Ford Transit Clutch Advice Please.

[francisgraham]

Unsure as to whether I'd take to motorhoming I bought a used Hymer Van on a Ford Transit chassis. So far it's been fine and I am now considering treating myself to a new Hobby Van, which is slightly longer and has two singles instead of a transverse double.

However, the Hobby is also on a Ford Transit and I am bothered about the clutch on this model. Just driving it onto levelling blocks can make it smell slightly but this weekend I had a more unsettling experience.

I had to reverse up a very steep hill for a short distance and the clutch smoked so much that the cab filled with fumes and the smell is still there four days later. My local Ford dealer has driven it and says that the clutch is fine but I suspect that I may well have added another thousand miles of wear in that one brief manoeuvre.

Is this a well documented problem? I've heard about problems with Fiats, but never with Fords.

[Hawcara]

Are you talking about clutch problems with the used Hymer or a the Hobby.

We have a Transit (Chausson) and whilst only had 6 months had no problems at all, hills or otherwise (yet!) :-S

[hallii]

Mine (2007) has the 5 speed box, some others have the 6 speed box.

The 6 speed box has a lower 1st and reverse gear so does not need so much clutch slipping to reverse up hills.

 

You just have to go up the hill faster with the clutch engaged!

 

The clutch is designed with "white van man" in mind, it is up to the job and will last for a very long time.

 

The dual mass flywheel, as with all the inventions of the devil, is more problematic, if the clutch is abused by hard and voilent treatment the DMF can fail. That means a new flywheel, clutch and maybe the starter motor as well, (the filings get into the works).

 

So, go for the 140 BHP 6 speed box if you can.

 

H

[Brian Kirby]

francisgraham - 2011-07-28 6:44 PM...............................However, the Hobby is also on a Ford Transit and I am bothered about the clutch on this model. Just driving it onto levelling blocks can make it smell slightly but this weekend I had a more unsettling experience. I had to reverse up a very steep hill for a short distance and the clutch smoked so much that the cab filled with fumes and the smell is still there four days later.

 

I guess yours is similar to ours, and has the rather high first/reverse gears. Under the circumstances of you enforced reversing you have two choices. Fully engage the clutch and cross you fingers about reversing at an uncomfortably high speed, or let it slip to keep the speed down and overheat it. But, so far, in 26,000 very mixed miles, I haven't yet had to reverse on a steep slope, so I guess you were very unlucky and may never have to do so again. But then, there's always Sod's law! :-)

 

So, if the six speed 140PS models have lower first/reverse gears, the risk should be reduced and the drive that bit easier.

 

I get round the problem with ramps by driving straight to the top of the ramp on one firmish dose of welly. No clutch smell at all, as it is all over in about three seconds. Then check level, and use just the foot brake to allow the van to roll back down until level. Handbrake on, and you're done!

 

That nice chap from Sherwood Forest has one of the LWB Hobby vans with singles so I guess he'd be the best person to comment. However, I think he may be away with Maid Marion at present, so who knows when he'll be back! :-D

[ips]

I have the 140bhp 6 speed trannie and I too have had similar on a couple of occasions whilst reversing up an incline.

[spospe]

I have driven over 30,000 miles in our 140bhp rwd MK7 Trannie in 3 years, never had a problem.

 

I have often heard of people making claims about smell and smoke, but never experienced the problem myself. My guess is that it is due to technique rather than any mechanical problem.

 

I live on a 1 in 8 hill and have to reverse out onto it every time the van is driven anywhere (the hill varies in slope between 1 in 5 and 1 in 8 and the bit I normally have to reverse up, varies between the two figures as I have to negotiate a right-angled bend).

 

[Derek Uzzell]

francisgraham - 2011-07-28 6:44 PM

Unsure as to whether I'd take to motorhoming I bought a used Hymer Van on a Ford Transit chassis. So far it's been fine and I am now considering treating myself to a new Hobby Van, which is slightly longer and has two singles instead of a transverse double.

However, the Hobby is also on a Ford Transit and I am bothered about the clutch on this model. Just driving it onto levelling blocks can make it smell slightly but this weekend I had a more unsettling experience.

