Hymer B544 Corrosion to front subframe mounting

Dave and Ginny

Dave and Ginny

Free Member
Joined
Jan 31, 2013
Posts
1,569
Likes collected
1,583
Location
Nottingham
Funster No
24,505
MH
Hymer Starline 680
Exp
Since 2011, previously a tugger
Well I thought the old girl had gone through the MOT once again with no issues, but it seems that my initial delight was premature!

Not had a chance to look myself yet as getting a bit to dark, but apparently there is some corrosion on or about the front subframe mounting. It's on the MOT certificate as:

'Front subframe mounting prescribed area is corroded but not considered excessive'.

I usually find an advisory becomes a repair needed the following year! Forewarned is forearmed as they say, any Hymer owners out there had anything simialr or any idea what this might entail?

Cheers Dave
 
Is it the sub frame under the radiator with the towing eye on it.

If it is you can replace it yourself. It is just bolted on and not part of the chasis, it I'd held on with 3 bolts either side. I got one from Breaker Yard.com £75 delivered to the door in very good condition, and did it my self.
 
Ed Earl said:
Is it the sub frame under the radiator with the towing eye on it.
Click to expand...

I don't think so Ed, I should have enquired a bit more before coming away :rolleyes: I'll have a look tomorrow in the cold light of day!
 
I'm thinking it has to be the cross member, it's a Fiat chassis, they don't have sub-frames do they?

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I was under the impression that the front cross member was not part of the MOT test ? So might be elsewhere ??

Agree that cross member is an easy fix, I bought a new replacement from ebay for around £75. I gave it a good coat of Hammerite to protect it before fitting.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 68c
You know whats it like being in the reception of the dealer, (it was SMC Motorhomes Newark) people around, phones ringing etc, apparently if,(whatever it is), needs doing, it's about a days work? I dunno, I'll have a look under tomorrow and see if anything shows up.
 
The front cross member is NOT the subframe! The subframe carries the suspension and engine/gearbox assemblies and is bolted to the body from underneath. I'd hazard a guess that there is some surface corrosion around the subframe mounting areas which is not uncommon. Whether it needs repair or not will depend on how bad it is, like as not a wire brush off and coat with new paint and waxoyl will suffice.

My experience of MOTs these days is the majority pass but to cover themselves a lot of tester pick advisories just to demonstrate they're looking closely. A current tester recently told me they are now taught to "pass and advise".

D.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Here you go, I copied this a while ago for my file as I also have a Hymer.

CROSS MEMBER

Firstly one needs to gather all the gear necessary to carry out the operation.
1. Blocks to catch each end of the member
2. 18mm and 17mm sockets with a large socket bar to undo 6 bolts holding the member in place plus the one single bolt holding the plastic cover on the off side, no need to take off the cover, just move it to one side slightly to get at the member bolt.
3. Remove cables from clips on top of the member
4. Fit a support, in my case a 2" wooden pole, across the the 2 wings, with cushion under to allow support for the radiator.
5. I used a 1" strap with ratchet, to cradle the radiator for support, once the member had been removed.
6. Remove the 17mm bolt from the plastic cover on the off side.
7. Remove 2 bolts each side holding the cross member, the remaining 2 loosen down to almost a couple of threads, make sure above the member there are no cables attached, take out final single bolt and lay member on blocks at that end, remove final bolt and remove member out of chassis.
8. You may find that the rubber bushes at the bottom of the radiator may come out with the old member, don't worry they can be installed with new unit. Having removed the old member look how the clips fasten and do a little practicing to ease re cabling when new member has been fitted.
9. Check radiator rubber bushes are in place, smear a little 'shower gel' around holes that takes the bushes to ease fitting and generally check all pipes in that area for wear, in my case I found a rad hose with some wear on the outside, I taped that area to reduce any problems in the future.
10. Slide new member in place and sit one end on blocks, the other end insert one bolt, make sure you have oiled the threads to aid tightening. Insert another bolt at the other end and remove blocks. Insert all bolts and gently tighten making sure rad rubber bushers are in place and no wiring above the member is trapped. Finally tighten up all bolts very tightly and then fit all cables etc into clips above the member. Remove radiator supporting strap. Spin the fan blades by hand to ensure nothing is trapping the movement.

For normal operation to complete its approx 3 hours, in a garage with pit obviously a lot less, say 2 hours.

This is not a difficult job even for the faint hearted as long as you are between 18 and 80 years old.
 
dave newell lvs said:
My experience of MOTs these days is the majority pass but to cover themselves a lot of tester pick advisories just to demonstrate they're looking closely. A current tester recently told me they are now taught to "pass and advise".
Click to expand...
Agreed Dave.

My RV has a standing advisory...."this vehicle is fitted with type approved seatbelts"

Been noted for the last two tests......Bloody pointless and annoying.
 
pappajohn said:
Agreed Dave.

