[speedfreeq]

Greetings all - long time forum member, but mostly I lurk and find the info I need. This time is a bit different...what I need is some solid guidance from mechanics experienced with this engine. I don't have a FSM, nor will I drop the coin to purchase one, but I've been fixing Italian engines for most of my fifty years on this planet, so I feel I'm smart enough to wing it.

My 2013 Dart Rallye has a little over 75k, and has been making a horrible clatter, along with a low oil pressure light, at idle when hot, for probably 20k now. No CEL or other issues until it began leaving a little puddle of oil wherever I parked it. I couldn't put it down for repair because a) it was my daily driver and b) there's nobody near me that I trust to touch this engine - the local dealership is HORRIBLE and ignorant, and there's no shop in town (I called EVERY ONE) that has any idea what to do with a Fiat 1.4l turbo engine. So, I do it myself.

Got the car in the air finally, got the timing belt cover off without even resorting to YouTube, and found a couple of concerning things: I noticed fresh oil leaking from the forward oil gallery plug behind the cam timing sprocket, so I put an 8mm allen in there and got easily a quarter turn on that plug. The rear gallery plug (10mm allen) was tight as balls, so I went back and put a little more on the front plug.



After a ziptie session to keep things out of the way , I headed to the car wash with a can of degreaser and blasted the whole front of the engine, then returned home. With the car on jacks, I started it and found the front main seal leaking, a drop every three-four seconds.

I pulled the right side wheel and fender liner, then the serpentine belt (again - no manual, but it wasn't rocket science). It gets even more interesting here, as I found all three bolts holding the CKP tuning ring/accessory drive pulley basically hand tight! No idea how long that thing's been that way, but it begins to explain some of the glitchy throttle response and weird boost fluctuations!

So now I'm down to the timing belt. I found the procedure in the Timing Belt Failure thread, and I don't have those special tools (OR a service manual LOL). But I'm a machinist also, so making a tool to do the thing should be a piece of cake. I've got to get the main timing gear off though, to get the main seal out. At this point I have both the cam cover and the oil pan off, so I guess I'll come up with a way to block both crank and cam in place while I do that.



I have a hunch that I've slightly wiped a big-end bearing, which would explain the clatter and the low oil pressure - has anybody here replaced those with the engine in place? Looks like a typical con rod, and I've done con rod bearings in VW's and my old Taurus SHO from underneath. I'm wondering if the bolts are TTY though? Does anybody have access to that info? And looking for torque spec for the big end bolts.

From what I've read here, I'll go ahead and replace the water pump and idler/tensioner pulley while I'm in this deep.

If any other Fiat mechanics are seeing this and think I'm headed down some rabbithole, please let me know. This has got to happen, though, so responses suggesting I can't accomplish it or should just take it to the dealer will be ignored. It will not be the first (or last) time I replaced a timing belt without the proper instructions or tools.

 

[alpinegreenneon]

You really need the FSM. Bearings are different sizes and must be selected. PM your email address.

 

[speedfreeq]

You really need the FSM. Bearings are different sizes and must be selected. PM your email address.

sent, thanks!

 

[speedfreeq]

DOES ANYBODY HAVE A PART NUMBER FOR THE FRONT MAIN SEAL??? It doesn't seem to exist in any online database! Looks like it's part of the oil pump assembly? But the seal itself isn't called out with a part number...number 16 in this fiche

 

[speedfreeq]

so here's something

I decided to check the con-rod bearings before locking the engine in place to get the timing belt off, and am pretty sure I've found the source of the oil pressure loss and perhaps the noise! Here's a couple pics of number three rod bearing with what I'd consider normal wear for 75k; the rest of the cylinders showed about the same wear.
Number two, though, shows a YUGE score all the way around on both halves! Not sure what went thru there, but the crank journal is fine, so I'll put new rod bearings in my RockAuto cart.


Number three showing what I'd consider normal wear:

Close up of the damage to number two:

 

[alpinegreenneon]

I'm sure you have done this before but the FSM warns about removing rod bearings all at once. They want you to do one at a time so you don't bend a valve.