I had to reverse up a very steep hill for a short distance and the clutch smoked so much that the cab filled with fumes and the smell is still there four days later. My local Ford dealer has driven it and says that the clutch is fine but I suspect that I may well have added another thousand miles of wear in that one brief manoeuvre.

Is this a well documented problem? I've heard about problems with Fiats, but never with Fords.

It's well-recognised in the motor trade that, due to their high 1st/reverse gear ratios, 5-speed FWD Transits are vulnerable to clutch failure if the clutch is heavily stressed (eg. needing to reverse slowly up a steep incline). It's an unwelcome characteristic of the breed and one that owners of motorhomes based on that chassis need to bear seriously in mind. The current 6-speed FWD Transit has significantly lower 1st/reverse ratios compared to the previous 5-speeder (though I think reverse is still higher than 1st). Although I'm sure it would still be possible to 'cook' the clutch reversing a FWD 6-speeder, you'd have to try a whole lot harder than if you were reversing a 5-speeder. It's not something that would worry me personally if I were considering buying a new Hobby Van, though I would wonder when (or if) Hobby would be moving from the 'old' platform-cab FWD Transit chassis to the latest 'camping-car' version.

[francisgraham]

Thank you to all who've responded and particularly to Derek Uzzell who has confirmed my own thoughts, which are, that it isn't anything to do with my technique (which has never been a problem in the past) and is a known problem.

I am now much happier knowing that my proposed new 'van, with its six-speed gearbox and lower-ratio reverse gear, will be less prone to this problem.

[Dave and Verity]

I'm likely to get in huge trouble here, but I'll blurt it straight out anyway.

 

A while ago I had an accident and my wife had to drive the MH as my achilles tendon had to rest for six weeks.

 

All the time I have been driving it, I had no knowledge of the clutch being there, but when my wife parked the van on our fairly steep, gravelly drive the cab filled with horrible smelling smoke and it was quite apparent that a few thousand miles had been taken off it.

 

Now I'm not going to crticise women drivers nor specifically my wife, I'm nowhere brave enough, but different drivers do seem to affect a clutch differently.

 

I'm off to hide now.

 

Dave

[Guest pelmetman]

Dave and Verity - 2011-07-29 2:41 PMI'm likely to get in huge trouble here, but I'll blurt it straight out anyway.A while ago I had an accident and my wife had to drive the MH as my achilles tendon had to rest for six weeks.All the time I have been driving it, I had no knowledge of the clutch being there, but when my wife parked the van on our fairly steep, gravelly drive the cab filled with horrible smelling smoke and it was quite apparent that a few thousand miles had been taken off it.Now I'm not going to crticise women drivers nor specifically my wife, I'm nowhere brave enough, but different drivers do seem to affect a clutch differently.I'm off to hide now.Dave

8-)8-)...............Your'e a much braver man than me8-)...........and my wife can't drive(lol)

[Robinhood]

Brian Kirby - 2011-07-29 12:05 AM

 

That nice chap from Sherwood Forest has one of the LWB Hobby vans with singles so I guess he'd be the best person to comment. However, I think he may be away with Maid Marion at present, so who knows when he'll be back! :-D

 

Oi...who're you calling nice!? (...and you're quite right, I've just had a week away at Abingdon and Weymouth) ;-)

 

Even with the current 140hp Transit I find first a little high, and it is possible to get a bit of clutch smell on a steep hill-start (though judicious use of the hill-start function helps as, IMO, not having to use the handbrake makes pedal control a bit easier). It's just had it's first service, and the dealer just says the usual ("they all do that sir!").

 

As for reverse, I haven't really had to reverse uphill for any great distance, so I can't really comment. I can say, however, that reversing onto chocks is much better than my previous 2.8TD Ducato based 'van, and it also has to be reversed onto my drive, and I've never felt I had to slip the clutch unduly to achieve that.

 

As far as the 'van itself is concerned, we wanted something that would suit 2 with an occasional 3rd, good payload, 3500kg max, a garage for the outdoor stuff, and a bit more manoeuverable than the previous 'A' class. We're also year-round users, so a reasonable level of insulation was required.

 

We spent a fair bit of time looking, and nearly opted for a Hymer Exis or 'van, but (as I've commented before on here, and I know people have disagreed) I was very disappointed with the perceived build quality of the (then) current Hymer range.

