

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by Samba

We own a 2000 model Uno petrol. The car has done around 105,000 kms in 13 years. The car had been maintained through out with original parts and no modification has been done to the car. It entirely runs on stock fitments.

Now the problem is from the last one month while slowing down the car, the engine dies down. Restart the engine it starts up in the first crank itself. Release the clutch carefully it will move ahead with jerks, a little bit of mistake or if you rev less the car will again jerk and the engine will die. It will start with heavy knocking.

So what we did is a through cleaning of all the fuel lines including the carburetor jet , all fuel pipes and retuned the engine. Still the problem existed.

Then we took on the electrical's. Changed the ignition coil, the distributor module, 4 new spark plugs with plug wires. All were done. But now the engine getting off reduced but the car is very jerky right from the beginning. It feels as if its gasping.

Today i took the car for a 160kms run on the highway. At the beginning the car refused to cross 100 on 5th gear. I put on 3rd and the car touched 100 and in 4th it maxed out at 120. Earlier the same car used to touch 140 km/hr. In 5th it again came back to 100 and maxed out. So after that i drove sedately around 80 in 5th gear. It was while going. Now while coming back i was doing 80 in 5th and suddenly the power started decreasing and the speed came down around 50. So the car was maxed out at 50km/hr in 5th gear with full throttle. Some how i drove it slowly with 3rd and 4th. While reaching a fly over the car refused to climb up. It was like a total loss of power. I had to engage 1st and climb in a zig zag way, the way a very steep climb is done in the hills. After that i parked the car for 10 minutes, i just pressed the ignition coil connection and revved the engine hard and its again doing around 80 up in 5th! But still the car is running in a jerk way and its always gasping/knocking. This loss of top speed was witness once few week back too. That time the car was refusing to cross 70 in 5th but after sometimes it became fine from its own. Fuel efficiency has dropped down to 9.xx from 14.xx. When in neutral i rev the engine it revs to its max rpm with out any hiccups but while on move the gasping for the power starts.

The car runs in a new clutch plate, distributor module and ignition coil is also original and new(recently changed). Distributor is thoroughly checked by my the mechanic. The battery is a no maintenance 8 months old Exide battery. Engine oil and oil filter was changed just a week back. No white smoke or decrease in engine oil level has been noticed too.There is no increase in engine temperature too. The fuel quality used is also not the culprit as we have cheeked it by refueling from different trusted fuel stations.

So now me and my mechanic all are clueless. So a guidance from here will be highly appreciated. My car is located at Kolkata.

I faced similar problem for over an year in my maruti gypsy king only to find out that the carburetor needed servicing, the intake manifold needed de carbonization and gaskets were making way for leakage. After getting this sorted it ran for many more years flawlessly. Maybe it's the same with your Uno too. But must admit I have never gotten a chance to touch an Uno.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by rikhav

I am not an expert but could you get the fuelpump checked?

I remember my friends 1.2 polio having similar issues and the culprit was diagnosed as a faulty fuel pump

Point noted will check it out. Yes i missed out on fuel pump.

Originally Posted by msaudf

Hi,
Firstly, Kudos to your efforts in maintaining a petrol Uno for 13 years.
I can relate to your frustration when an old car that you know so well lets you down.
The problems you have describe mostly relate to knocking and power loss, its looks like the engine is running lean on fuel, either too much air is being sucked in through some broken or faulty gasket, or the carburetor is not doing a good job.
The electrics of the car tend to either work or just fail so as long as they're working its not a worry.
But, give a look check up at the gaskets of the carburetor and the intake manifold.
Good luck and let us know what happens.
Cheers
Saud.

Thanks, will check what you mentioned. Its my dad's favorite car so he tries to maintain it in a meticulous way.

Originally Posted by gsurya

The average is pathetic.. around 7-8 but I am a rash driver.. with a lot of accelerations & braking. AC has weakened, mechanic says the entire dashboard has to be opened up to clean the grille. Not ready for that yet.

Right now I am also facing a starting trouble that mechanic hasnt been able to resolve, however it has never stranded me, just takes ages sometimes.

Great to know you own a petrol Uno to. Its really rare to find one on road now a days. But let me tell you one thing please get your tuning checked 7-8 is too less for a Uno petrol. I have driven it rashly too but it never came below 10 apart from my latest problem now. Regarding Ac you can have a check on your Ac gas too. I got my self serviced by my mechanic once so you can try it too. So it may solve your starting problem.

