Engine mountings & Stuck in reverse gear (1 Viewer)

[Rob and Val]

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.

 

[pappajohn]

even if the engine did move slightly it wouldnt affect the gear change as its cable operated.

sounds more like a gearbox/clutch/differential problem which would also account for the vibration.

 

[haganap]

sorry I cant answer your question but Im sure some will soon. But just wanted to say Welcome to the Fun. I know these problems are a pain in the preverbial as your never sure its sorted until you are in the same position again. As for the mechanic, must of had his porridge

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[breeks]

grouse

drink one bottle of grouse with a smidgen of water probs gone.

 

[dave newell]

The reverse gear problem was known to happen on Talbot Express/Fiat Ducato vans, my own did it once. I thought the Calypso was on the T4 VW though and as PJ said that has a cable change (I think) so it shouldn't happen. I'm more concerned about the vibration and how it was cured, using engine mountings form a different manufacturer and shaving rubber off them does not sound like a normal cure to me.

D.

 

[Rob and Val]

Hi, All

Thanks for your thoughts. Had forgotten to mention that the Calypso is on a Talbot Express base which has, I think, a Peugeot engine.

Our local mechanic did his best as he couldn't get hold of the proper part. It seems that we have bought a MH that no longer has parts available - it's 16 years old and £8,000 was all that we could afford. Beginning to wonder now if we have made a huge mistake ..............

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[goffer]

gearbox trouble

you need to contact delfin designs on 01258 857474 what derek does not know you can write on a stamp.he is in Dorset, dont know where you are, but its worth giving him a ring and ask him, he sorted out my gear box problem when it was stuck in reverse, and the AA man hit it with an hammer, causing more damage.

Tony :thumb:

 

[Jaws]

If this vibration is only at tick over two things spring to mind. both sound a bit daft but.......

1) The engine is not firing on all 4 pots at tickover

2) The tickover is actually set way too low

Seen both so many times over the years, and the misfire at tickover I have seen missed by the most experienced of mechanics ( I suspect it is a case of too damned obvious to be possible sort of thing )

 

[hilldweller]

Thanks for your thoughts. Had forgotten to mention that the Calypso is on a Talbot Express base which has, I think, a Peugeot engine..

Now that rings a bell. Next door neighbour has this. If he parks on an odd incline he can't get reverse. After much time with a good local garage it was declared "a design feature".

It was ages ago when he told me so exact details vague now but he's run it every since with no problems.

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[Terry]

Hi, this may or may not have anything to do with your reverse problem.My old LDV had the pug engine in it and I remember telling the mechanic about vibration,who told me that they had had a memo about removing a big do-nut looking thing off the back of the gearbox as part of the service --after removing this it cured the vibration :thumb: Bear in mind the LDV was rear wheel drive your Talbot will be FWD but it may be worth more investigation terry

 

[Wildman]

broken engine mounts, clutch failure, reversgear problems all caused by the same thing, crap SEVEL engineering and down to reverse judder. Take it to the main agent and get a recall number. Get the job done by someone who knows what they are doing, fitting non standard parts will invalidate ANY warrenty.

 

[Terry]

Roger this is on an old 94 - it pre-dates the 2006 / 7 problem by a good 12 yrs :Wink unless they were just testing the way forward
terry

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[thehutchies]

Hi, All

Thanks for your thoughts. Had forgotten to mention that the Calypso is on a Talbot Express base which has, I think, a Peugeot engine.

Our local mechanic did his best as he couldn't get hold of the proper part. It seems that we have bought a MH that no longer has parts available - it's 16 years old and £8,000 was all that we could afford. Beginning to wonder now if we have made a huge mistake ..............

As mentioned earlier, it's a common problem on the Talbot Express.
Worn engine mountings are the usual cause.
All mountings (and all other spares) are freely available at any decent motor factors or eBay.

Here's an engine mounting, for example:

Link Removed

That's just the first one I saw, by the way, not a recommendation. Looks overpriced.
I think I paid £35 for one recently.

I could give you the part numbers later, if you want them.

 

[Rob and Val]

Thanks, everyone for all the advice.
Goffer - Thanks for info. I'd given this number to the mechanic but he told us that he'd rung Delfin several times but couldn't get a reply. Maybe they were on holiday?
Jaws - The vibration is also at low speeds and when the engine is under load but thanks for the thought.
Hilldweller - Re reverse gear: Maybe we'll have to accept that parking on an incline is not an option!
Terry - Thanks, I'll tell our mechanic what you said. It's strange that the vibration only started after we had an engine mount fitted. It was fine without one! - (except for the noise when turning right) - and, together with a new rear doorlock fitted, it cost us £208. Ouch!
The Hutchies - Many thanks for your info. Yes, please, if you could look up the part number we'd be most grateful.

 

[rangi]

you need to contact delfin designs on 01258 857474 what derek does not know you can write on a stamp.he is in Dorset, dont know where you are, but its worth giving him a ring and ask him, he sorted out my gear box problem when it was stuck in reverse, and the AA man hit it with an hammer, causing more damage.

