Steering on Fiat Ducato (11 Viewers)

[hymerman]

As was stated earlier by NF camper ( I think ) , unless the source of the problem has been rectified then it's likely to happen again due to the continued water ingress .

 

[NF camper]

As was stated earlier by NF camper ( I think ) , unless the source of the problem has been rectified then it's likely to happen again due to the continued water ingress .

Correct

 

[jockaneezer]

Juddergate, scuttlegate, steeringate.....?

 

[Guigsy]

As was stated earlier by NF camper ( I think ) , unless the source of the problem has been rectified then it's likely to happen again due to the continued water ingress .

The early x250 Ducatos had an issue with the throttle body. It was orientated so water collected around the actuator. They had a high failure rate that took Fiat a couple of years and a couple of revisions to rectify. Eventually they changed the design so the actuator housing was facing down, and updated the harness connectors.

It's quite possible that the latest Ducato has a change to the rack to make it easier to integrate with electric versions...

Or it could just be coincidence.

 

[NF camper]

Engineering changes happen all the time. They may have made a change to reduce faults in one area, to make assembly more reliable, or to change supplier because they weren't getting enough deliveries. Or sometimes the change is from a supplied part and Fiat won't know anything about it. And obviously, occasionally these changes don't work, or they create a different problem.

I appreciate that engineering changes happen but surely any manufacturer would model the impact of any change. With all the predictive analytics tools and design software available to manufacturing design engineers this should not be an issue in todays world. It would be crazy if a design alteration was released without any understanding of potential impact in other areas.

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[growly_bear]

Juddergate, scuttlegate, steeringate.....?

And don't forget airbaggate!

 

[jockaneezer]

I appreciate that engineering changes happen but surely any manufacturer would model the impact of any change. With all the predictive analytics tools and design software available to manufacturing design engineers this should not be an issue in todays world. It would be crazy if a design alteration was released without any understanding of potential impact in other areas.

I just watched one of Jimmy O'Reily's videos on a dpf problem yesterday with a new Vauxhall Vivaro (Renault Traffic/Nissan Primastar) van. He was astounded by how much worse the access was to anything on the engine now (glow plugs, sensors etc) compared to the older models.
Dealership mechanics should have more input during the design stage or the designers should be made to do a tour of duty in a workshop every couple of years ?

 

[SpeedyDux]

I get the impression that whenever there is a bottleneck in the supply chain, vehicle manufacturers will resist an official safety Recall.

They seem to prioritise the available new parts concerned to new vehicle assembly at the factory, hence the long delays, even several months, in getting these new parts for warranty repairs. It could be why they resist having to provide more widespread Recall replacements, that would impact the production lines due to shortage of these parts.

This might also be an inherent consequence of "just-in-time" manufacturing and related unwillingness to have significant stocks of spare parts.

I think the law should be changed so that manufacturers are forced to provide a "loan" equivalent vehicle for free until the repair is completed.

 

[Guigsy]

I appreciate that engineering changes happen but surely any manufacturer would model the impact of any change. With all the predictive analytics tools and design software available to manufacturing design engineers this should not be an issue in todays world. It would be crazy if a design alteration was released without any understanding of potential impact in other areas.

They use tons of tools and analysis. And do lots of testing. But the real world is still way more complex.

An issue I've witnessed was a piece of pre-bent flexible pipework that hadn't changed for years started to see failures. Delivered by a supplier. Turns out their mandrills had got a little worn and the pipework was a couple of mm longer and the bends not quite as tight. But still within the spec. Over a long horizontal span, and a few thousand miles for the car to relax everything, it was enough for the pipe to sag and start chaffing on a bracket. Reality is hard!

 

[the1andonly]

I appreciate that engineering changes happen but surely any manufacturer would model the impact of any change. With all the predictive analytics tools and design software available to manufacturing design engineers this should not be an issue in todays world. It would be crazy if a design alteration was released without any understanding of potential impact in other areas.

PFMEA Process Failure Effect Analysis
Been done/ ignored for years. The most famous example is the space shuttle Challenger where Orings failed due to temperature of lift off. Morton Thiokol (engineers said not been tested at such low temperatures ) no lift off NASA HE SAY you will say yes.
My last week at work having been made redundant was rushing a few through before a Govmt safety inspection (make the only engineer trained and half experienced redundant no, or even ask someone to do something so important in last week at work).

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[kingmid]

‘They seem to prioritise the available new parts concerned to new vehicle assembly at the factory, hence the long delays, even several months, in getting these new parts for warranty repairs.’


That’s pretty much what we were told by the dealer. Having had the conversation several times with Fiat Customer Services about why parts used for the production line were not available it seems there are two ordering ‘systems’ for components, one for the production line and one for warranty work. The production line always gets preference- after all they’ve already got our money.