Fiat Ducato 1.3T (1 Viewer)

[Luke Brown]

Hi everyone,

Hopefully I've placed this in the correct forum. I'm making my first entry into the world of motor homing!

I went to view a Fiat Ducato 1.3T yesterday and loved it. It's done just over 60,000 miles, has a full service history from 1987 to today and a full MOT history. Also it has the original manual which i'm told is rare.

I looked it over but obviously I'm not an expert so hoped to have a few questions answered.

1) What should i be looking for when viewing. Everything seemed to be in good condition and working but may have missed something
2) The guy doesn't think the timing belt has been changed. I've just had over a £1000 bill for a timing belt going on my Qasqai so I'm very aware of the need to change a belt before failure. I've found belts for sale at this link but they seem really cheap. I have someone who can fit so just wanted some advice in respects to the timing belt
3) Finally what is this Ducato like for spares and repairs. Is it going to be hard to source parts, the guy said they were easy to get hold of but obviously he's trying to sell me the motor so wanted any impartial opinions!

I've agreed to go and have a final check of the motorhome Sunday and if my father in law gives it the ok (He's a skilled technician when it comes to motors , then i'm going to buy it for £5000.

Any help would be massively appreciated.

 

[Jim]

Hi Luke, as your first post had links in it it was hidden for a while while it was checked to see it was not spam. Its just gone live now so you should get some response. best of luck

 

[Beacons]

Hi welcome to fun happy and safe travels

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[TheBig1]

1) What should i be looking for when viewing. Everything seemed to be in good condition and working but may have missed something
Rust and damp are the killers
2) The guy doesn't think the timing belt has been changed. I've just had over a £1000 bill for a timing belt going on my Qasqai so I'm very aware of the need to change a belt before failure. I've found belts for sale at this link but they seem really cheap. I have someone who can fit so just wanted some advice in respects to the timing belt
timing belts need changing regularly about every 5 years regardless of mileage. fan belts are not the same as timing belts at all
3) Finally what is this Ducato like for spares and repairs. Is it going to be hard to source parts, the guy said they were easy to get hold of but obviously he's trying to sell me the motor so wanted any impartial opinions!

The early ducato was a good van but parts are now like unicorn poo to find these days

 

[Peter JohnsCross MH]

Dont buy mickey mouse cam belts, always buy the best and genuine for this part

Peter

 

[Luke Brown]

Ok thanks for the responses

So I'm going to find it hard to come by original parts for the van. I had a look around and there's no major rust or damp. The only rust was near the front windscreen wipers but my father in law said that's no problem to fix.
Yeah I did look for timing belts but the only belts I could find were those fan belts but I assumed it wasn't the right part.

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[The Dotties]

At the top of this page is a section titled resources. Click and delve into a world of fantastic information. On all subjects written by experts!

 

[DavidG58]

At the top of this page is a section titled resources. Click and delve into a world of fantastic information. On all subjects written by experts!

I think you need to be full paid up member to view those

 

[The Dotties]

I think you need to be full paid up member to view those

His avatar shows joined today, or are there different levels of membership?

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[irnbru]

I wonder why it had no MOT between 2009 and 2013? Looks like its been off the road and done little over 1000 miles in that period.

 

[TheBig1]

Ok thanks for the responses

So I'm going to find it hard to come by original parts for the van. I had a look around and there's no major rust or damp. The only rust was near the front windscreen wipers but my father in law said that's no problem to fix.
Yeah I did look for timing belts but the only belts I could find were those fan belts but I assumed it wasn't the right part.

very hard as commercial vans of that age cant even be found in scrapyards for parts any more. service items like cam belts and lights etc can be tracked down, but bigger items you will seriously struggle.

if there is rot showing in the scuttle area below the windscreen, that could actually be a much bigger job than it looks....lots of fabricating and welding involved. also check the suspension upper mounts and door steps for hidden rot
Its not cheap to keep an older van in good condition and unless you can handle the mechanics and welding yourself, it will spend a long time being worked on by other people

very rewarding though when you get to use the van as intended

 

[DavidG58]

His avatar shows joined today, or are there different levels of membership?

only 2, the newbie greenies who have not paid subs as yet, then you go blue when a paid member

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[irnbru]

His avatar shows joined today, or are there different levels of membership?

