One of my regulars purchased a van for work, and was pleased with the condition of the 2012 Fiat Fiorino, which had covered just over 90,000 miles. The engine was nice and quiet, and did not have the timing chain rattle problems, which are often associated with this engine.

A couple of weeks down the line, he came into me because when the van was loaded, it seemed reluctant to climb up hills. He wasn’t expecting the 1248cc engine to be a powerhouse, but he did think it should have a bit more oomph than it did and be at least as good as his old one was.

After a short test drive, I decided I needed to check things out a little closer and set about checking the valve timing. Sure enough, the timing was out a little. I suspected that not long before he had purchased the van, a new timing chain had been fitted. It had either not been set up correctly, or the crankshaft pulley hadn’t been tightened to the correct torque.

The lower sprocket on this engine is freewheeling and does not have a woodruff key to locate it. It is crucial that not only is the timing set correctly, but also that the crankshaft pulley is fully torqued up to the correct setting. (47 - 52 Nm + 75 °) It’s also worth noting that the crankshaft pulley bolt has a left hand thread.

With the shadow over the quality of the previous chain replacement, the new owner requested that I ensured everything was ok by fitting a new timing chain kit.

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