ducato problems (1 Viewer)

[bryan steedman]

hi everyone
i have been owned motor homes for 12 yr all have been ducato based
no problems with them until my latest one a ducato based 2016 hobby optima last year had a severe water leak went in for repair to a hobby verified workshop in glasgow 2 month later repair done when i go to pick it up there is damage to the rear panel a large dent grrrr anyway it was repaired.
sorry about the ramble but last christmas freezing weather i went outside to start it up it fired then died tried again nothing it was transported to fiat dealer who said the valve timing had jumped because the vehicle had rolled back in gear and slackened the belt tensioner (if it rolled back it would have knocked my garage down because it is parked about 150mm form it)i have read other owners had the same problem water on the cambelt pulley freezing and the belt jumping a couple of teeth anyway i am now £2084.05p lighter not happy

 

[jollyrodger]

Sorry to here of your problems
Have you legal cover with your insurance?
By the way

 

[MikeD]

Hi and welcome - sorry to hear about the problems.

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[ambulancekidd]

I'd check your vehicle insurance for legal cover, if not then check your household insurance details, you may get a pleasant surprise.
This does sound like a classic case of a company wriggling out of their responsibilities (nothing new there then).

 

[buttons]

Hi and Welcome....​

 

[irnbru]

Hi, Just out of interest was the workshop based in Queenslie? If so I would change my garage in future. Thats a lot of money to have to fork out.

This forums a wealth of information and I'm guessing you might see how a £15 year subscription can help save you many £££s from the knowledge you gain here.

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[bryan steedman]

The garage was am Phillips in Broxburn West Lothian an iveco dealer

 

[dave newell]

On 2.3 engines condensation can accumulate on timing pulleys when vehicles are left standing for long periods in cold weather, then you get a freeze and the condensation turns to ice. Start the engine and the ice build up causes belt to jump a few teeth. It's a known issue on ducatos used infrequently in winter. I don't really see how legal insurance can help.

D.

 

[thebriars]

I'd check your vehicle insurance for legal cover, if not then check your household insurance details, you may get a pleasant surprise.

I very much doubt there will be a pleasant surprise.

I used my house insurance legal cover to recover the money I paid for a new Elddis caravan last year. It was not an easy job and there were many hoops to pass through on the way, although the solicitor appointed was excellent. You need to have a very clear, unambiguous case under the Consumer Rights Act and have everything well documented in order to be able to claim. Fortunately I did but it still took 5 months to get a resolution from the cowboy dealer I bought it from.

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[ambulancekidd]

I very much doubt there will be a pleasant surprise.

Fingers crossed that all goes well for you....Robert.

 

[Lofty1]

Quite well known for water to run down on to the belts then freeze causing the belt to jump you can get a kit to stop this from main dealerships

 

[Kev and Carolyn]

On 2.3 engines condensation can accumulate on timing pulleys when vehicles are left standing for long periods in cold weather, then you get a freeze and the condensation turns to ice. Start the engine and the ice build up causes belt to jump a few teeth. It's a known issue on ducatos used infrequently in winter. I don't really see how legal insurance can help.

D.

Im guessing here Dave but if its a well known issue...Its a problem that fiat have now full stop! Not all vans or trucks are used in the winter months so I wonder if the issue that you mention, is actually a fault with Fiat rather than condensation? I honestly struggle to see that to be honest? I am not trying to cause any ill feeling but common sense says prepare for the worst case possibility and over come. Not park it up and wait til the summer surely?

Sorry Dave but I have worked on some trucks and monster engines that are reliant on being able to back up in the worst of situations. That being in temps less than minus 50 degrees! Some of these engines are just to power fork trucks in and around the premises they are in , basically to keep services from becoming stopped due to the weather . They have to run and do a job. Anything that does not make the grade does not get in . Period! Yes they do have belt driven pulley parts and not all gear driven.

We have had fiat trucks and pick ups doing the job without any issues at all in temps way below the stuff we are on about here. There has never been a failure with belt and timing issues at all to be honest. Biggest issue we had was trying to keep them cool with the Gel type coolant we had to use..That was a real pain I can tell you!
Nowadays the Gel has been improved and in some cases , its totally different now.

