more questions

[Mike the oldnut]

Getting nearer folks, so a few more questions from a first timer if I may!
Insurance, Currently all my insurance, house cars etc are with the NFU, they quoted me about £350, with no limitations on the dreaded front windscreen.
Which club to join?
Which recovery service Uk and EU would you recommend? for our cars we have it with the RAC via the NFU, very reasonable but they do not do EU on that scheme.
Warranty, as I will be buying used (2008) and probably private, I would like to buy a warranty for at least say the 1st 12 months, on-line doesn't appear to offer them for anything older than 10 years, any suggestions?

 

[Mike the oldnut]

£1500 per claim might cover a clutch or injector but unfortunately won’t cover a lot of things especially as the insurance company is likely to insist on its choosing the repair garage.

Hi Phil
I think the 3L engine is pretty robust from all the reports, the comfortmatic and dmf appear to be the potential flies in the ointment, the gearbox itself is by the sound of it also very robust as a manual box, but the plc control sounds like a potential problem, although again there are many tens of thousands in ambulances and vans all over the world, it also 'appears' as though most of those issues can be attributed to fairly simple things, i.e. the driver has to understand the box, the clutch adjustment is a potential, and I guess that is probably through under-use as much as anything, all fairly inexpensive once understood.
Perhaps I should just take a chill pill! I wonder what the early signs of dmf problems are, again I guess by what I hear a slight juddering in reverse, we have a diesel Qashqai which has clutch judder when driving off, it can be driven around, the same with a diesel polo we also have, both I think would be fixed with a new clutch, but they are not really a problem you can drive accordingly on take off.

 

[Mike the oldnut]

Yes, both ours from a dealer, even though I know we pay over the odds, us being completely useless with anything other than hanging a picture, it gives us peace of mind.

Check for FSH and don't forget, vans are made robustly to travel much further than cars, although, things can still go wrong however, most expensive part to fix I believe, is the engine, which if its looked after, services etc, you shouldn't hopefully experience any issues

Regarding hab, buy a damp meter, check every part especially where the ceiling joins the wall....ours seemed perfect, no signs of damp, always allowing ventilation etc via opening all cupboards but just found out it's damp and circa £1.5k to repair (not inc in warranty btw) due to seals on the outside having the tiniest crack

Worth investing in a meter....ours was free of damp when we bought it though, this happened more recently

I need to get a hab check before buying Elsie, a damp meter sounds like a good idea as well.

 

[Phill D]

The 3 ltr is a robust motor, and I agree that if it’s been serviced with the correct oils and the like then the comfortmatic is likely the bit to watch out for.
Being 2008 then it’s probably euro 4 so no issues with dpf

 

[Mike the oldnut]

The 3 ltr is a robust motor, and I agree that if it’s been serviced with the correct oils and the like then the comfortmatic is likely the bit to watch out for.
Being 2008 then it’s probably euro 4 so no issues with dpf

DMF is the one Phil, new clutch if bad I guess, DPF can be a pain in the backside, our Polo blocks up occasionally and I have to give it 3000rpm in 4th for two junctions down the M5 then it is fine again.

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[stevewagner]

Hi, I am handy enough myself at fixing 'things' but I would not be able to tackle an engine/gearbox/clutch job, those are my only worries, the rest I have no fears.

They won’t cover the clutch or any engine parts under fair wear and tear

 

[Mike the oldnut]

They won’t cover the clutch or any engine parts under fair wear and tear

What is fair wear and tear, according to who you take advice from the clutch should last 80-100,000 miles, and considering the clutch is not 'person' operated then is not early clutch failure due to malfunction rather than fair ware and tear?? but I take your point, potential peeing contest. How to tell is the question, I guess not something you can measure ??????

 

[Mike the oldnut]

What is fair wear and tear, according to who you take advice from the clutch should last 80-100,000 miles, and considering the clutch is not 'person' operated then is not early clutch failure due to malfunction rather than fair ware and tear?? but I take your point, potential peeing contest. How to tell is the question, I guess not something you can measure ??????

I have been driving for 60 plus years, not a truck driver but 1000 miles a week on average, never ever had a clutch go, and having lived in some extreme weather type places a lot of 'rocking' to 'get out' has had to happen on occasion! so in my mind clutch failure is exactly that, especially dmf with the springs an all, some folk replace with 'normal' clutch if dmf goes.

 

[Phill D]

The dual mass flywheel is expensive I think.
But if it’s low miles and you get the adjustment checked out fairly early on it should be fine for quite a while.
I believe they can get a bit noisy when they get worn.

