is there a cutoff date where Fiat fixed the clutch judder?

[birdybiker66]

I.ve spent the past two hours researching the X250 clutch problems but not found what i want so I'll have to ask here, sorry. I can find posts relating to earler models such as 07 ,08 etc but nothing recent,

As I'm hoping to get a 2011 2.3 Fiat this week my question is, is there a time where these engine/ models didn't need the mods doing because modified / uprated parts were fitted at the factory, otherwise i have to somehow ensure that this one isall sorted, !!! Dave

[colin]

IIRC the last mods to fix judder where 2010, but this is build date not necessarily reg date.

[rolandrat]

With a 2011 reg you should be ok as long as it isn't an old stock demonstrator that's been hanging around on a dealers forecourt. It's always best to do a thorough road test and find a steep hill to reverse up. If it is a recent gearbox it won't judder. I have the latest one and it's perfect, no problems with the drive line at all. Even though there are old models for sale on the forecourts that might have been modified I wouldn't touch one with a barge pole.

 

[Derek Uzzell]

As far as Fiat Ducatos with the 2.3litre motor are concerned, my understanding was that whatever technical changes Fiat had made to address reversing complaints had been introduced on to production-line vehicles by mid-2009. This seems to be confirmed by euroserv's 18 March 2011 11:28 AM posting in the following thread (and if Nick Fisher doesn't know, no other forum member will!)

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Fiats-pre-juddergate-/22726/151/#M254477

 

Certainly, if you are considering a 'genuine' 2011 model (ie. not ancient dealership stock), no additional modifications will be possible relating to the reversing issue.

 

(Of course, if you choose a large Ducato-based motorhome with the highest available gearing, load it to its maximum permitted weight, then attempt a hill-start on a vertiginous slope, you should expect the vehicle's transmission to take a dim view of this. But that will be true of non-Ducatos too.)

 

 

 

 

[rupert123]

birdybiker66 - 2013-08-07 9:44 PM

 

I.ve spent the past two hours researching the X250 clutch problems but not found what i want so I'll have to ask here, sorry. I can find posts relating to earler models such as 07 ,08 etc but nothing recent,

As I'm hoping to get a 2011 2.3 Fiat this week my question is, is there a time where these engine/ models didn't need the mods doing because modified / uprated parts were fitted at the factory, otherwise i have to somehow ensure that this one isall sorted, !!! Dave

Almost certainly ok. If it is a British made van it will be fine, if a euro van of some sort possibly not. British makers tend to hold small stocks and are built to order, larger euro firms make vans up and dealers hold them in stock, often for a very long time.

[Derek Uzzell]

rupert123 - 2013-08-08 10:14 AM

 

Almost certainly ok. If it is a British made van it will be fine, if a euro van of some sort possibly not. British makers tend to hold small stocks and are built to order, larger euro firms make vans up and dealers hold them in stock, often for a very long time.

 

If UK motor-caravan manufacturers only built to order, the only new UK-built motorhomes on UK dealerships' forecourts would be waiting for collection by the people who ordered them. Clearly that's not the case.

 

There is a (smallish) risk that a 2011-registered motorhome might have been converted (or its base vehicle made) a fair while before its UK date of first retail registration, but, as far as I'm aware, there's no reason to think that risk will be greater for motorhomes built abroad than for UK-built ones. (If there is firm evidence to the contrary, I've yet to see it.)

 

Dave says that the motorhome he is interested in is 2011. If there is concern that the Ducato base was made a lot earlier, a rule-of-thumb check of the vehicle's tyre-manufacture dates would be worth carrying out. Assuming that the motorhome's mileage isn't unusually high, the vehicle's tyres will probably be the Fiat factory-fitted originals and their dates of manufacture should be not too long before the Ducato base-vehicle left the Italian factory.

 

On post-Year 2000 tyres the week/year of manufacture is shown as a 4-digit code on the tyre's sidewall. A typical example is provided by the 3rd photo here

 

http://www.austin7.org/Technical%20Articles/Tyre%20Ageing/

 

where the manufacture-date is "5009" indicating that the tyre was made in the last part of December 2009.

