Vito questions

[olley]

Son in law has bought a basic self convert motorhome 2011 Merc Vito, 73,000 on the clock.
Anything he should look out for?

 

[Jo662]

Only thing I know are the sealed universal joints on the prop shaft are prone to go.

 

[fishplug]

They're pretty robust.

Mine needed a bit of attention on the sliding door slider as it hadn't been looked after as well as it could have but beyond regular servicing the only other thing to look out for is the injectors.

These seal using a small copper washer at the bottom and once that seal goes you'll start to get the most unpleasant gunk creep up the side of the injector and onto the engine. Rather dramatically called 'the black death'. It's entirely fixable but cleaning the gunk off is a very time consuming and unpleasant job.

I would advocate some preventative maintenance. Run the engine to temperature, remove the injectors (noting which one went in which hole), give them a good clean and replace the copper washer. Get OEM Mercedes washers. They're only a few pence more than the aftermarket ones but are the correct thickness which the aftermarket ones aren't. Ask me how I know... You'll also want a small torque wrench as these are easy to damage and expensive to replace.

Top tip, stick a small drop of grease on the washers to help stick them to the injector as you lower it back in. The grease will burn off when you run the engine. Also, be vary careful not to drop any debris into the opening once you've removed the injector.

Or pay a garage to do it!