47643 Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 hi, my van is with a transmission sprcealist who has found wear in the selector forks. also there is a metallic feel to the oil, more than likely due to the above. is there any known problem or cure, perhaps euroserv could advise tia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 I’ve suitably modified your posting’s title in the hope that Nick Fisher (euroserv) may spot it. I’m aware that your vehicle is a 2015 Ducato X290 panel-van conversion, but I don’t think you’ve said which motor it has and it might also be useful to know what mileage it has covered. (I also note that the gearbox oil was changed quite recently.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
47643 Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 hi, it has a 2.3 engine and has done approx 16000 miles. yes the oil was changed and that is why the gearbox was dismantled thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keithl Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 Hi Lindsay, It might be worth following the same advice I gave in another post recently regarding a Ducato, namely getting in touch with Nick via a PM or email as I'm not sure how often he reads forum postings. I'm sure he'll tell me if there is no need to offer this advice :D Keith. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Hi all, It's true that i am not on here as often as i used to be but here i am today.... This an alarmingly low mileage for a rebuild to be necessary on a 2.3 gearbox and even more strange that it is a comfort-matic because the design of this box and the way that it is operated should make it considerably less likely. I hope that the workshop that you are using know what they are doing because there is a certain amount of re-calibration required and a learning process for the ECU. They should also replace the fluid in the hydraulic system at the same time because this is sometimes problematic and must be easier to bleed when the box is out of the vehicle. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
47643 Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 hi Nick, they are aware that recalibration and learning is required. will ask them to change fluid as well thank you Lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Nick I’m not sure how relevant it will be, but Lindsay (47643) referred to problems with his Ducato’s Comfortmatic transmission in two earlier forum threads. In July 2019 https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Comfortmatic-issue/52527/ hi, had a problem with my 'auto box' .the red light came on and i was unable to change gear. managed to pull up off the road. tried to restart , no chance. phoned breakdown. recovery motor arrived. they had a quick look to see if there was anything they could do. eventually got recovered home. no fiat professional garages in the area could look at it for a few weeks. recovery took van to a local garage .the technician eventually found the vehicle battery was u/s. battery changed ,electronics checked and all is now ok. i got the fluids changed at the same time. the charging circuit is ok. i hope this is it resolved and in September 2019 https://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Comfortmatic-Gears-not-selecting/53074/ hi, mines came on with the red fault light. i was in 5th or 6th gear at the time. could not select any gear. managed to pull off the road. tried to restart ,no chance. tried the reset according to the supplement. still the same.phoned my saga breakdown , who use RAC. told call handler symptom, he said a patrol would attend. i then got a phone call back telling me it would be moved by transporter.like you no joy with the local fiat dealers.got it relayed home. the local fiat dealer could not do anything for 2 weeks. i found an indepedent who could have a look at it. it turned out the main battery was low volts. the battery was changed , and all is now ok, done a 1000 miles since. i got the gearbox oil changed at the same time It would be helpful to know if the earlier Comfortmatic problem involved any dismantling of the transmission. Lindsay’s July and September postings seem to suggest not, and that the fault was overcome simply by replacing the Ducato’s starter-battery. (Presumably the transmission oil was replaced because it had been drained during the diagnostic process?) As I understand Lindsay’s 1st posting above, although in September the original fault appeared to have been cured and the Ducato had been problem-free for a 1000 miles, the gearbox has now needed to be investigated again (by the same garage?) and this time sufficient dismantling has taken place for wear in the selector forks to be recognised. Information on why the Ducato has needed to be looked at again might be useful, as it is peculiar that oil put into the gearbox not long ago is now metallically contaminated. (I assume the correct amount of the correct type of oil was put in the gearbox when the earlier problem was being dealt with.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
47643 Posted December 12, 2019 Author Share Posted December 12, 2019 hi, re gearbox oil. it was checked the first time and garage was not happy with it, but no sign of metallic particles at this time. this is why the gearbox was dismantled this time as particles found in gearbox. Lindsay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 Here’s how I understand the position... A few months ago there was a problem with your Ducato’s Comfortmatic transmission and this was ‘cured’ by replacing the vehicle’s starter-battery. When the garage that investigated that fault checked the gearbox oil (presumably by draining it) they were not happy with the oil’s condition (Why?) but there was no sign in the old oil of metallic contamination. The gearbox oil was replaced and - from your earlier postings - all seemed well. Now a transmission specialist has your gearbox in bits, has found wear in the selector-forks and there is “a metallic feel to the oil” that was put into the gearbox some months back. What has provoked the gearbox needing to be dismantled? If a gearbox-related problem were being investigated and a significant amount of metal particles were found in the oil, the next step would quite likely be to remove and dismantle the gearbox. So presumably there has been another problem since the starter-battery was replaced - is that correct? What does the repairer say about the selector-fork wear and the oil contamination? As they are transmission specialists they may be aware that other DucatoX290 transmissions (not just Comfortmatic ones) have exhibited unusual selector-fork wear at low mileages with consequential oil contamination. There’s nothing I can find on-line that this is a known problem, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t occasionally happen. What is the transmission specialist proposing to do next? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikefitz Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 The selector forks will always wear to an extent, the rebuilder should use experience to decide if replacement is needed. Having the oil analysed to determine the type and percentage of metal would help in deciding the way forward. ( Fiat would do this in the case of a warranty claim). All the internal parts of the box are available from specialist suppliers and of course Fiat, ( perhaps at a higher cost). As far as I am aware the internals are the same as the manual box. Its not unknown for bearings to 'spin' in the casing, this will result in aluminium partials in the oil that I would expect the transmission specialist to recognise. Any ' metallic feel' to the oil is not good news for the gearbox bearings. At such a low mileage there must be a serious problem with the box, perhaps exessive 'float' on one or more of the shafts. I guess that's a task for the gearbox specialist to solve rather than a motor home forum! Both the gearboxes used by Fiat are not easy to rebuild successfully and often not economic to do so. Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted December 13, 2019 Share Posted December 13, 2019 Lindsay’s Ducato is 2015-vintage and has only covered 16000 miles. If Lindsay has not already done so (and particularly if the vehicle’s servicing has been regularly carried out by a Fiat agent) it would be worth him exploring with Fiat whether they would consider contributing to the cost of the gearbox repair on a goodwill basis. As Nick Fisher has said earlier, this type of fault is not to be expected for a Comfortmatic transmission in a low-mileage 2015 Ducato. (Presumably) another large bill is on the horizon - for a timing-belt change - so any financial assistance from Fiat regarding the gearbox fault should be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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