 

If one is lucky, the code can be easily spotted at the end of the sequence beginning "DOT". Things get trickier when tyres have been fitted so that the sidewall with the DOT-sequence is not facing outwards - but the manufacture-date will be on one of the tyre's sidewalls and it is worth checking when buying a new or 2ndhand vehicle.

[birdybiker66]

Excellent thankyou, Derek, great idea with the tyre date, thanks.

Only broblem i have now is my insurance won't let me drive it :-S

[Keithl]

There are also several other ways of confirming the date of manufacture a MH (or indeed any motor vehicle).

 

Many other items will be date marked but probably the easiest to find and clearest will be the seatbelts (and also very unlikely to have been changed). Near one end will be a sewn in tag clearly stating date of manufacture as it is a legal requirement.

 

If you really want to double check then most plastic items, such as the ashtray, will have a date moulded on an inconspicuous surface. Pull the ashtray out and turn it over to find what will probably look like a small clock or two, one will be for year and the other month, simple when you know how to read them.

 

Alternatively call any Fiat dealer with the VIN and ask them to obtain the manufacture date off their system.

 

Keith.

[birdybiker66]

Good tip! I'll check the seatbelts just in case, I'll also see if i can get the ashtray if i can't see what i want, Thanks, Dave

 

ps. I am getting the VIN no anyway but wasn't sure how easy or helpful Fiat might be.

[rupert123]

birdybiker66 - 2013-08-08 3:31 PM

 

Good tip! I'll check the seatbelts just in case, I'll also see if i can get the ashtray if i can't see what i want, Thanks, Dave

Checking tyre/seatbelt dates is no way to check vehicle manufacture date. These are often up to two years older than the vehicle build date.

[Derek Uzzell]

This has come up before on the forum

 

http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Age-of-new-vans/21514/

 

Date labels/markings on plastic parts/wiring looms/tyres/components, etc. will give pointers to a vehicle's date of manufacture. But, when the exact date of manufacture is critical (ie. whether a Ducato is pre- or post-'judder'), then checking via the vehicle's VIN-number is the best approach.

 

The Ducato base of a 2011-registered motorhome is unlikely to have been built prior to 2010. so should be post-judder. Best to be sure though...

[euroserv]

Hello,

 

If you would like to send me your chassis number by PM I will be able to tell you exactly when it was built.

 

Nick

[Derek Uzzell]

This link may also be useful to owners of Fiat Ducato-based motorhomes:

 

http://www.fiatcamper.com/check.php

 

(If Internet Explorer is being used as browser, isn't it possible to obtain VIN-number-based vehicle details via Fiat's "ePER" system?)

 

 

[birdybiker66]

I couldn't make sense of the eper website but a lady at Clemo Motors (Fiat) rang me back with the build date of Nov 2010 after i gave her the VIN. Thanks Nick for your kind offer but seems I'm sorted. I wasn't sure of the tyre date either, all i could find was HWN9, which may or may not mean 09, also the seatbelts were E-09 ? I'll take that as 2009.

I've just checked with the recall site and it says "fine" or something!

So, once the habitation and damp check is complete i can discuss the purchase and get to some BSB rounds, rock and roll !

:-D Thanks for the help, I know you disagree sometimes but that's how we learn! Cheers, Dave

[Derek Uzzell]

birdybiker66 - 2013-08-09 4:27 PM

 

...I wasn't sure of the tyre date either, all i could find was HWN9, which may or may not mean 09...

 

Whatever the "HWN9" 4-character group you found on a tyre means, it's not the tyre's date of manufacture.

 

The date of manufacture (as explained on the link I provided in my 8 August 2013 2:18 PM posting) will be a 4-figure group with the last two digits indicating a year and the first two digits indicating a week.

 

As the build date of the motorhome you are interested in was November 2010, if the tyres factory-fitted to it were made in (say) the last week of September 2010, the tyres' date of manufactiure code would be "3910" (ie. the 39th week of 2010).