Which Diesel?

[motorhomejoe]

I prefer to have low tech engines which I am able to maintain and repair myself. I was therefor pleased to see that a 1996 Autosleeper MHome I looked at had a non turbo basic engine without a lot of electronic engine systems. It looked as if it had a mechanical fuel pump.

 

Are the Peugeot turbo diesels circa 1998 complex and expensive to repair?

 

When did peugeot diesels get electronic control systems and likewise Frod diesels?

 

[barrie w]

Hi, we have a symphony with the 2.5 non turbo engine,it's basic, plods on all day BUT they're gutless.after putting up with snail like travel for 4 years we spent LOTS of cash with TB Turbo.There are a few 2.5 turbo versions about if you can find one or build in £2000 in your costing for a conversion.

We travel fully loaded to Spain etc during the year ie scooter + trailer & it copes well.

It was over all worth the cost as otherwise we'd have spent more changing the van.

[Derek Uzzell]

motorhomejoe:

 

Can't comment on Peugeot, but the Ford Transit 2.5 litre turbo-diesel motor had become 'electronic' by the mid-1990s (I owned a 1996-built Transit-based motorhome with that power-plant).

 

I would expect most (perhaps all) turbo-diesels to have gained electronic control systems by the mid-90s. It's certainly true of my 1995 VW Golf TDi that even has a drive-by-wire accelerator.

 

 

 

 

[davenewellhome]

Derek I think you'll find that only the turbocharged 2.5 transit engines were electronically managed, the naturally aspirated versions retained a plain vanilla mechanical injection pump to the end I believe. Mind you finding a NA transit from the late nineties will be difficult.

 

Despite what some people may believe the modern electronically managed diesel engines are in general more reliable and perform better with better fuel economy than the earlier mechanical units and home servicing is just as possible.

 

D.

[Derek Uzzell]

Dave:

 

Yes, I thought that was the case but, having donated my Ford Transit Diesel Haynes manual to the buyer of my Herald in 2004, I wasn't absolutely sure. That's why I restricted my observations to turbo variants.

 

I've a copy of August 1996 "Which Motorcaravan" and the model-listing indicates that the standard motor being offered on Transit-based motorhomes at that time was either the 2.0 litre petrol or, on larger vehicles (eg. Auto-Sleepers' Amethyst/Excelsior/Legend trio), the 2.5 litre non-turbo diesel. I suspect most buyers would have paid extra for the turbocharged motor though, unless they needed an automatic gearbox when the significantly less powerful non-turbo engine was the sole choice.

 

I believe Ford never officially married an auto-box to the Transit 2.5 litre turbo motor (though I've seen auto-box Heralds with TB Turbo conversions). If correct, this suggests that, should a 'non electronic' Transit-based motorhome be an absolute must-have, you could probably find an automatic one right up to Year 2000 when the 2.5 litre Transit diesel motor was superseded.

 

I don't work on my vehicles' motors nowadays, but I can't envisage greater problems carrying out basic servicing (changing oil, filters, etc) on a 2008 vehicle than on a 1998 one. Of course, if the former goes wrong, then DIY fault diagnosis will certainly be more difficult (perhaps impossible) if the electronics are involved, but that's the inevitable price one pays for the power, economy and sophistication provided by latest-generation diesels. And - 1998 or 2008 - if the beggar REALLY goes wrong , then your average home mechanic won't be able to repair it in any case.