Mrs Sea Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Hi Our Fiat dealer advises us that we need replacement Strut-top mounts (best to do both sides) on our 2007 Fiat Ducato based Adria Twin. At 2 1/2 years old with 24,000 on the clock I thought this was a bit soon to be replacing such things, especially as the warranty was only for 2 years so we'll have to pay for it. Have any other Fiat based motorhome owners had a similar problem with strut top mounts and, if so, at what kind of mileage? Just trying to gauge whether this is something to query/jump up and down about! Any help would be appreciated. Mrs Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brambles Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 I would say it certainly is too soon. One may well have failed but I would have expected them to last a lot longer and the failure is a result of faulty manufacture. These are items that often last the life of the vehicle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 5, 2010 Share Posted April 5, 2010 Yes, way too early for normal wear and tear.First try to establish exactly what is wrong. Then, why the mounts need to be replaced to fix the problem. I would then suggest either taking the van to another Fiat commercial repairer for a second opinion, or asking your present repairer to get a Fiat tech to visit and give an opinion, with a view to Fiat contributing to the cost of repairs.The top McPherson strut mounts, if it is these, should last 10's of thousands of miles. If one has failed early, unless the garage can show conclusively that the other is faulty, I can see no real reason to do both. At 100,000 miles yes, but at 24,000? Proper inspection of the second mount should show whether it is shot, or wearing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Sea Posted April 6, 2010 Author Share Posted April 6, 2010 Took our motorhome for a 2nd opinion to local garage where we get all our other cars fixed. Figured if its not under warranty then maybe he might as well do the job. He has a good reputation with a lot of local businesses who bring their commercial vehicles for fixing. He agrees its the strut top bearings. Says he sees it a lot. Water/grit gets thrown up and gets inside, freezes and causes the damage. Usually passenger side goes first from all the grit and water in the gutter but ours seems to be the drivers side. In his experience the other side often follows fairly soon after. He agrees that 24,000 miles is a bit soon - though, we do live in Scotland and get more rain/frost etc than other areas of the country. I'll try Fiat Customer Care and sound them out. The Fiat dealer doesn't seem to be able to get the parts so there isn't a rush just now. Thank you for your comments. Mrs Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 6, 2010 Share Posted April 6, 2010 Are you using a Fiat authorised repairer? I ask because I was told they can get pretty much any part on about 48 hrs turnaround, if necessary direct from Italy. If these parts fail as often as you are being told, unless the bad weather has caused a run on strut mountings, I'm amazed none are available. These are commercial vehicles, and Fiat have to keep them on the road. I'd definitely ask Fiat what the supply situation is, because what you are being told just doesn't seem reasonable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted April 7, 2010 Share Posted April 7, 2010 Historically the Ducato has had some issues with suspension top mounts. On the earlier '96 to '02 vans these were made of steel and the only problems we had were with rusty and seized bearings between the strut and the inner wing. The mounts themselves were utterly reliable even with 'hire van' abuse. The 2002 van was a disaster because they deemed it clever to fit an alloy top mount with a feeble looking webbing design, and not surprisingly these were easily broken by bumping up and down kerbs. They were modified in late 2003 to a more solid design which was much more reliable. These vans up to 2006 still had issues with worn bearings but were easy enough to fix and not expensive. If the steering feels a little 'rough' and does not centre correctly then you probably need new bearings at the strut top. The 2006 vans that we have have covered between 80,000 and 170,000 miles and are being abused in the normal manner but not one has yet needed ANY attention to the suspension. I have studied the drawings and the design seems similar to the last generation but 'lighter' in construction; and this did worry me a bit to start with, but it is still much better designed and more industrial that the Fords and Mercs. In summary, I would be stunned if any of the campers out there will EVER need a top mount, but if you have been driving in dusty, sandy areas (you lucky people) and then storing your van for a few months in a damp environment like the UK (it happens) then it is highly likely that your top mount bearings are merrily corroding away and may need attention much sooner than my white vans which have their wheel arches washed daily by rain and my over enthusiastic valeters. The job does involve removal of the strut from the vehicle and requires a very beefy spring compressing tool but is easy and quick enough to do while the parts are cheap too. Hope that helps. Nick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peugeot parts Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 hi you can just get the bearing which fits underneth the sturt top the peugeot part no is 503527 price £21.35 plus vat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Well done that man! See folks, they do look in to see what we are up to. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peugeot parts Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 thanks for that i will help you out anyway i can ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyStothert Posted April 9, 2010 Share Posted April 9, 2010 Ours had a strut top mount making some desperate scraping and squeaking noises for a year or so when dry, and the dealers just bombarded the area with something which may (or may not) have been a WD40 like substance. The twelve month since have been uneventful and quiet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mrs Sea Posted May 16, 2010 Author Share Posted May 16, 2010 Hi one and all. Thanks again for all your helpful advice. Fiat Customer care finally came back with an offer to pay for replacement strut top mounts and we just paid for them fitting. Sounds like I should have held out for a better deal but I'm not very good at that sort of thing. The delay on the parts had nothing to do with part unavailability, just incompetence on the part of Arnold Clark Fiat in Kirkcaldy. They said part hand not arrived when in reality it hadn't even been ordered! Even after Fiat Customer Care intervened some 2 weeks later, they still hadn't ordered the parts. Will try Perth next time I need a Fiat dealer. So not a bad outcome and van is now fixed. Thanks again. Mrs Sea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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