ronecc Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 I have a new Fiat based motorhome, (Euro5). The steering wheel is not level by about an inch. Also when driving, there appears to be about an inch of free play in the wheel. This causes the van to wander across the road and I find I am constantly correcting it. Two Fiat dealers have told me that Fiat will not cover it under warranty because it could have been curbed. It hasn't, but how can that be proved. Do any of you with Fiat based vans have the same problem, and am I just expecting it to handle like a car? The van came fitted with 'Campervan Tyres', so it says on the sidewall, and the pressure is 70psi. And before anyone suggests, no there is not to much weight in the rear locker, mainly plastic boxes with a couple of pairs of hiking boots, levelling blocks and two Calor Lite bottles in their correct fitting position. I also have a little clutch judder, which I presumed was a problem that had been sorted by a re-design of gearbox for the Euro 5 model. I have written to Fiat asking the questions, but I thought I would ask you all whether what I am experiencing is normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ROAD ROCKETi Posted May 22, 2012 Share Posted May 22, 2012 Definitely a fault built in some where. You need to have a Dealer look at the vehicle. Last week I covered over 600 miles mostly Motorway with my 2 year old 2.3 Ducato and the steering and handling is excellent with tyre pressures of 65 psi . There is no free play at the wheel and the steering is very accurate and relaxing to drive at 60 to 65 mph : Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 That doesn't sound right. What make/model of MH is it. Contact Fiat UK direct, don't bother trying to get any sence out of a dealer, they may well say "if we find it has been curbed you will be charged" personaly I would reply "thats fine you prove it and I'll pay". Without knowing the make/model of van and axle loads(or best guess ones) tyre pressures cannot be confirmed. You say you have clutch judder, is this in forward or reverse? and under what conditions? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Kirby Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 The free play in the steering definitely sounds wrong. Concentrate on that and get the Fiat dealer to assess it. Make sure you go to a Fiat commercial dealer, not a car dealer. The wander may well be the result of over-inflation of the tyres relative to the actual axle loads. I have experienced this twice, one Fiat and one Ford van, and both times the problem was resolved by taking the van to a weighbridge fully laden and getting the individual axle weights. Then passing these to the tyre manufacturer's technical department and asking the for correct tyre pressures for that load. In both cases considerably lower than the "failsafe" 70psi blanket recommendation. You could also try using the "Tyresafe" leaflet on motorhome tyres, downloadable from their website, that sets out appropriate pressures for load for a variety of tyre sizes and ratings. However, if your actual tyre size/rating is not quoted in the leaflet, I think you will have to go the the manufacturer's techies, as interpolating between different sizes/ratings may result in unsafe pressures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Modern vehicles with rack-and-pinion steering should not have free play at the steering wheel. Irrespective of tyre pressures or vehicle loading, if there is free play at the steering wheel there will be a tendency for the vehicle to wander. And, when a vehicle leaves its manufacturer's factory, its steering wheel should not be cock-eyed. Kerbing can knock a vehicle's steering geometry out of line, though I've been reliably informed that, in the UK, it's deep potholes that are the prime culprit. However, even when a vehicle's 'tracking' has been affected by kerbing/potholes, free play at the steering wheel should not normally result. As has already been advised, you should demand that a Fiat commercial dealership inspect the vehicle and provide a credible diagnosis. Until the cause of the faults have been identified, there no point speculating whether rectification will be carried out under the Fiat warranty. Steering-related issues should not be put on the back-burner. I once owned a heavily-tuned Scimitar GTE and, when greasing the front suspension, thought "That doesn't look quite right". Because I was in a hurry I ignored this and, an hour later, the suspension suddenly failed causing a wheel to fold up beneath the front wing. "Oh bugger", I thought, as the car sailed along on its chassis at 30mph with the steering locked. Could have been a lot worse though, as I'd been doing 90mph just before. Regarding the clutch judder, If it occurs when you are starting from rest (either forwards or in reverse) and you are trying to pull away at tick-over, then you should probably expect this to happen. A Knaus Ski Ti 650MF is not a huge motorhome, but it's not a tiddler either, so you are going to need to give the motor some revs when accelerating from a standstill. Depends really on how little "a little clutch judder" is. When you get the steering looked at, get the clutch judder characteristic investigated