Joined but not subscribed

 

[TheBig1]

reading through the mot history, the previous owner has consistently ignored advisories and warnings about the brake pipes being corroded. be careful that other maintenance has been carried out. but i doubt it has if the cambelt hasnt been changed.
this may turn out to be a money pit for you

 

[irnbru]

Looks like it needs 2 new tyres. I wonder what date is on each of the tyres.

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[Luke Brown]

reading through the mot history, the previous owner has consistently ignored advisories and warnings about the brake pipes being corroded. be careful that other maintenance has been carried out. but i doubt it has if the cambelt hasnt been changed.
this may turn out to be a money pit for you

Yeah I saw that, I had a look and couldn't see corrosion elsewhere. Would the brake pipe be a big job? My father in law can carry out any mechanical work. Obviously I don't want to purchase it if I'm going to constantly be having to fix it though.

 

[Luke Brown]

Looks like it needs 2 new tyres. I wonder what date is on each of the tyres.

He'd replaced both of the tyres when I viewed

 

[irnbru]

He'd replaced both of the tyres when I viewed

You need to check the date on the other 2. Tyres should be no older than 7 yrs. Even if there is good tread the sidewalls can start to bulge, crack and be unsafe, perhaps cause a blow out. Look for 4 numbers the first 2 are the week 2nd two are the year . 4009 ex would read week 40 year 09.

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[Luke Brown]

You need to check the date on the other 2. Tyres should be no older than 7 yrs. Even if there is good tread the sidewalls can start to bulge, crack and be unsafe, perhaps cause a blow out. Look for 4 numbers the first 2 are the week 2nd two are the year . 4009 ex would read week 40 year 09.

Lovely thanks for that good tip. How much would new tyres be roughly so I can take it off the offer price if they need replacing.

 

[TheBig1]

Yeah I saw that, I had a look and couldn't see corrosion elsewhere. Would the brake pipe be a big job? My father in law can carry out any mechanical work. Obviously I don't want to purchase it if I'm going to constantly be having to fix it though.

renewing the brake pipes is fairly straightforward if you have the tools to make new pipes. but it worries me that the previous owner has ignored something so potentially dangerous. then they have presented the van with worn out tyres and other faults that should be obvious. overall it looks like it has been scraped through each mot and all maintenance ignored for year after year

as i said, this may well be an absolute money pit that is going to cost more than its worth to keep on the road safely. better to take the money you are going to have o spend repairing it, and add it to the money you would pay to buy it. then get something a bit newer without needing loads of work. but it is of course your decision and we can only advise from our experience

 

[irnbru]

Depends on make and size but I would ROUGHLY guess around £75-110 each . Firstly you need to spend £15 and subscribe here for the year. You have used all your free posts. As you can already see its great value for money .

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[TheBig1]

Lovely thanks for that good tip. How much would new tyres be roughly so I can take it off the offer price if they need replacing.

about £100 each tyre for the correct ones with the high load rating

 

[gus-lopez]

You will probably have to source many parts abroad. I can get everything here online from a Spanish supplier Link Removed

which also has a French operation. Delivery would be the problem.
Then there is
Link Removed

In Germany but they deliver to the UK.

Also in the UK & very helpful is
Link Removed The owner, Mike Chubb is very helpfu & a mine of info.
Over here isn't a problem for them as many are still in every day use as vans etc; & I can probably find dozens down any scrapyard.
I've never failed to locate parts & only thing I struggled with was rear spring hanger bushes , not made anymore, but Mike Chubb makes his own in polyurethane which are far better.

 

[Mickey1]

Mickey.

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