Central Scuttle Drain Blocked

[DavyS]

On my Ducato/Boxer X290 the central scuttle drain has blocked by where it enters the wheel arch. There is a plastic wheel arch liner that covers the outlet and so it becomes easily blocked by leaves. The liner prevents prevents me rodding through.

I have tried hosing through but water goes everywhere except down the drain.

Has anyone successfully cleared the drain?

[Ninian]

Hi, On my X250 I had to clear it, it involved removing the plastic liner and rodding from the wheel arch end. The drain blocks because it passes through the metal work at right angles. Straight forward enough just a few screws and from memory a 10mm plastic nut at the apex of the wheel arch.Should only take about 45mins.

[witzend]

I use my Vacume Cleaner with a piece of garden hose taped to the end

[Deneb]

I rolled some small pieces of plastic mesh into cylinders the same diameter as the drain holes in the scuttle, and pinched and tied one end of each together with a cable tie. Inserted in the drain holes, they prevent leaves and other debris from falling or washing into the drain tubes, and can be easily removed to rinse clean and replace periodically. They can't disappear down the drain tubes, as the drain holes are stepped where they narrow an inch or so below the scuttle to form the spigots that the drainage tubes running to the wheelarches fit over. Once a year, I also push electricans tie-tape carefully down each of the drain tubes to ensure they are clear.

[DavyS]

Vacuum from which end - the scuttle of the wheel arch.

I imagine you poke a metre long piece of garden hose down the drain tube and then connect the vacuum cleaner to it?

[DavyS]

My X290 has a box about half way down the central scuttle drainage tube. The box is empty but looks as if it should contain a filter to prevent debris going down further?

[DavyS]

witzend - 2021-10-20 9:27 PM

 

I use my Vacume Cleaner with a piece of garden hose taped to the end

Vacuum from which end - the scuttle of the wheel arch.

I imagine you poke a metre long piece of garden hose down the drain tube and then connect the vacuum cleaner to it?

[DavyS]

Deneb - 2021-10-20 10:42 PM

 

I rolled some small pieces of plastic mesh into cylinders the same diameter as the drain holes in the scuttle, and pinched and tied one end of each together with a cable tie. Inserted in the drain holes, they prevent leaves and other debris from falling or washing into the drain tubes, and can be easily removed to rinse clean and replace periodically. They can't disappear down the drain tubes, as the drain holes are stepped where they narrow an inch or so below the scuttle to form the spigots that the drainage tubes running to the wheelarches fit over. Once a year, I also push electricans tie-tape carefully down each of the drain tubes to ensure they are clear.

My X290 has a box about half way down the central scuttle drainage tube. The box is empty but looks as if it should contain a filter to prevent debris going down further?

[witzend]

DavyS - 2021-10-21 6:27 PM

Vacuum from which end - the scuttle of the wheel arch.

I imagine you poke a metre long piece of garden hose down the drain tube and then connect the vacuum cleaner to it?

 

No connect hose then with vacuum running put it down thru removing it often Poking the hose down I should imagine would just compact the blockage making it impossible for removal

[Deneb]

DavyS - 2021-10-21 6:28 PM

 

My X290 has a box about half way down the central scuttle drainage tube. The box is empty but looks as if it should contain a filter to prevent debris going down further?

 

From memory isn't that just a rectangular section of the moulding where the two pieces of tubing slot together, to prevent them twisting and retain their shape and rigidity?

 

If there was a filter inside, it would soon become completely blocked!

[DavyS]

Deneb - 2021-10-21 9:26 PM

 

DavyS - 2021-10-21 6:28 PM

 

My X290 has a box about half way down the central scuttle drainage tube. The box is empty but looks as if it should contain a filter to prevent debris going down further?

From memory isn't that just a rectangular section of the moulding where the two pieces of tubing slot together, to prevent them twisting and retain their shape and rigidity?

Interesting theory, the drains at the ends of the scuttle seem to twist without the need for boxes.

 

If there was a filter inside, it would soon become completely blocked!

Less so than the right-angled bend at the wheel arch. The box is easily opened to clear a filter

[DavyS]

Ninian - 2021-10-20 4:53 PM

 

Hi, On my X250 I had to clear it, it involved removing the plastic liner and rodding from the wheel arch end. The drain blocks because it passes through the metal work at right angles. Straight forward enough just a few screws and from memory a 10mm plastic nut at the apex of the wheel arch.Should only take about 45mins.

Ninian, so I decided that your solution was the only one guaranteed to work. I removed the plastic nut at the apex and one screw at the front lower edge of the shield, and two screws holding the liner to the wheel arch rim.

But it doesnt move. Is there any trick to releasing it?

[Ninian]

Hi, There is also screws on the plastic shield near the engine, you will have to lie on your back and you will see them. From memory there is two, and I think three round the wheel arch as well as the plastic nut.

 

Once you've done it once it's a doddle for next time.

[Derek Uzzell]

Just for the record, the CENTRAL scuttle drain hose differs for left-hand-drive X290 vehicles and should be much less clog-prone.

