Fiat Ducato Windscreen Drainage

[eddieandsue]

The windscreen drain pipe on the drivers side under the bonnet has come away from the hole near the windscreen wipers and there doesn’t seem to be enough play on it to get it back through the hole, any suggestions on what to do? Ive tried the search engine but don't understand about Scuttles! The rubber around the hole has perished so there is no lip to hold pipe in place. We have a Burstner Nexxo T720 2011.

[Fred Duck]

Been there, done that. The Fiat connector and the drainage pipe it connects to are simply rubbish. Firstly, on the drivers side, you can get easier access if you park the wipers so that the one on that side is vertical and then lift off the plastic trim piece above the head light unit. It's fastened with two torx set screws and, once they're removed, the trim will (should!!) lift out of the two locating pegs to its offside edge. I messed about for some time trying various ways of reinstating the drainage connector and pipe on both sides of our van but in the end made my own connector as shown below that's rather more substantial than that provided by Fiat. Fitted with a length of 10mm ID plastic pipe running down to a convenient point under the van they drain perfectly although like all the scuttle drains on these vans, it does require a poke through now and again to keep it clear. I'm fortunate that I have my own equipment and am able to make my own connectors using an engineering plastic (Acetel) and I can give details/dimensions to anyone that wants to do the same.

 

FD

[eddieandsue]

Hi Fred, Im a 71 year old female and have already removed the metal cover to access the drain hole. Could I be cheeky and ask if you could engineer me the necessary bits. I would happily pay for time,parts and postage.

[Fred Duck]

Sorry for not replying earlier. I've only just seen this and your PM.

 

Yes, in principle, I would make you the parts but I suspect the price I'd have to charge you would be more than you'd want to pay. The problem is that whilst I was making these fittings, I wouldn't be making other things that I get paid to make. I've just priced up the materials and they come to £12.40. That includes a 12" length of 16mm Acetel engineering plastic (the minimum quantity I can buy), two M10 brass thin nuts and a couple of O rings. Each fitting takes about 0.5 hours to make from scratch and I charge out at £40/hour. That makes the price of a pair of what appear to be quite simple fittings just over £50/pair. I appreciate that seems unreasonable for something that you would expect to pay very few pounds for in a shop. The difference, of course, is that I'd be making them as one offs from scratch. If you could find them in a shop they would have been churned out en mass in their 1000s and you'd benefit from economies of scale.

 

That they're even needed is what really bugs me. I've never had a vehicle in over 50 years of driving that poured rain water into the engine compartment like our Ducattos. My current Skoda doesn't, my Wife's Fiat Punto doesn't. I've three 90 year old cars whose design dates back to 1921 and they don't indeed they have an arrangement to specifically stop it. I've been able to stop it happening to our current Ducatto. That's involved the side drains shown above, the fitting of a Fiat 'catcher' to the centre of the underbonnet area, and properly sealing the windscreen/scuttle trim cover to the screen. None of that should be necessary. If the rain water doesn't enter in the first place, there's no need for extensive measures to drain it. Rubbish, careless design which is such a shame in a vehicle that is so good to drive in other respects.

 

Sorry. Rant over!!

 

FD

[Derek Uzzell]

It’s always difficult to respond to an enquiry requesting suggestions for DIY solutions to a problem.

 

This 2015 MHFun discussion shows one approach

 

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/x250-scuttle-drain-improvisation.101566/

 

but it’s one I’d be wary of myself as the item in the first photo (a plastic nozzle used with sealant cartridges) can become brittle over time. The idea’s fine, I’d just prefer to use a different material, and that material would depend on what i had available, the exact nature of the problem and my own skills.

[SAlexander]

I had to replace the drain outlets on one of my previous vans and constructed similar flanged fittings. In my case I made them from nylon bolts - drilled down the centre and the head of the bolt cut down to form a thin retaining flange. If I was to do it again I would probably use brass bolts as the soft nylon used in bolts is difficult to bore accurately. Both nylon and brass bolts are readily available on eBay in 12mm and 16mm diameter, although brass ones are pretty expensive.

[witzend]

i bought 2 exactly like those shown for around 4£ from ebay listed for fish tanks

[flicka]

I had a problem with the small drain pipe blocking allowing water to sit in the windscreen scuttle.

I've enlarged the drain hole & fitted 15mm plastic tube attached by a flat faced fitting using Gorilla Glue.

I was unable to route the 15mm tube in the same position as the original small tube, but secured with a tywrap at it's end just below the inner wheelarch level & midway.

It's still in position after 4 years, still secure & no blockages.