gavzz
Free Member
Hi all, never done a forum before but hoping I might get some help with what seems a major problem!
We have recently bought a 93 Hymer B694 with a Ducato 2.5T and have had a string of clutch problems and are now desperate to find the solution before heading off to Europe and hopefully Morocco. This may be a bit lengthy and I apologise in advance but shows why we need help!
A new clutch was fitted before heading to Scotland, after 150 miles it broke down with severe slipping. RAC garage said it had wrong clutch cable and couldn't fix it as they couldn't source a L/H drive cable. I sourced one from Coastal Motorhomes and garage who fitted clutch replaced cable and told me to test the clutch to see if everything was working OK as clutch was new and perhaps didn't need replacing again so soon.
Tested it on a few short day trips then headed off to Scotland again. It broke down AGAIN in Northumberland with same slipping problem. Second RAC garage discovered the clutch had an LUT friction plate fitted with a Galeo pressure plate and guessed this may have been the problem. They fitted a complete LUT clutch kit and gave me a 12 month guarantee.
Thought that was problem solved, however, while we completed our tour of Scotland the clutch still had a tendency to slip in 4th gear at high revs or in 5th gear again at high revs. We encountered several very steep hills (15 and 16%) and I thought it was bound to fail but made it every time with no slip at all, albeit in 1st gear and 5mph! The clutch also seems to burn a bit when setting off in first gear and shudders as it fully engages. It also shudders sometimes when in a higher gear and under load going up a hill.
The engine seems to have plenty of pull despite its 150k miles but the clutch seems to be the weak link and has an effect on travelling speed. A hill will bring it to a crawl very quickly with the tendency to slip even though there seems to be a reserve of power, I have to change down into fourth or even third to get up any long slope and speed drops down to 35 or even 30 mph which on a motorway feels positively dangerous!
So my questions to anyone still awake after reading all this are:
Is it possible to get an uprated clutch (bearing in mind the gross weight of around 5 tonnes) and who might be able to do it?
Could it be a flywheel problem?
Should I get a new engine and gearbox fitted as the original garage recommended (he suggested swapping Fiat engine with a Transit 2.4T - is that even possible??? sounds off the wall to me)
Is a Fiat dealer my best option?
Should I cut my losses and sell it?
Any advice gratefully welcomed.
Thanks!
We have recently bought a 93 Hymer B694 with a Ducato 2.5T and have had a string of clutch problems and are now desperate to find the solution before heading off to Europe and hopefully Morocco. This may be a bit lengthy and I apologise in advance but shows why we need help!
A new clutch was fitted before heading to Scotland, after 150 miles it broke down with severe slipping. RAC garage said it had wrong clutch cable and couldn't fix it as they couldn't source a L/H drive cable. I sourced one from Coastal Motorhomes and garage who fitted clutch replaced cable and told me to test the clutch to see if everything was working OK as clutch was new and perhaps didn't need replacing again so soon.
Tested it on a few short day trips then headed off to Scotland again. It broke down AGAIN in Northumberland with same slipping problem. Second RAC garage discovered the clutch had an LUT friction plate fitted with a Galeo pressure plate and guessed this may have been the problem. They fitted a complete LUT clutch kit and gave me a 12 month guarantee.
Thought that was problem solved, however, while we completed our tour of Scotland the clutch still had a tendency to slip in 4th gear at high revs or in 5th gear again at high revs. We encountered several very steep hills (15 and 16%) and I thought it was bound to fail but made it every time with no slip at all, albeit in 1st gear and 5mph! The clutch also seems to burn a bit when setting off in first gear and shudders as it fully engages. It also shudders sometimes when in a higher gear and under load going up a hill.
The engine seems to have plenty of pull despite its 150k miles but the clutch seems to be the weak link and has an effect on travelling speed. A hill will bring it to a crawl very quickly with the tendency to slip even though there seems to be a reserve of power, I have to change down into fourth or even third to get up any long slope and speed drops down to 35 or even 30 mph which on a motorway feels positively dangerous!
So my questions to anyone still awake after reading all this are:
Is it possible to get an uprated clutch (bearing in mind the gross weight of around 5 tonnes) and who might be able to do it?
Could it be a flywheel problem?
Should I get a new engine and gearbox fitted as the original garage recommended (he suggested swapping Fiat engine with a Transit 2.4T - is that even possible??? sounds off the wall to me)
Is a Fiat dealer my best option?
Should I cut my losses and sell it?
Any advice gratefully welcomed.
Thanks!