 

The Hobby provided a similar alternative, but (IMO) better built where it mattered, and apart from too much "bling" in the lighting department, and "suedette" upholstery (the latter also a feature of the Hymers) it ticked all the boxes.

 

A year on, I have no reason to regret the choice. It gets used all year round, is very well insulated, the twin beds work well (and are comfortable), and it still appears pretty well put together.

 

There have been a few minor niggles (the latest being some type of deposit between the panes of one of the windows - not condensation). This is where I have to sing the praises (as have others) of CamperUK in Lincoln, who have sorted everything out without fuss - to the extent that (for instance) having sent them a picture of the window in advance, and them inspecting it at the annual damp-check, an email was waiting for me the next morning saying Hobby had authorised replacement.

 

The most disruptive issue I've had is getting a replacement filter for the whole-vehicle water system. A taste filter is readily available in the UK, but Hobby fit a higher-spec biological filter at the factory, which seems impossible to source in the UK - I now have a German source who will mail me.

 

Happy to answer any specific questions on the 'van.

[Derek Uzzell]

It may be worth adding that anyone contemplating purchasing a brand-new Ford Transit-based motorhome should perhaps be aware that revisions to Transit models are not far away. See:

 

http://www.ford.co.uk/AboutFord/News/VehicleNews/2012TransitPowertrain

 

There is speculation (a lot of it on the Ford Transit forum) as to whether these powertrain revisions will produce a genuine Transit Mark 8 or just a Mark 7.5 - basically, whether the resultant vehicles will be re-engined Mk 7s with a bit of face-lifting or something more radical.

 

I was told last year that Ford would be offering automatic transmission on the next generation of Transit, but there's nothing about this on Ford's bulletin, so the information may have been wrong.

[Mel B]

As an aside to this, when looking a vans on the motorhome chassis (wider rear track), I noticed that the axle is extremely low at the rear, no more than about 4-5 inches or so of clearance - it appears to be a bit of a cobbled together thing, with a strengthening bar along the bottom cutting the ground clearance down and probably making it great for hitting things as you tottle along! I'm glad I have the 'standard' width chassis on my Chausson.

[Derek Uzzell]

Mel B - 2011-07-31 9:49 PM

 

As an aside to this, when looking a vans on the motorhome chassis (wider rear track), I noticed that the axle is extremely low at the rear, no more than about 4-5 inches or so of clearance - it appears to be a bit of a cobbled together thing, with a strengthening bar along the bottom cutting the ground clearance down and probably making it great for hitting things as you tottle along! I'm glad I have the 'standard' width chassis on my Chausson.

 

As the Transit 'narrow rear track' chassis (as used on your Chausson and my Hobby) has just 5" ground clearance below the rear-axle brackets that connect to the dampers, I doubt that the revised design of the wider rear axle will be genuinely restrictive.

 

Limited ground clearance for a motorhome may present problems if it's at the very rear of the vehicle or well within the wheelbase (I'm always amazed how vulnerable to grounding-damage Ducato side exhausts, and some entrance-steps, look), but the chances are surely small in normal driving that you'd encounter a situation involving an obstacle over 5" in height passing centrally beneath the vehicle and striking the rear axle.

 

I've looked under motorhomes with the latest Transit 'camping-car' chassis and don't recall thinking "There's not much rear-axle ground clearance". I suspect that, if you measured your Chausson's rear-axle ground clearance at the damper-brackets and the below-the-strengthening-bar ground clearance of the wider axle, there'd be no difference.

 

 

[Wirralian]

I wish that I had read these threads some 9 months ago. Last autumn the front wheels of my Transit based Hymer sank a little in soft ground in Scotland on my first outing in the 'van. As with previous vans( VW and Fiat) in similar situations, I tried to reverse out as gently as possible only to find white smoke billowing from under the 'van accompanied by the most dreadful clutch smell. The smell remained both inside and outside the van for several days. ( It took months for the smell to disappear completely). But the 'van was driving ok and gave me no problems for the 200 miles drive home. The local Ford dealer tested it and said that there was no clutch slip and thought that I had just taken a few thousand miles wear out of the clutch. I have since driven another 6000 miles which has included going to Spain and back via France.

 

John

 

:-)