Andy T Posted October 19, 2009 Share Posted October 19, 2009 Hi All, Not a reason not to buy an X250 as they do drive nicely and handle well most of the time, but the FIAT/dealer fix for the water ingress to the engine bay will not/does not work. Mine was done a little over a year ago and on inspection this week I found that the two 10mm drain pipes had fallen off. The adhesive used doesn't stick to the pipe. Also the pipes are so small as to be too easily blocked. On the drivers side this means that the wiper spindle will become immersed and the water leak into the wiper spindle housing. That will become a very expensive replacement when well out of warranty. FIAT should offer a replacement moulding with a pipe stub of a much larger size included in the moulding. The adhesive used to stick the two halves of the scuttle moulding doesn't last either, mine was leaking again. The two halves overlap by about 2mm! Water also leaks out of the end of the housing below the wiper spindle through the porous foam seal, this drips into the side of the engine bay. I took mine to bits this week as its now out of warranty. The attached photos should give you an idea of whats happening under the bonnet and out of sight. The first pic is of corrosion under the header tank; the second the corrosion beginning on the wiper mechanism (sorry they're not very crisp) and the third an indication of where to look for problems. Top to bottom. Water level above wiper spindle because of leaf (singular) blocking drain. Water leaking through end of sponge seal. Water damage to wiper spindle. Staining from water leaking through wiper spindle. Have a look down here, corrosion beginning inside wing. Corrosion under header tank. Oh yes, and if you look on the other side of the van under the headlamp, you'll find a large Bosch relay sitting in its water filled socket. I now have sundry bits of plastic milk bottle and yogourt pot covering various bits of electrics and the Waxoyl has been liberally applied. The rest of the coachbuilt van was a DIY kit as well. Still waiting for completion of some warranty work. Do we Motohomers get a good deal from the manufacturers? Nope! Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin weston Posted October 20, 2009 Share Posted October 20, 2009 Hi Andy, I also had a few problems with my Peugeot due to underbonnet water ingress. Peugeot fitted an engine cover after cleaning off the top of the engine and spraying it with waxoyl. As you no doubt appreciate the main source of the water ingress is between the scuttle panels and windscreen, the joint between the scuttle panels and the vertical channels at the lower edge of the windscreen which channel water to the underbonnet area. This is not to mention the unsealed gaps at the sides of the bonnet! I fitted a large diameter drain to the left-hand side of the central portion of the scuttle to mimic the original drain on the right-hand side. I opened up the small drain holes in the outer part of the scuttle panels and fitted 10mm drain tubes. I got the short metal tubes from B & Q. They are stainless steel and have a rolled-over lip which holds the tube in position when inserted from above. I then pushed onto the metal tube a length of transparent tube from below before sealing the metal tube to the scuttle. To date these have worked OK except that the drain below the RH windscreen wiper tends to get easily blocked with a leaf or similar debris. There is no easy answer to this except to do a frequent check that the water is draining OK. I was unsucessful in getting the scuttle to windscreen joint sealed as Peugeot wanted to try and bond the two surfaces permanently together. I used some glossy black adhesive tape which didn't look too good to seal across the joint but with exposure to the weather it didn't last very long. I then did a search on the web and purchased some Professional Grade 'Economy' Matt Gaffer Tape. (MATTCTME50) £11.35 incl VAT & del. This is 50mm wide x 50m long so I have plenty to spare! It is hardly noticeable and seems to have stood up to the weather so far. I am prepared to replace it every year if necessary. I sealed the bonnet side gaps using a 'd' section white draught excluding foam tape from B & Q which has lasted OK. If you want any more details of the parts I fitted let me know. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy T Posted October 20, 2009 Author Share Posted October 20, 2009 Thanks Colin, I saw your earlier posts on the matter and have copied some of your suggestions already. I have copied some of the pics to guide me too. If only FIAT would produce a proper fix and give us one! The biggest concern is the right hand wiper spindle which needs daily checks in wet weather and which overflows anyway in heavy rain (like now). I was thinking I might drill and tap the wiper spindle housing and fit a grease nipple to ward off water and wear. Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dwaviation Posted October 21, 2009 Share Posted October 21, 2009 Explorer Group supplied me with some matt black laser cut tape to seal the scuttle to the windscreen which has worked brilliantly for two years' now. I didn't bother sealing the two scuttle halves, I just let the water drain into the peugeot fitted 'catcher' underneath which then drains away via a tube. I wasn't to fussed about an engine cover but opted for it in order to get the flexible rubber pipe that connects to the expansion tank as the metal version was cracking up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.