parts order advice

[jbills]

have a few issues to sort out on my spider before the weather warms up and driving season starts.
I have a really good fiat mechanic here in town who went through it with me last winter before I parked it, and gave me a good list of what needs done. It'd be prohibitively $$ for him to do the work but I have a mechanically inclined buddy who's going to spend a couple weekends with me to get this all going. I mean, I'm actually LOOKING FORWARD to disassembling this thing and learning more about the guts of it - I think I'll probably have this car until the day I die! (or it dies first) So - all I have to do is not mess up the parts order!

thought I'd bounce this off of you all to see if you can get me going in the right direction. I've got International Auto up in another window and my spider shop manual open on the desk here - I feel like I'm on "millionaire" and I'm using all my lifelines.

Here's what I need done and some specific questions. I've read the mirafiori steering faq's - golden.

Overall, I'm paranoid that I'll have all of these parts ready to go and will find out that I don't have some, you know, grommet or seal or some other shop consumable that always splits when you replace X part, and I won't be able to get a replacement at the parts store down the street because the car's old and italian. anything you might prep me for as far as that goes would be hugely appreciated. Also, I'm VERY interested in "fix this other thing while you're in there and have that apart" type of suggestions. I should mention that I have absolutely NO engine probs - this is all steering and wheel related for the most part.


1) Replace front upper and lower control arms, right outer tie rod end, idler arm assembly, and then get an alignment
--- there's some play in the wheel and I get a bit of a wobble if I try to go over 45, so this is top priority. i also might have a bent rim, going to pull that off and check. specific question - IAP is out of the idler arm assembly. anyone recommend a good source?

2) Replace right rear axle seal, rear brake calipers, pads & rotors, hoses and cables.
--- any major advantage to buying the performance steel braided hoses?
--- and rear brake calipers - I forget how far gone he said mine are, and I'm not sure if I should replace them or repair them. what's the best way to tell? and if I need to replace - should I go IAP remanufactured or new?
--- also know that allison and other sell performance rotors and pads for about double the $ as standard. but my car is a bit customized and carries a couple/3 hundred pounds extra weight - should I opt for the performance set? or is that more for racers and wouldn't give me any advantage?

3) replace bent trailing arms
--- my arms in the back are bent from what looks like a botched lift or jack mount point decision. anything I need to know here? looks like a fairly easy swap. i might source these used - any caveats?

4) Replace brake master cylinder
--- he said I had a leak, just not sure if it's the master cylinder or the reservoir. any way to test or should I just swap both? (seems like it will be a pain to get out)

last thing
5) replace flex coupler



thanks for sharing any wisdom you might have on these things - i hope to return the favor down the line when I've done these a few times.

[TulsaSpider]

Steel hoses might give you a firmer pedal. The High performance brakes are just that high performance. Will you be driving it very hard? There are kits that use larger rotors and better calipers if you are going to go that route and want real stopping power. Rear brakes from what I understand are tricky to rebuild. Do you plan to replace/eliminate the proportioning valve in the rear? On the master cylinder a leak should be obvious so just determine where the leak is. The Masters are easy to replace, just don't strip out the line nuts use the proper line wrench. I replaced mine yesterday. See IAP bulletin about acorn nut adjustment. I have not replaced trailing arms but looks simple.

[digitech]

IAP is not the only place to source parts for our Fiats; also consider Vicks, AutoRicambi,and Midwest124 to name just a few more and there are many others. I have been very impressed so far with the quality of parts AutoRicambi stocks.

[BenjamminsFiat]

Just thought I'd second AutoRicambi.us. They just filled a big order for me to help me do upgrades, timing belt, seals, etc. The order had one mistake in it, but considering the size of the order and how much they helped me compile everything together, it was understandable. Most recent fix I did was trailing arms on mine. From what I hear I got lucky and was able to do mine (only one side) in 10 minutes. The only hard part was that the nut was on there crazy tight, so I put the wrench on and used my foot to turn it. After that, the new one went on easily. Just used car ramps during the whole process, no jack needed.

Hope this helps... I'm sure wherever you order from, they'll be willing to help you pick the right parts if you contact them by e-mail. I've found that service is a strong point with Fiat people. Must be the "We're all in this together!" type of vibe, lol

[baltobernie]

It's a particularly good idea for a noob to get parts from a Fiat-specific supplier, so you're off to a good start. The choice of vendors often comes down to your location; its nice to have someone in your time zone.

1. Since you're replacing all those front suspension pieces, you might as well get the center link and left tie rod. Depending on their age, the rubber boots will probably tear when you try removing them. Don't swap new left and right control arms, it can be done Presuming your mechanic checked wheel bearing play; if they need adjusting now or later, special left- and right-hand nuts are required. How are thr front and ear shocks? This is where I'd maybe spend a little vs. other "upgrade" items

2. Calipers can be easily rebuilt, and some say you're better off with the ones you have vs. a crap shoot from a rebuilder. I agree that braided hoses and upgraded brakes are overkill for most Spider applications. If your rubber hoses are recent, a soft pedal usually means something else. Don't forget the fifth rubber hose in the back.

3. A lot of these are bent by improper jacking. There are differences between early and late trailing arms; be sure you get the right ones if you're going salvage

4. He probably said, "master cylinder or booster", and if you've got fluid at the joint between the two, the booster may have fluid in it, which quickly ruins it. Check upon M/C removal; you can always get one quickly if you need to; a pricey item to have on your shelf. One more Fiat-specific brake item is the rear compensator, not working in many Spiders. You can Search this topic.

Lastly, now's the time to add oil filters and other routine maintenance items to your order.

Take photos of your repair items to make it easier to remember "what goes where" Bag and label fasteners; many look the same and will fit, but Nyloks must be returned to the donut, etc.

[WYSpider]

Ramzi and Csaba at Auto Ricambi (http://autoricambi.us/) have excellent customer service. Plus the quality of the parts I have received are top notch.

Same is true for Jon at Midwest124.

[So Cal Mark]

whether you buy braided hoses from me or another vendor, I'd suggest you spend the extra money for them. Besides the upgrade in pedal feel, they will outlast the rubber hoses by many years. Those rubber hoses will crack after just a few years use, the braided steel will probably outlast the car. If you price compare, it's only about an extra $40 for the good stuff.

[bobplyler]

I just finished replacing all the control arms in the rear. New ones aren't extremely expensive. When I took the drivers upper link off, the bushing fell out. The link was broken. It rides a bit better now, and doesn't make as many noises.

[jbills]

WOW - thank you all so much, what a killer community and resource. good to know the answers are out there! and so fast!

checking out autoricambi and midwest 124 now and will compare to IAP - thanks for the tips.

I think I will go with the performance parts - even though I don't drive it too hard, I'm carrying the extra weight from the customizations and my daily commute has some hilly terrain. it's probably going to eat brake pads pretty quickly.

will check shocks and existing calipers, see what I can see. master cynlinder too.

thanks a ton!

[jctucker]

Mark is right about the braided steel hoses. They're a great improvement over rubber hoses if you do anything more than take your Spider to the grocery store.

[mdrburchette]

Don't forget to ask the vendors about extra little parts you may have overlooked. All of them are really good at helping you in that way. I was getting parts together to do a timing belt replacement and IAP reminded me I needed a gasket for the coolant tee. It sure made life easier!