Ford V Fiat vulnerabilities. What are they (1 Viewer)

[jongood]

I'm surprised that more motorhomes don't suffer transmission and particularly clutch problems. They are usually chassis at their design limits and permanently fully loaded.

Add into that the average motorhomers manoeuvring skills, involving too many revs and slipping the clutch to get into a space large enough for two or the classic - trying to get onto levelling blocks, so often Ive been tempted to video it!

Regarding the original post; IMHO you should be setting out to buy your ideal layout with the features you require, limiting this to one chassis (particularly excluding the leading supplier of mh platforms) will severely deplete your choice.

 

[chaser]

Why is there never a mention of renault in these discussions , I have driven Peugeot fiat trannies but far more like the renault.

 

[Hettie's Crew]

Agree with @Steve N Tracy regarding not holding onto the gearstick. I also make a conscious effort never to ride the clutch. I’ve been told and read several times over the years that holding the gear stick puts pressure on the selectors and resting your foot on the clutch wears the bearing and plates, so I never sit in gear waiting for lights or a gap in traffic.
It makes me cringe if I’m in someone else’s car and they are clutch down in first holding the gear stick in first waiting at lights etc.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[mfw]

I'd steer clear of anything with a dmf they are expensive or get flywheel changed back to ordinary one when doing clutch which is still expensive

 

[Gaston aires]

I agree with Lenny above. The engines are designed for high mileage, not 5 k per annum. We have had Merc, Iveco, and now Fiat engines and never had a problem yet, touch wood.
Phil

 

[Flatlander]

I have a new Fiat, I also have a friend who re-cons gearboxes for a living and there is always a Fiat box or two in his shop for repair- (as fitted to the 2.3L versions). He says the boxes are bad, but its because they suffer water ingress which degrades the oil and the inevitable soon follows. He regularly opens up the boxes to find a rusty mess..... If the oil is good they will probably hold up as well as any. Given the appalling way that water cascades into the Ducato engine bay through the jokey scuttle, (scandalous-but IMHO Fiat know the damage caused will generally appear post guarantee so they say it does not matter) So the perfect storm is there. I am currently testing Gorilla Tape as a seal around the scuttle,(on a 2017 vehicle....) with some success, and will check/change the gearbox oil yearly if I keep the van, which I hope to.

I suspect that Fiat are aware of the problem. If a motorhome that is properly winterised is purchased, its fitted with an upgrade that prevents the water entering the gearbox. At least, mine (2016) is! So really, theres no need to experiment. Just get the upgrade direct from Fiat, or maybe your friendly local motorhome dealer.

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

I'd steer clear of anything with a dmf they are expensive or get flywheel changed back to ordinary one when doing clutch which is still expensive

Only one way to avoid that is don't buy a Motorhome.

 

[Lenny HB]

No point in going on about buying a Merc for RWD, loads of the new ones are on the Merc FWD chassis.

 

[Nasher]

As others have said, Pug Boxer with Ford engine is the best compromise IMHO

As for gearbox woes, I wonder how much of that has to do with the driving techniques taught in the 60s & 70s of using the gears to slow a vehicle?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[Lenny HB]

As for gearbox woes, I wonder how much of that has to do with the driving techniques taught in the 60s & 70s of using the gears to slow a vehicle?

The Comformatic box does that all the time on decents far more worse than any humans attempt.

 

[Jamwitt]

I suspect that Fiat are aware of the problem. If a motorhome that is properly winterised is purchased, its fitted with an upgrade that prevents the water entering the gearbox. At least, mine (2016) is! So really, theres no need to experiment. Just get the upgrade direct from Fiat, or maybe your friendly local motorhome dealer.

What’s the up grade

 

[Boringfrog]

What’s the up grade

https://coastalmotorhomes.co.uk/bod...y-modified-scuttle-drain-tube-1323712080.html

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}

 

[tonyidle]

Agree with @Steve N Tracy regarding not holding onto the gearstick. I also make a conscious effort never to ride the clutch. I’ve been told and read several times over the years that holding the gear stick puts pressure on the selectors and resting your foot on the clutch wears the bearing and plates, so I never sit in gear waiting for lights or a gap in traffic.
It makes me cringe if I’m in someone else’s car and they are clutch down in first holding the gear stick in first waiting at lights etc.

Holding the clutch pedal fully down does no damage. No modern vehicle has clearance for the release bearing - that was a throw-back to the use of graphite release bearings. All robotic manuals (Comfortmatic for example) hold the clutch (which is a conventional type as used with manual gearboxes) disengaged whenever the vehicle is stationary with the engine running. I'm also pretty certain that holding down the clutch and brake pedals, when waiting at traffic lights for example, is taught to new drivers.

 

[Wombles]

https://coastalmotorhomes.co.uk/bod...y-modified-scuttle-drain-tube-1323712080.html

Don't forget discount code here https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/foru...e-for-fiat-citroen-peugeot-parts-more.183754/

 

[bob cottam]

I have a 2017 van conversion x290,fitted with the new single piece scuttle with at least two factory fitted "extra" drain catchpots and drain tubes at various places under the scuttle-( which proves that Fiat know the scuttle leaks like a sieve)- it looks like an array of buckets placed under a leaky roof. The daftest thing is, the afterthought catchpots under the scuttle seem to be redundant in any case, as the water cascades in just about everywhere else, but not where Fiat have put them??? The fresh air intake design allows rain to enter the ducting unhindered (in fact it positively funnels it in), and then traps it in a well, allowing it to drip through into the engine bay over the gearbox area, so much so that I don`t think much of this water actually gets as far as the intended drain point further "downstream" so to say-that's a third seemingly redundant drain.Any that does not drip through sits in the ducting until you open the bonnet at which point it pours out of the ducting onto the engine as the two halves of the duct separate..... to say its bad simply does not describe it. It would be comical if I did not have to look at the corrosion forming all over my new alternator, turbo, wiring and swimming pool around the injectors- even the plastic cover over the injector well has a piece cut out of it where water that gathers on top pools until it overflows over the injectors making it actually worse than useless.....?Maybe the Fiat design engineers should come to live through a British winter to learn how penetrating water is.....does it ever rain in Turin?

^{_{Subscribers  do not see these advertisements}}