Ducato X250 3.0 Litre Dual mass flywheel, a cautionary tale.

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petetxchurch

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We have a 2009 Autotrail Cheyenne 635 SE 3.0JTD bought in July 2014 with 9000 miles on the clock. At 12,700 miles clutch started slipping. New clutch, new dual mass flywheel (DMF) etc. At 32,000 miles in Austria, clutch failed; new clutch new DMF etc. At 54,000 miles, just about to board ferry, clutch started to drag. Aborted trip, into garage for suspected slave cylinder failure, found to be another DMF failure. The clutch itself was hardly worn, but the DMF had completely collapsed. The Ducato 3.0 is relatively rare, most are 2.3, and I believe only the 3.0 has a DMF.
We love the van, it is everything we want from a motorhome; lovely end bathroom, big fridge, overhead bed for the snorer to sleep in, good quality of fittings, but oh dear what a disaster the Fiat engine is!
I'm a retired professional mechanical engineer, I trained with Ford back in the 60's, I know how to look after clutches, gearboxes and engines but this DMF is clearly not up to the job of a constant, near to 3.5 tonne load, especially if it does the odd trip up Alpine mountain passes etc.
I believe Borg and Beck have designed a solid flywheel conversion, unfortunately our repairer could not get one or even get a delivery date on one so we have gone for another DMF.
I would say to anyone who suffers the same fate to persevere and try to get a solid flywheel, I'm expecting another failure in the the next 30K or so. From what I have read on the Interweb that is about right for this setup!!
 
Our 2009 3.0JTD 5ton Tag gearbox failed at around 40k we replaced the complete clutch and DMF as we we had the gearbox out. The old clutch show very little wear and the DMF was well within manufactures limits. but was replaced for peace of mind.
 
petetxchurch said:
The Ducato 3.0 is relatively rare, most are 2.3, and I believe only the 3.0 has a DMF.
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I think the 2.3 130hp & 180hp have a DMF also all with Comformatic box have them.

Have you had the clutch fluid changed regularly?
Although it has a common master cylinder with the brakes most garages don't do it when the change the brake fluid.
I don't know if it's critical like it is with Comformatic where the fluid goes thick and the clutch does not pull in fully which in turn damages the DMF.
 
I recently changed my dmf and clutch to a solid flywheel borg and beck unit on my 2008 3.0 Ducato pvc with around 77k on it and basically got slated on here that fiat knew what they were doing and that I shouldn't fit a solid flywheel conversion and replace with genuine fiat parts.

Well, I've fitted enough solid flywheel conversions to know what I prefer and apart from a slight vibration at around 1800 rpm, I'm more than happy to use it
 
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I don't know why you got slated,I would say the opposite re Fiat, they didn't know what they were doing with the reverse judder problem (widely reported) and I read a report about a large fleet of Fiat based minibuses that were constantly getting clutch and flywheel issues at very low mileages. Where did you buy your solid flywheel kit?

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petetxchurch said:
I don't know why you got slated,I would say the opposite re Fiat, they didn't know what they were doing with the reverse judder problem (widely reported) and I read a report about a large fleet of Fiat based minibuses that were constantly getting clutch and flywheel issues at very low mileages. Where did you buy your solid flywheel kit?
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Got it off ebay for around £440 last year, as none of my local factors could get anywhere near on price, but I've since seen them as little as £330 on ebay, then even received a best a best offer of £300!
 
Thank you for that, it is most helpful!
 
When you fitted DMF and clutch did you use the clamp that winds the pressure plate in before bolting up ...if not the clutch can slip later on ?

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The new clutch pressure plate I fitted had a retainer which was removed once it was mounted on the flywheel and the aligning shaft was in place.
 
Bobby-gg said:
Got it off ebay for around £440 last year, as none of my local factors could get anywhere near on price, but I've since seen them as little as £330 on ebay, then even received a best a best offer of £300!
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Good info. Do you know if this flywheel is good for 2004 2.8 jtd Peugeot Boxer.
Thanks
 
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If the clutch release bearing is in a plastic casing be sure NOT to grease the shaft because it will throw grease up into the clutch cover and flywheel causing slippage. I have just fitted a third clutch to a Daily 3.00 that also had a DMF , the « technician « insisted it should be Greased. LUK the manufacturers sent me down guidance notes for fitting which I gave the Tech. Or not to Tech !!
However, so far so good, !
 
Bobby-gg said:
I recently changed my dmf and clutch to a solid flywheel borg and beck unit on my 2008 3.0 Ducato pvc with around 77k on it and basically got slated on here that fiat knew what they were doing and that I shouldn't fit a solid flywheel conversion and replace with genuine fiat parts.

Well, I've fitted enough solid flywheel conversions to know what I prefer and apart from a slight vibration at around 1800 rpm, I'm more than happy to use it
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Do you know if the clutch/flywheel is Fiat or Iveco?

The 3.0 engine is Iveco but AFAIK in an Iveco van, the engine is in-line RWD so maybe Fiat add the transverse Gearbox or do Iveco supply the whole drive train to The Sevel factory?
 
Hi please ring David he has just put new clutch in my tag axle Motorhome fiat ducato
 

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