Rob and Val
Free Member
- Oct 17, 2010
- 1,906
- 2,677
- Funster No
- 14,142
- MH
- Talbot Compass Calypso
- Exp
- Since July 2010
We bought a 1994 Compass Calypso 2.5 diesel motorhome in July this year. It seemed to be in good condition but we soon found that there was a ‘rubbing’ noise when the MH was turning right.
Our local garage diagnosed this as a missing engine mounting – metal was touching metal. We had a new mounting bush fitted but this caused the most dreadful vibration when the engine was idling and in low gear. We complained about this and so the mechanic shaved some of the rubber off the mounting. This did not cure the problem.
Then the mechanic told us that he had discovered that a bush from a Ford Mondeo diesel would be a better fit, so back went the MH to the garage. Still vibrating but better than before. So, rubber was taken off this bush and also off the rubber buffers inside the engine mounting. At last we had got the vibration down to an acceptable level - but still not perfect.
We went away for four days last week and on one occasion parked head first in a car parking space in a car park. It was on quite a steep slope with a hedge in front. When I tried to reverse out I could not engage reverse gear. After many attempts we eventually called the breakdown service. The breakdown mechanic said there did not appear to be anything wrong with the gear linkage and suspected that the problem was in the gearbox. We were amazed when he pushed our 3.2 ton MH backwards (uphill!) until it was on level ground. We were given the option of driving home (about 180 miles) with no reverse gear or being towed to a garage.
Trying out the forward gears while the MH was stationary it seemed that 5th gear was not available so the mechanic suggested that we drove around the block and then return to him. We did this and all forward gears were working just fine and, hey presto, so was reverse gear!
Our question (gleaned from Internet searches), before we return the MH to the local garage yet again, is "Was it the engine moving on its mountings whilst it was parked on an incline that caused the problem with selecting reverse gear?" If so, what can be done to prevent this happening again – other than always parking on the level!
Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.
Our local garage diagnosed this as a missing engine mounting – metal was touching metal. We had a new mounting bush fitted but this caused the most dreadful vibration when the engine was idling and in low gear. We complained about this and so the mechanic shaved some of the rubber off the mounting. This did not cure the problem.
Then the mechanic told us that he had discovered that a bush from a Ford Mondeo diesel would be a better fit, so back went the MH to the garage. Still vibrating but better than before. So, rubber was taken off this bush and also off the rubber buffers inside the engine mounting. At last we had got the vibration down to an acceptable level - but still not perfect.
We went away for four days last week and on one occasion parked head first in a car parking space in a car park. It was on quite a steep slope with a hedge in front. When I tried to reverse out I could not engage reverse gear. After many attempts we eventually called the breakdown service. The breakdown mechanic said there did not appear to be anything wrong with the gear linkage and suspected that the problem was in the gearbox. We were amazed when he pushed our 3.2 ton MH backwards (uphill!) until it was on level ground. We were given the option of driving home (about 180 miles) with no reverse gear or being towed to a garage.
Trying out the forward gears while the MH was stationary it seemed that 5th gear was not available so the mechanic suggested that we drove around the block and then return to him. We did this and all forward gears were working just fine and, hey presto, so was reverse gear!
Our question (gleaned from Internet searches), before we return the MH to the local garage yet again, is "Was it the engine moving on its mountings whilst it was parked on an incline that caused the problem with selecting reverse gear?" If so, what can be done to prevent this happening again – other than always parking on the level!
Any thoughts would be very much appreciated.