Originally Posted by 1100D

The Pump may be totally failing when hot, but in cold condition it might still be functioning a bit, which ensures that you dont have a cold starting problem.

During warm-engine running, the fuel feed could be purely based on suction due to the pistons, which still would be a restricted fuel delivery, causing the engine to run lean.

Before invesing in a pump, hook up a fuel pipe, with fuel in a bottle held in the passenger cabin (probably as high as possible) and then try running. Infact tel l your mechanic to run the car with fuel in a bottle held high. If car runs fine, then only invest in a new fuel pump.

Sure thanks a lot. Point noted and yes its true the problem increase when the engine warm up more. Will do what you advised.

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

I faced similar problem for over an year in my maruti gypsy king only to find out that the carburetor needed servicing, the intake manifold needed de carbonization and gaskets were making way for leakage. After getting this sorted it ran for many more years flawlessly. Maybe it's the same with your Uno too. But must admit I have never gotten a chance to touch an Uno.

My mechanic has already serviced the carburetor. But once again i will ask him to check the intake manifolds and gaskets for any kind of leakage.


Once again thanks to every one for there inputs. I have already called my mechanic and told him to do the above mentioned points. Mostly he will be coming on Sunday. Once he check it i will update it over here. Hope it can be rectified now. Fingers crossed!

[neofromcapone]

Samba, since you are at it, check the fuel tank for corrosion, as small bits from the tank would rust, fall apart and clog the fuel pump.

[1100D]

Did you get an opportunity to try out solutions with your mechanic over the weekend?

[vijaycool]

I would say check the ignition timing. Looks like car couldnt able to pull under load. Reset the ignition timing in the distributor and also look for blockages or cut pipes for advancing timing connected betwen distributor and inlet manifold.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by vijaycool

I would say check the ignition timing. Looks like car couldnt able to pull under load. Reset the ignition timing in the distributor and also look for blockages or cut pipes for advancing timing connected betwen distributor and inlet manifold.

He mentioned that his distributor is new, so assuming that the wires and the vacuum pipe has already been checked. Moreover, any problem with distributor would cause misfire, hiccups and erratic running. His car seems to just run out of power over a certain engine speed.

[Adventourer]

Please check the vacuum advance. It may be dysfunctional. That could be the reason for the problem

[vijaycool]

Originally Posted by 1100D

He mentioned that his distributor is new, so assuming that the wires and the vacuum pipe has already been checked. Moreover, any problem with distributor would cause misfire, hiccups and erratic running. His car seems to just run out of power over a certain engine speed.

Yes. Advancing the timing at low load/idle wont make the engine missfire but under load it will bog down. Also at idle the engine revv freely so we can assume vacuum advance could be the culprit or worst case main jet could be blocked.

[1100D]

Originally Posted by vijaycool

Yes. Advancing the timing at low load/idle wont make the engine missfire but under load it will bog down. Also at idle the engine revv freely so we can assume vacuum advance could be the culprit or worst case main jet could be blocked.

If its timing, he would bog down all the time irrespective of cold or hot. But from his statement, it starts to get worse as the car heats up. His top speed reduces as the car warms up. Then he has also got his carb cleaned and serviced.

[Samba]

Originally Posted by 1100D

Did you get an opportunity to try out solutions with your mechanic over the weekend?

Update- But its negative.

Today morning my mechanic came with a spare fuel Pump. He fitted the new pump but the result was all the same.

As others specified here did the following check ups too-
1) once again cleaned the carburetor , checked the intake manifolds, and cleaned the carburetor jet too.
2) Opened the fuel pipes from the fuel tank and clean them once again.
3) Asked my mechanic to check the vacuum advance and ignition timing too.



This is Durga Puja time in Kolkata, we have seen Durga Puja 13 times in this car and in the 14 year its severely ill. But still for the peace of mind i took it for a 18kms spin in this condition itself. The car did the run with heavy knocking and lack of top end.

Now am thinking can it be the engine compression failing from one of the cylinders? But still there is no white smoke or decrease in the engine oil level. Engine temperature is also fine.

So more suggestions are most welcome!