too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bolero boy Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Wandering can certainly occur when travelling in the nearside lane of some motorway sections. The wide track chassis seems to fit the wear created by heavy lorries. However, there should still be no slack in the steering control. As. Suggested, Fiat Professional are the guys to see. Rgds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted May 24, 2012 Share Posted May 24, 2012 Many years ago we bought an ex-ambulance to convert, we had to collect it from Leeds I seem to recall and when driving it home hubby said it had been horrendous to drive as it wandered all over the place - it turned out to be the tracking which was well out. It might be worth getting the tracking checked as once ours had been re-aligned it was a completely different vehicle and drove beautifully. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted May 25, 2012 Share Posted May 25, 2012 Would pay to have it checked even if Fiat don't pay for it. Its a relatively cheap item of work, compared wit the cost of a couple of tyres. (My pressures are 65 front and 70 rear on an Alko chassis) I look at my front tyres ( two years old now) and wonder if they are starting to feather slightly. Our 2009 Fiat (3.5 ton) handles like a car, and there is no slack in the steering or wander on the road.. A slighty sideways thought on the matter and a Techie question to others. Do Fiats have speed sensitive feed back on the steering ? I know that some cars do. Maybe too advanced for the white van man ? Rgds Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 26, 2012 Share Posted May 26, 2012 tonyishuk - 2012-05-25 7:45 PM ...Do Fiats have speed sensitive feed back on the steering ?... On-line adverts suggest that the power-assisted steering of X250 Ducatos is speed-sensitive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyishuk Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-05-26 10:04 AM tonyishuk - 2012-05-25 7:45 PM ...Do Fiats have speed sensitive feed back on the steering ?... On-line adverts suggest that the power-assisted steering of X250 Ducatos is speed-sensitive. It was my sideways thoughtthat maybe this not working as it should could also have some effect on the wandering ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Not sure what the latest is, but on early x250 models, Pug and Citreon had variable rate on all 6 speed models, Fiat had it on 160bhp model Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 27, 2012 Share Posted May 27, 2012 Vans with the 'camper' or Alko chassis might 'track' on well worn roads due to the differing width of each axle's track and this could feel like steering wander? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Tracker - 2012-05-27 8:15 PM Vans with the 'camper' or Alko chassis might 'track' on well worn roads due to the differing width of each axle's track and this could feel like steering wander? This is undoubtedly true, but ronecc says "The steering wheel is not level by about an inch. Also when driving, there appears to be about an inch of free play in the wheel. This causes the van to wander across the road and I find I am constantly correcting it." When you buy your next motorhome (and remember that ronecc's Knaus is brand spanking Euro 5 new), if your new purchase has the same unwelcome characteristics as ronecc's and the vendor tells you that the reason might be a combination of unequal front/rear track dimensions and worn roads, would you accept that diagnosis as reasonable when there's noticeable slack in the steering and the steering wheel is out of level? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robinhood Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-05-28 8:20 AM When you buy your next motorhome (and remember that ronecc's Knaus is brand spanking Euro 5 new), if your new purchase has the same unwelcome characteristics as ronecc's and the vendor tells you that the reason might be a combination of unequal front/rear track dimensions and worn roads, would you accept that diagnosis as reasonable when there's noticeable slack in the steering and the steering wheel is out of level? ......in that particular case, I would be inclined to blame the nut holding the steering wheel. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leake Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Tracker - 2012-05-27 8:15 PM Vans with the 'camper' or Alko chassis might 'track' on well worn roads due to the differing width of each axle's track and this could feel like steering wander? Ours does just that. Most disconcerting! Blimey that's the longest word I ever used in a post and I've managed to speel it right! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Colin Leake - 2012-05-28 3:27 PM Tracker - 2012-05-27 8:15 PM Vans with the 'camper' or Alko chassis might 'track' on well worn roads due to the differing width of each axle's track and this could feel like steering wander? Ours does just that. Most disconcerting! Blimey that's the longest word I ever used in a post and I've managed to speel it right! A wonderful bit of speeling there Colin - well done!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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