Check out the you tube footage of "hammond" from Top gear in a 'fridge' with his little car . That is the normal test for most if not all cars and vehicles nowadays. Personally i get miffed when he comes on! That aside..it does actually show a little of the test procedure for most cars to date.

Kev

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[dave newell]

I can't honestly say I "know" it for fact but it has been quite well documented in the past about condensation freezing in the can pulley and causing the belt to jump teeth due to the tensioner being spring loaded rather than fixed at a set tension point. The 2.3 engine is an Iveco unit, not Fiat per se, the same engine is used in Iveco vans and as far as I'm aware they also can suffer the same problem.

D.

 

[MisterB]

The frost 'suggestion' makes sense. Perhaps if the engine hasnt been turned over for some time then it might make sense to wait until its warmer weather to turn it over or try to preheat the area in some way. I suppose if a vehicle is being used every day then no significant build up of ice would occur?

 

[bob cottam]

Well there`s progress then.... after 100+ years of automotive development- issues like this,-unbelieveable.
I am willing to wager that much of this problem is not so much condensation, but fallout from the (literally) gallons of water that flood into the engine bay, and all over the engine via the windscreen scuttle seal (ha-ha) You know- the water ingress that FIAT say is harmless and "cosmetic" only...….
Well, I stopped it, even if the multi million pound budgets of FIAT obviously are incapable of achieving such basic requirements- Gorilla Tape, yep, and a little clear silicone .Tape along bottom of windscreen over top edge of scuttle, carefully cut at either end, tends to pull off at the curves a bit but a little eleccy tape to assist there , and with wing top edges/end tips of scuttle siliconed, I got water ingress down to one or two drips MAX now. Does it look Cr-p? er, no actually, provided you use the black tape, goes unnoticed......

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[Kev and Carolyn]

Pictures ?? Its a girly thing!

Carolyn

 

[Pausim]

Well there`s progress then.... after 100+ years of automotive development- issues like this,-unbelieveable.
I am willing to wager that much of this problem is not so much condensation, but fallout from the (literally) gallons of water that flood into the engine bay, and all over the engine via the windscreen scuttle seal (ha-ha) You know- the water ingress that FIAT say is harmless and "cosmetic" only...….
Well, I stopped it, even if the multi million pound budgets of FIAT obviously are incapable of achieving such basic requirements- Gorilla Tape, yep, and a little clear silicone .Tape along bottom of windscreen over top edge of scuttle, carefully cut at either end, tends to pull off at the curves a bit but a little eleccy tape to assist there , and with wing top edges/end tips of scuttle siliconed, I got water ingress down to one or two drips MAX now. Does it look Cr-p? er, no actually, provided you use the black tape, goes unnoticed......

Does this ever happen to A class Fiats? If not then it would support the case for blaming Fiat body design and engine bay flooding.

 

[GPW]

I very much doubt there will be a pleasant surprise.

I used my house insurance legal cover to recover the money I paid for a new Elddis caravan last year. It was not an easy job and there were many hoops to pass through on the way, although the solicitor appointed was excellent. You need to have a very clear, unambiguous case under the Consumer Rights Act and have everything well documented in order to be able to claim. Fortunately I did but it still took 5 months to get a resolution from the cowboy dealer I bought it from.

Don't forget to review the dealer in the reviews section!

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[thebriars]

Don't forget to review the dealer in the reviews section!

Already done. https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/reviews/catterick-caravans-leisure-world.101/

Although it did get worse than this. These cowboys sold the caravan on to another dealer who sold it to a customer with none of the repairs done. Whether the second dealer found out it was a reject van or not I don't know. Either way, it shows what happens to such vans, and to the poor suckers who buy them. If it looks too good to be true, then it probably is. By chance I found out. In this case I was happy to work with the new owner who promptly got his money back.

 

[GPW]

Already done.

In the review I note you say "Paying by card took over 2 hours because..."

Sometimes in life these little signs pop up that it's not meant to be and that there's a higher force screaming 'Nooo!!!" in a different dimension! I've had this a few times and without fail each time has been a disaster!

Glad you eventually got it sorted and helped out the next victim!