Fiat 500

Routine Maintenance

• Routine Maintenance Introduction
• Every 300 Miles Maintenance tasks
• Every 1,500 Miles Maintenance tasks
• Every 3,000 Miles Maintenance tasks
• Every 6,000 Miles Maintenance Tasks

Maintenance to be done every 6,000 Miles (10,000km) or 6 months if sooner:

Do all the more frequent tasks and in addition:

1. Engine oil change. Use a top quality multigrade oil suitable to temperature (see page) without any other additives. Drain the oil from the plug on the right of the sump when the car is hot (17 mm spann) into a pan that will have plenty of room, to prevent spillage. Allow the oil to drip for at least 10min. Clean the drain plug, and check its washer. Refit the drain plug, and refill the sump with 4 pints. check the level on the dipstick and add a little more if required. The oil should be changed at 3,000 miles if the car is used mostly for town work, particularly in winter, or in dusty conditions.
   If you have just bought an old car and the oil is very black flush out first with flushing oil. When draining this jack up the left of the car once most of the oil is out to make any dregs flow out better.
2. Air Cleaner. - Replace the cartridge. When dusty conditions prevail, replace cartridge more often.
3. Spark plugs. - fit clean plugs. With the gap set to .025 in (.6mm) plugs are Marelli CW 6N, Champion L87Y (or L7) or Bosch W225 T 1.  The porcelain plug insulators and the leads, must be kept clean to ensure easy starting.
4. Ignition distributor. Undo the clips and remove the cap. Pull off the rotor arm. Check that the points are not contaminated with oil or dirt. Check their gap. This should be .019 to .012in  (.47 - .53mm) This may be almost impossible to measure other than by eye. as a lump will have burned onto one contact, preventing insertion of a feeler.  Lubricate the wic on the spindle normally covered by the rotor arm with engine oil, and oil the lubricator just outside the distributor. Add a drop of oil to the contact breaker pivot and to the centrifugal advance mechanism beneath the contact breaker. Clean the inside and outside of the distributor cap, and rotor arm.
5. Ignition Timing. Check the timing. It will definitely need adjustment if the contact breaker has been adjusted. The timing should be 10 before top dead center, TCD There is a timing mark for TCD on the timing chain cover on the rear of the engine. 10 BTDC can be established by measuring 13mm (.51in) from the TCD mark.
6. Transmission Oil. Check the oil level plug (13mm spanner) is a small one, on the right side of the casing, just behind the axle dirt excluder. The level should be up to the bottom of the thread holes. Fill with Castrol Hypoy 90, which can be bought in convenient plastic 'flixitops' complete with spout. Before removing the plug clean carefully around and above it. Wipe again after the plug has been loosened a turn.
7. Oil Lubrication. Put a few drops of engine oil from an oil can on all parts such as door hinges, their catches ( the 500L has little plastic plugs in the holes), control pedal pivots, carburettor controls and cables, and the front and rear bonnet catches and hinges. Lubricate the handbrake cable fixings pins at the back of the rear brakes.
8. Clutch. Check the free play between the pedal and the clutch. The pedal should move for 1/2 -3/4in (15-20mm) for 110F cars with diaphragm clutches, and 1.5in (35-40mm) for all earlier ones, against only the light load of its pull-off spring before taking up the clutch pressure. If necessary adjust  where the cable is attached to the clutch withdrawal lever on the transmission casing above the left drive shaft.
9. Tappets. Check the valve clearance. It should be .006in (.15mm) cold. The engine can be turned over using a 10mm spanner on the oil filter bolts. Adjust the tappets of one cylinder when those of the other are just at "change over": the exhaust will have just shut and the inlet be about to open; both will have no clearance. Slide in the feeler gauge on one of the tappets being adjusted. It should slide in readily, but resistance be felt. Trying to twist round the push rod gives a good guide. A feeler the next size smaller should slide in decidedly freely, and one size too large should be very stiff, having to be forced in, and then it is impossible to rotate the push rod. Repeat for the other valve of that cylinder, then do the second cylinder after turning the engine over one revolution. After that do the first again just to check your own measurement has not been at fault.
10. Fuel system. Clean the filters. There is one in the pump, reached by undoing the screw holding the domed cover on top. On some cars it is in the inlet union. In the carburetor there is one under a large nut on the floater chamber, near the fuel pipe union. If the car is new, so the tank clean, and always refueled under clean conditions you may find very little dirt on these filters. If this is so, this task may be done at double the interval.
11. Steering. Check for wear. Get an assistant to move the steering wheel to and fro just enough to move the front wheels a little. watch all the steering knuckles on both ends of all the three track rods: there should be no visible free play. The idler arm on the opposite side of the car to the steering box should be firm, and not move up and down, though it is slightly resilient. No movement other than  that for moving the steering should be visible on  the steering arm coming from the steering box. Now reduce the turning of the steering wheel to see how far it can be moved without the wheels moving. This will not be very definite, the various clearances in the steering box adding up to a slight springy feeling. The lost motion should not exceed 1/2in  at the steering wheel rim. The steering wheel should have no movement at all when pulled up and down axially (in line with the column down to the box). A little slop of the column in its top bearing is permissible. Refill the steering box with SAE 90EP oil to the level of the plug.
12. Front wheel bearings. Remove wheel covers, wheels and hub caps. Lubricate bearings thoroughly with Fiat MP grease. Reinstall hub caps, wheels and wheel covers.
13. Tyres. Measure the wear. The legal limit is 1mm of tread left. The safety limit under wet conditions gets low at 2mm. Note for any uneven wear, keep a record of the tread remaining. Then it is possible to see which tyre is wearing the fastest. Examine the tyres for cuts or bulges, particularly in the sides. Do not run on such tyres, not only is it illegal but also dangerous.
14. Shock absorbers. Inspect shock absorbers whenever it is noticed that their operation is irregular or noisy.
15. Engine Test. Start up, and warm up the engine to check it at idle. The idle should be slow and smooth. The speed should be such that the red charging warning light just comes on. Adjust the speed by the throttle stop screw and the smoothness by the mixture screw. If the engine was in need of attention to such things as tappets or ignition then the idle is likely to need readjusting too. When listening to the engine also listen fro odd noises, and exhaust leaks in particular. Get used to the noises of your engine idling, when running a bit faster, and when you "blip" the throttle. Listen to the cars of other peoples too. Then you will know what are correct sorts of noises, and what defects. Check all the bolts on the exhaust for tightness, and those holding down the carburettor.