My RV has a standing advisory...."this vehicle is fitted with type approved seatbelts"

Been noted for the last two tests......Bloody pointless and annoying.
Click to expand...


I think such comments might have come from the something that has occurred in the world of old motorcycles and MOT's.

Whilst they have no brakes or often no lights they always passed the MOT without comment or advisories.

The government decided (and thank you very much from someone who owned a couple) that as they never fail the MOT or receive any advisories that they no longer need to be MOT'ed.

I suspect the industry is now insuring that they don't lose any more work. :rolleyes::)
 
davidandginny said:
I usually find an advisory becomes a repair needed the following year!
Click to expand...

This isn't always the case.. the Mondeo has had advisories on lipped rear discs for the past 2 years and I've checked myself, decided they aren't a problem and ignored it. I'm betting they will be advisories again this year too.. they also gave me an advisory last time in being unable to test a seatbelt due to a child car seat.. sounds sensible until you notice the seat in question is actually just a booster cushion..
 
Thanks for all the replies, in particular Dave, and Mike for the detailed cross member replacement should it be needed. I'll get myself out there tomorrow morning and have a good look. If it's not sufficiently bad to result in a failure then maybe it is something that I can tidy up with wire brush, some paint and a waxoil. Cheers all.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Last edited:
If it's a Fiat front crossmember I think they start rusting before they are made!
 
If you don't do it your radiator could slip or get damaged when Ed did ours it looked a lot stronger.
 
mot stations are up against the stats a station that was passing an abnormal number of vehicles would be a target for the mot police so they will be adding advisories and failures to keep there figure right ive been failed and then passed a few times for small things that are put right there and then
 
pappajohn said:
Agreed Dave.

My RV has a standing advisory...."this vehicle is fitted with type approved seatbelts"

Been noted for the last two tests......Bloody pointless and annoying.
Click to expand...


Funnily enough my MX5 sprint and hillclimb car usually gets that one despite it being fitted with four point harnesses.

To all those talking about cross member replacement, I suspect the MOT tester knows the difference between a cross member and a subframe. If you do need to replace the cross member you might as well buy a new one for about £100 as pay £70 odd for a pre loved one.

D.
 
dave newell lvs said:
Funnily enough my MX5 sprint and hillclimb car usually gets that one despite it being fitted with four point harnesses.

To all those talking about cross member replacement, I suspect the MOT tester knows the difference between a cross member and a subframe. If you do need to replace the cross member you might as well buy a new one for about £100 as pay £70 odd for a pre loved one.

D.
Click to expand...

Dave / Daveandginney sorry it was me typing for Ed and I put sub frame instead of cross member which Ed corrected, as the towing eye is usually in these when they start going we thought it best to replace it, though it was not put as a MOT advisory. we have met a few since with the Hymers like ours which have gone.

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
Well I braved the elements and had a look underneath , almost for sure a case of just something to put on the MOT certificate, along with a mention on the service sheet about a 'cracked tray' and a rusty sump!

The corrosion is no more than one of those little rust blisters where sub frame meets chassis, the outside of the sump is... well a bit rusty, and the cracked tray is that glassfibre cover on the RHS front with a little split in it!

All jobs that can wait until it's a bit warmer! (y)
 
davidandginny said:
Thanks, I will soon, but too blooming cold out there at the moment!
Click to expand...

Dave, link to new after market one.
If you do get one I suggest that you degrease it first & sit it in a bath of Hammerite then let it dry. It may not look very pretty but as its not on show it won't matter. Before you fit it give it a soak in Waxoyl, once fitted it should last quie a few years.

Link
Broken Link Removed

Check the Hymer year as there are two different model available!
 
Hi all...again

I've just revived this post as I've been out today to 'try' to remove to replace the front cross member! The bolts holding it are solid and I'm concerned about stripping out the heads of the bolts. Have liberally sprayed up inside the chassis with easing oil and intend leaving to soak overnight. They may need some heat I'm thinking. Anyone else have issues?

Subscribers  do not see these advertisements

 
I gave it all a good oil and used a torque wrench, didn't damage the bolts but certainly made the crossmember 'flex'. Wasn't a problem as it was being replaced...

All the threads were well oiled again before fitting the replacement.

Turned out to be an easy job after the initial couple of 'turns'. Good luck with it !
 
Can any body tell me where and what size bolts 2a are and where I can buy the wiring clips (2b) I don't hold much faith in 16 year old plastic staying in tact during removal.
Any other tips gratefully accept
Crossmember.JPG
ed

cheers
 

Join us or log in to post a reply.

To join in you must be a member of MotorhomeFun

Join MotorhomeFun

Join us, it quick and easy!

Join us

Log in

Already a member? Log in here.

Latest journal entries

Back
Top