Tony :thumb:

Thats sound advice from Tony! Derek also has the bits to fix your problem, or, in fact, any hard to get part for a Talbot, and! if he thinks the job doesn't need doing, he'll tell you! He saved me about £4- 500 and pointed out other things that that were not done to a satisfactory standard. Enough for me to read an auto person at the local garage his pedigree!

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[thehutchies]

Thanks, everyone for all the advice.
Goffer - Thanks for info. I'd given this number to the mechanic but he told us that he'd rung Delfin several times but couldn't get a reply. Maybe they were on holiday?
Jaws - The vibration is also at low speeds and when the engine is under load but thanks for the thought.
Hilldweller - Re reverse gear: Maybe we'll have to accept that parking on an incline is not an option!
Terry - Thanks, I'll tell our mechanic what you said. It's strange that the vibration only started after we had an engine mount fitted. It was fine without one! - (except for the noise when turning right) - and, together with a new rear doorlock fitted, it cost us £208. Ouch!
The Hutchies - Many thanks for your info. Yes, please, if you could look up the part number we'd be most grateful.

Delfin are renowned for not answering the phone!
They are generally considered good but expensive.

There is also No1Gear: Link Removed

Quinton Hazell also sell the parts. Ask at a local motor factors as you can't buy direct (as far as I know).

It sounds like you had a mechanic who couldn't really be bothered to try. EVERYTHING is available - the Talbot Express, Fiat Ducato, Peugeot J5 and Citroen C25 are all the same vehicle and there are millions still running, so don't be afraid of not finding parts.

 

[dave newell]

As has already been said parts are available at any decent motor factors. The reverse gear issue is easily solved by using (1) the right engine mountings and (2) fitting them properly, this is where Delfin comes in as he knows exactly how to do it.

D.

 

[brodie]

Hi, All

Thanks for your thoughts. Had forgotten to mention that the Calypso is on a Talbot Express base which has, I think, a Peugeot engine.

Our local mechanic did his best as he couldn't get hold of the proper part. It seems that we have bought a MH that no longer has parts available - it's 16 years old and £8,000 was all that we could afford. Beginning to wonder now if we have made a huge mistake ..............

Hi

We have a motorhome on a Peugeot J5 engine 1996 and had some problems with it earlier this year. Don't let it get to you, I know easier said than done.

We needed parts for ours and at first thought no way....but after a bit of searching we got everything we needed and even had offers from some of the members on here to get us parts.:thumb: What we found best was after having 7 in 2 weeks, yes thats right 7 mechanics working on it we got sorted with a friend (who was on holiday when it went caput) who was used to working on older vehicles. Now I am pleased to report it runs like a dream and will do for many many miles to come.

One thing that was a consolation on the way home on a lowloader was that the driver had picked up many a new motorhome where the electrics had failed, that made me feel better knowing it's not just the older vehicles that have problems.

Chin up, once it's sorted that should be it. :thumb:

(ps I would recommend getting the cambelt & tensioner done)

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[Rob and Val]

Many thanks to everyone for their help and advice. You've all been great. So glad we joined this forum.

Looks like we'll have to bite the bullet and take a trip from Lincolnshire, where we live, to Delfin Designs in Dorset, as we need to get these problems sorted because they are driving us both mad and spoiling our enjoyment of the Calypso.

Thank you, Brodie, for your post - it gives us encouragement and hope for the future. By the way, we did have the cambelt and tensioner changed as although the old one had only done 25,000 miles it was nearly six years ago but thanks for the good advice.

 

[rangi]

Once you get it running satifactory, use it! Don't let it "gather moss" it might be "old" but it's yours! Not some HP companys! Work on it, improve it , add bits that will improve your comfort, most of all enjoy using it!!!

 

[goffer]

gear box trouble

Delfin have another number to leave a message its 01202840749

I did not find them expensive, but reasonable and did a good job.

tony

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[Rob and Val]

Thanks, Rangitira & Goffer. We're now booked in with Delfin Designs for 1st November. They think that the reason we couldn't select reverse when parked on an incline is that the weight of the engine caused it to shift on its mounting and move the gear linkage. They said that if we have their gear linkage modification it will be even better than when the Calypso was new.

They are also going to have a look at the suspect engine mounting.

Fingers crossed they will be able to sort out problems. It's a 500 mile round-trip so hope we don't break down again!

 

[Douglas]

even if the engine did move slightly it wouldnt affect the gear change as its cable operated.

sounds more like a gearbox/clutch/differential problem which would also account for the vibration.

I believe the Talbot express IS BY LINKAGE and not cable, its also a known fault with the right hand drive version.

Doug...

 

[rangi]

I've (or should I say we! the Misses is perched over left shoulder!) got the modification to the G/Box linkage, it cuts out the airy fairy wave it around wish you were here Talbot gear selecting problem, I think it's well worth having it, BUT! thats just my (our) opinion, you form your own.

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