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Noisy Fiat Ducato Rear doors


htrevor

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Hi

 

Third post on this great forum and getting more confident that any problem I have with my new Fiat Ducato Westfalia conversion might have someone with the same problem and maybe a solution. Yes , noisy rear doors on any road that is not smooth. Is this a problem that I should expect on a van conversion or is it something I should complain about further to the dealer who said that they are just van noises or does anyone have a way of subduing the noise. Not 100% sure it is the rear doors but cannot see what else it might be after strapping everything down and even trying it with everything taken out of the back. Doors feel solid and do not move manually.

Thanks in anticipation.

 

Trevor

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We’ve had six PVC’s over the years and I cannot recall any noise specific to the rear doors. What sort of noise are you referring to? Wind, rattles etc?

Only thing that immediately comes to mind; are both doors fully closed?

Cattwg :-D

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Never noticed any noise from the rear doors. Any unusual noise such as rattles really annoy me and sometimes the only way to locate them is to have somebody sit in the back of the van whilst driving to try and locate it. On one such occasion we found it was the legs on the pull out bed extensions in our rear lounge van. The legs have screw out adjusters for length and they were unscrewing themselves with road vibration and rattling in the legs - an unbelievable amount of noise from such a small thing. I wound them down and secured them with a small strip of duct tape so no problems now. You can only detect this type of thing by getting into the back of the van whilst it is moving.

As another example of how difficult it can be to track down rattles in a vehicle I once had a really annoying buzz in a Volvo V70 and was convinced it was coming from the boot area so my wife sat back there but could not find the source. It was eventually traced to the passenger sun visor not being properly clipped into place. Sound travels in weird ways inside a closed box!!

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I had loads of problems with rattles on my rear doors. It all started after I had my van carpet lined and insulated. The central Catch which hooks the passenger side rear door shut at the bottom had been misaligned. There are two stainless steel vertical catches on the top of the inner rear door frame. One for each door. These had to be readjusted too. If these are not positioned proberly the doors will rattle against each other. My bottom catch just needed to be brought in a mm or two in order to shut the door more snugly. Get someone to drive your van and with you in the back pull the rear doors towards you and see if they rattle any less. They may need adjusting the other way do try pushing them too. The rubber seals on the bottom of each door can squeel like pigs too when in contact with the bottom of the rear door frame. This obviously gets amplified when the doors are not shut properly. Hope this helps. Gareth
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We had noisy rear doors on an Autosleeper Warwick Duo.

It turned out to be easily solved by having the rear door latches adjusted for tighness and alignment followed by applying talcum powder all around the rubber door seals to prevent them squeaking as the van body flexed on bumps and bends.

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Cattwg - 2019-01-21 9:32 AM

 

We’ve had six PVC’s over the years and I cannot recall any noise specific to the rear doors. What sort of noise are you referring to? Wind, rattles etc?

Only thing that immediately comes to mind; are both doors fully closed?

Cattwg :-D

 

Hi

 

Yes doors are fully closed but I think contributes further on might have solved my problem by adjusting the alignment slightly.

 

Thanks

Trevor

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malc d - 2019-01-21 9:36 AM

 

Never had any noise from our rear doors.

 

A rather annoying ' squeaky ' noise which we sometimes had on rough roads was traced to the sliding side door which was not firmly closed.

 

Never had a problem since that was sorted.

 

:-|

 

No it’s a rattle rather than a squeak and I’m pretty sure it’s coming from the back doors. I have to make sure side door is really slammed hard or else the warning light comes on.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

 

 

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Don636 - 2019-01-21 9:49 AM

 

Never noticed any noise from the rear doors. Any unusual noise such as rattles really annoy me and sometimes the only way to locate them is to have somebody sit in the back of the van whilst driving to try and locate it. On one such occasion we found it was the legs on the pull out bed extensions in our rear lounge van. The legs have screw out adjusters for length and they were unscrewing themselves with road vibration and rattling in the legs - an unbelievable amount of noise from such a small thing. I wound them down and secured them with a small strip of duct tape so no problems now. You can only detect this type of thing by getting into the back of the van whilst it is moving.

As another example of how difficult it can be to track down rattles in a vehicle I once had a really annoying buzz in a Volvo V70 and was convinced it was coming from the boot area so my wife sat back there but could not find the source. It was eventually traced to the passenger sun visor not being properly clipped into place. Sound travels in weird ways inside a closed box!!