 

[speedfreeq]

I'm sure you have done this before but the FSM warns about removing rod bearings all at once. They want you to do one at a time so you don't bend a valve.

I totally did them one at a time. One and four are in the same plane, two and three in the other. I pulled one and four, then inspected, then reassembled to snug (because I'm going to replace them), and rolled the crank 180 to get to two and three. The pics were taken, then two and three were reassembled so I can continue with the timing belt job. I'll do the con-rod bearings last, right before the pan goes back on.

 

[speedfreeq]

deeper and deeper

Last night I got all the way down to the timing belt! Prior to unbolting the engine mount, I cut a two by four such that I could lower the engine right on to it as I loosened the motor mount upper bolts:

You can also clearly see the ONLY timing mark in the entire timing system. I highlighted it with green paint for my own reference.

Once I got the four bolts out, and three more holding the motor mount to the frame, then the SEVEN(!!) bolts holding the mount boss to the engine, the timing belt is finally fully exposed for removal:


Of course, I need to come up with some holding tools, so I will be making those. I milled this little boss yesterday that fits in the slot on the back of the cam:

Here you can see it next to the drive boss on the vacuum pump:


Now all I have to do is get the locations of the vacuum pump mounting holes and waterjet a plate to weld my boss to. I threaded the hole in the center of my boss so that I can bolt on the plate with the boss loose, snug it down, then weld it on my holder plate. Luckily I have access to a CMM, so locating those hole precisely will be a breeze:


While I'm at it, I need a similar tool for the crank pulley, so I will get similar data for the crank pulley holes and waterjet a holder that looks something like the template in this pic:

(I'll probably leave the upper hole to drill in place once I've locked the cam down and bolted the crank holder in place, just to ensure I get the exact location.

Parts are on the way, so once I have the two holders fabbed up, I should be good to go for removing timing belt, crank pulley, and oil pump, then beginning reassembly!

Meanwhile, I've located a Euro+Drive handheld tuner from Eurocompulsion for a screaming deal, so she should be back running better than ever in the next ten days!

 

[ig2mdThwifsDart]

Looks like you're a capable Dude and have things well in hand!:cool2:

 

[alpinegreenneon]

DOES ANYBODY HAVE A PART NUMBER FOR THE FRONT MAIN SEAL??? It doesn't seem to exist in any online database! Looks like it's part of the oil pump assembly? But the seal itself isn't called out with a part number...number 16 in this fiche View attachment 116604

Did you ever find a part number for the 1.4 front main seal?

 

[speedfreeq]

Did you ever find a part number for the 1.4 front main seal?

I never did. I just ordered an oil pump for peace of mind, and it comes with the main seal pre-installed. Once I have the old one out, I'm sure there's a number on it - I'll lay money that it's a pretty common metric seal. Silly that they won't sell the most basic repair parts!

 

[mfarmer0019]

I never did. I just ordered an oil pump for peace of mind, and it comes with the main seal pre-installed. Once I have the old one out, I'm sure there's a number on it - I'll lay money that it's a pretty common metric seal. Silly that they won't sell the most basic repair parts!

Did you ever happen to find a number on that front main seal? Mine is leaking on my 2013 dart and I’ve looked all over gods green earth for one without any luck. Thanks!

 

[Winnipeg 1.4T]

Did you ever happen to find a number on that front main seal? Mine is leaking on my 2013 dart and I’ve looked all over gods green earth for one without any luck. Thanks!

Maybe reviving a year old thread here, but I've been having the same sort of oil leak on my 2013 1.4L SXT. While it's not a bad leak (maybe 1/4 of a quart in 8000km) I'd really rather not be dripping oil all over the garage floor!
I've found this part number 68094615AA for the front crankshaft seal for a 2015 Jeep Renegade 1.4L and since it's the exact same engine, I think it's a safe bet to assume it will fit just fine in a dart.