 

The 1st attached photo (of a right-hand drive model) shows the central drain hose (arrowed in green) heading off towards the vehicle’s right-hand side. However, on LHD X290s the central drain hose (arrowed in red on 2nd attached photo) goes slightly to the left and then backwards, with it’s open end draining to the rear of the vehicle’s gearbox. As there are no sharp bends in that hose the chances of it blocking are small and - even if it did block - ‘rodding’ the hose would be easy.

 

I’m guessing that the left and right scuttle drain hoses are the same for RHD and LHD X290s. Certainly, on my LHD Ducato X290, both drain behind their respective front wheel-arch plastic liners.

[DavyS]

I tried to remove the wheel arch liner, but after removing all the visible screws I could still not budge it. If I were younger so could squirm around underneath or had the van over a pit then I would probably have succeeded.

So I have had to book it in to my local one-man garage to have the liner removed.

[DavyS]

Derek , thanks for the photos.

Any idea what the purpose of the rubber box is half way down the hose?

[Tracker]

Very often these things can be cleared by jiggling about with a length of plastic covered flexible curtain wire?

[Deneb]

Tracker - 2021-11-05 1:05 PM

 

Very often these things can be cleared by jiggling about with a length of plastic covered flexible curtain wire?

 

Or as I said earlier in the thread, by careful use of electricians tie tape pushed through the drain tubes.

 

And fit some filter covers for the scuttle drain holes as I also suggested. I can't understand why people are still concentrating on clearing blockages rather than preventing them in the first place. As I said, the filters can't slip down the tubes if they are the same diameter as the holes in the scuttle, because the diameter of the drains narrows a few centimetres below the scuttle surface, where the mouldings narrow to form a spigot for the drainage tubes to attach onto.

 

It just seems a lot easier to me, but perhaps people enjoy removing wheelarch liners etc. instead! The filters are push-fit and I remove them a couple of times a year or if obviously blocked by debris, to flush them out in a bucket of water and rod the drainage tubes with tie-tape as a precautionary measure. Not that they have ever blocked since I fitted the filters.

[Derek Uzzell]

DavyS - 2021-11-05 12:52 PM

 

Derek , thanks for the photos.

Any idea what the purpose of the rubber box is half way down the hose?

 

Can't help - my LHD Ducato does not have that box.

 

[Deneb]

Derek Uzzell - 2021-11-05 1:42 PM

 

DavyS - 2021-11-05 12:52 PM

 

Derek , thanks for the photos.

Any idea what the purpose of the rubber box is half way down the hose?

 

Can't help - my LHD Ducato does not have that box.

 

Having just looked at my van, I am still of the opinion that it provides torsional rigidity to the two sections of tubing, particularly the longer section between that joint and the wheelarch, which would otherwise probably need an additional mounting somewhere down behind the engine to keep it correctly oriented. The actual "box" consists of a rigid plastic joining piece over which the two ends of the much thinner plastic pipe are fitted. By making it any shape other than round, it prevents turning or twisting of the joint or the pipe relative to one another.

 

A similar section is unlikely to be required on the LHD van, because the pipe will be much shorter, a single piece moulding, and presumably secured to the body or another suitable point somewhere along its length.

[Brian Kirby]

I have an alternative solution for leaves.

 

I've concocted a leaf guard from nylon (or similar) mesh (the sort of stuff that ventilation panels in tents are made from). It extends high enough up the windscreen to cover the wipers, and across the full width of both windscreen and bonnet. It extends forward of the windscreen to cover the whole of the scuttle and the horizontal air intake grille at the rear of the bonnet. To this I fitted 4 plastic eyelets (two per side). To the eyelets I attach 4 bungee cords using plastic bungee hooks - two per cord. The upper two bungees loop round the n/s and o/s rear view mirror arms, and the lower two hook onto the edges of the n/s and o/s front wheel arches.

 

The tension in the bungees is sufficient to keep the mesh taut against both screen and bonnet. As the material is mesh it is largely unaffected by wind, so doesn't endlessly "fidget".

 

This keeps the whole scuttle, its drain tubes, the windscreen wipers, and the horizontal bonnet air intake grille, all free from those windborne leaves, bits of twig, seeds, and blown blossoms, etc. etc. that just "fall from the sky". It is remarkably effective.

[DavyS]

OK, here's another solution. Once a month put a naked garden hose down the drain holes and flush through. Works a treat; if you remember to do it that is.

[Deneb]

Brian Kirby - 2021-11-05 3:06 PM

 

I have an alternative solution for leaves.

Brian, I do something similar when the van is parked up at home for any length of time, just to save having to clear out the scuttle channels before driving. But the drain hole filters I made up stay in all the time, when driving, parked on sites or otherwise, under trees, etc. So the two approaches complement each other IMO.

[slowdriver]

Any chance of a photo Brian?

 

[DavyS]

From the OP;

I tried to remove the wheel arch liner, but after removing all the visible screws I could still not budge it. If I were younger so could squirm around underneath or had the van over a pit then I would probably have succeeded.

So I have had to book it in to my local one-man garage to have the liner removed.

 

So my local garage chap jacked the wheel up and removed it. Was then able to remove all the screws and wrestle the liner off. Then put an airline down the hose which blew out the blockage; followed by a watering can of water. Then it all back of course. Cost £40.