 

Hi Don

 

I have a garage at the back with storage boxes rather than a lounge. I have taken everything out of the garage and driven the van but the rattle is still there. I know what you are saying about being fooled by the location of noises and it would be a good idea to sit in the back whilst someone drives. Not sure I would trust anyone though, I would have to apply sticky tape to myself to avoid being rolled around.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

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trialsrider - 2019-01-21 11:06 AM

 

I had loads of problems with rattles on my rear doors. It all started after I had my van carpet lined and insulated. The central Catch which hooks the passenger side rear door shut at the bottom had been misaligned. There are two stainless steel vertical catches on the top of the inner rear door frame. One for each door. These had to be readjusted too. If these are not positioned proberly the doors will rattle against each other. My bottom catch just needed to be brought in a mm or two in order to shut the door more snugly. Get someone to drive your van and with you in the back pull the rear doors towards you and see if they rattle any less. They may need adjusting the other way do try pushing them too. The rubber seals on the bottom of each door can squeel like pigs too when in contact with the bottom of the rear door frame. This obviously gets amplified when the doors are not shut properly. Hope this helps. Gareth

 

Hi Gareth

 

I think that might be a candidate for the solution. I will give it a go when I can find someone to drive that won’t put me in hospital. Will let you know.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

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Keithl - 2019-01-21 7:44 PM

 

Trevor,

 

Could it be something underneath the van such as the spare wheel or exhaust?

 

Keith.

 

Hi Keith

 

I think Gareth might have the answer with the slight adjustment of the catches on the rear doors even thought they feel pretty solid but you might be right, I had not thought of the possibility that it might be connected to the exterior.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

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htrevor - 2019-01-21 7:29 PM

 

malc d - 2019-01-21 9:36 AM

 

Never had any noise from our rear doors.

 

A rather annoying ' squeaky ' noise which we sometimes had on rough roads was traced to the sliding side door which was not firmly closed.

 

Never had a problem since that was sorted.

 

:-|

 

No it’s a rattle rather than a squeak and I’m pretty sure it’s coming from the back doors. I have to make sure side door is really slammed hard or else the warning light comes on.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

Then my suggestion would be to take it to the nearest Fiat Professional repairer and ask them to look at it as a warranty item, is it seems the rear door closure is out of adjustment.

 

I think you will have a better chance of getting the problem resolved by that route than via one of the very few Westfalia dealers in UK. If the Fiat dealer won't accept it as a warranty item, it may be worth just paying them to do it as, unless you live very close to a Westfalia dealer, you'll may well end up spending more on fuel than the Fiat dealer will charge to fix the problem.

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Brian Kirby - 2019-01-21 9:09 PM

 

htrevor - 2019-01-21 7:29 PM

 

malc d - 2019-01-21 9:36 AM

 

Never had any noise from our rear doors.

 

A rather annoying ' squeaky ' noise which we sometimes had on rough roads was traced to the sliding side door which was not firmly closed.

 

Never had a problem since that was sorted.

 

:-|

 

No it’s a rattle rather than a squeak and I’m pretty sure it’s coming from the back doors. I have to make sure side door is really slammed hard or else the warning light comes on.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

Then my suggestion would be to take it to the nearest Fiat Professional repairer and ask them to look at it as a warranty item, is it seems the rear door closure is out of adjustment.

 

I think you will have a better chance of getting the problem resolved by that route than via one of the very few Westfalia dealers in UK. If the Fiat dealer won't accept it as a warranty item, it may be worth just paying them to do it as, unless you live very close to a Westfalia dealer, you'll may well end up spending more on fuel than the Fiat dealer will charge to fix the problem.

 

Hi Brian

 

Yes that sounds like a good idea and you are right about it probably being cheaper to pay for it rather than travelling to my dealer.

 

Thanks very much

 

Regards

Trevor

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htrevor - 2019-01-21 7:29 PM

 

malc d - 2019-01-21 9:36 AM

 

Never had any noise from our rear doors.

 

A rather annoying ' squeaky ' noise which we sometimes had on rough roads was traced to the sliding side door which was not firmly closed.

 

Never had a problem since that was sorted.

 

:-|

 

No it’s a rattle rather than a squeak and I’m pretty sure it’s coming from the back doors. I have to make sure side door is really slammed hard or else the warning light comes on.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

 

There is a fix for that on the ATOC website (tech tips) Autotrail owners club.

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Rayjsj - 2019-01-22 11:25 PM

 

htrevor - 2019-01-21 7:29 PM

 

malc d - 2019-01-21 9:36 AM

 

Never had any noise from our rear doors.

 

A rather annoying ' squeaky ' noise which we sometimes had on rough roads was traced to the sliding side door which was not firmly closed.

 

Never had a problem since that was sorted.

 

:-|

 

No it’s a rattle rather than a squeak and I’m pretty sure it’s coming from the back doors. I have to make sure side door is really slammed hard or else the warning light comes on.

 

Many thanks

Trevor

 

There is a fix for that on the ATOC website (tech tips) Autotrail owners club.

 

Thanks. I have tried the website and it will cost me £16 to join. Any chance telling me what the tech tip is?

 

Trevor

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