But if it’s a fair price and the rest of the van is good and the layout and payload suits you, it must be a small risk

 

[Mike the oldnut]

The dual mass flywheel is expensive I think.
But if it’s low miles and you get the adjustment checked out fairly early on it should be fine for quite a while.
I believe they can get a bit noisy when they get worn.

But if it’s a fair price and the rest of the van is good and the layout and payload suits you, it must be a small risk

I wonder if you could check for wear?, I understand that the adjustment issue is one of the problems if the auto adjust fails, again probably due to under use and that could be checked. I have read that judder in reverse is a symptom, if you think about how the dmf works with the springs it is fairly easy to understand how judder can transpire!

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[Phill D]

I wonder if you could check for wear?, I understand that the adjustment issue is one of the problems if the auto adjust fails, again probably due to under use and that could be checked. I have read that judder in reverse is a symptom, if you think about how the dmf works with the springs it is fairly easy to understand how judder can transpire!

I would have thought that a well informed technician could establish if it is seriously worn but I am not sure as I have not had sufficient experience with them.
There was a problem in 2007 to around 2009 with reverse gear juder on most fiat Ducato due to soft engine mountings and the gearing of reverse. Our last motorhome was a 2008 2.3 I know it’s a different engine set up but we had that problem.
Don’t know if the 3ltr had a similar issue.

 

[Mike the oldnut]

I would have thought that a well informed technician could establish if it is seriously worn but I am not sure as I have not had sufficient experience with them.
There was a problem in 2007 to around 2009 with reverse gear juder on most fiat Ducato due to soft engine mountings and the gearing of reverse. Our last motorhome was a 2008 2.3 I know it’s a different engine set up but we had that problem.
Don’t know if the 3ltr had a similar issue.

Did fiat supply a fix?

 

[Phill D]

Did fiat supply a fix?

Yes replaced engine mountings

 

[Mike the oldnut]

Yes replaced engine mountings

Hopefully the 2008 I am looking at will have had them changed, was there a recall?

 

[Phill D]

Hopefully the 2008 I am looking at will have had them changed, was there a recall?

No it relied on the customer complaining to the dealership although it was reasonabley well known fault and fix.

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[JoshnPen]

£1500 per claim might cover a clutch or injector but unfortunately won’t cover a lot of things especially as the insurance company is likely to insist on its choosing the repair garage.

I had an RAC warranty with my car and had a claim for wheel bearings. They were excellent, i just had to go to an RAC approved repairer. I chose the nearest one who was so good, he now continues to service and MOT all vehicles in my household including the van.

Regarding clubs, we're members of both. As relative novices, we preferred to be with others, and have use of their facilities. We now use css and cls as well as the big club sites.

 

[Mike the oldnut]

You are probably aware that any insurance warranty is likely to cover only major components ( engine and transmission), unlikely to cover electrical or much else.

Well funsters, I have probably come up against a bit of a brick wall. I thought to myself, given all the Comfortmatic negatives (where are all the positives?) that I would contact my local motorhome dealers and Professional Fiat agents to see what they said, well, Chelston are literally 1 mile down the road, went to see them, they nearly laughed at me, we do not work on any vehicle we have not sold! then came the next issue, the folk who are Fiat Professionals in Exeter, 20 miles down the road are not able to deal with tag axles, too long for their ramps, plus much sucking of teeth and advice to walk away, it may be good, but it may be bad, they have currently had the box out twice trying to fix a clutch issue on one, still not fixed it, that will be £8k for a new box sir even if we could do it, which we cannot, rang Huttons Fiat in Weston Super Mare, same story, ramp not long enough, it seems only truck repairers use pits these day, they pointed me to Motus in Gloucester, they can do it, but they would do some of it on the floor, they said an A class box has to come out along with the engine downwards, and offered their advice of 'do not buy a comfortmatic'I mentioned about ambulances having this gearbox as mentioned on here somewhere, they said we look after those, all manuals. £1500 of labour if you were just doing a clutch, say £700 for bits including the flywheel, so £2,200 just to do a clutch, I am aware that others on here have spoken about £1500. I wonder if it is a bit like doing a clutch on a Landrover Discovery, manufacturer says body off, but there are people who can do it without. So how do all the rest of you with tag axles get on with maintenance/ lifts too short etc, seems like another can of worms to add to the gearbox. !!!!

 

[Phill D]

A bit of a dilemma

To state the obvious a couple of risks to assess and a few decisions to make.

Not least even if you have an effective warranty where would the work get done.