StuartO Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 On the road with an exhaust which has started blowing spectacularly. Hoping to get home with a hodge, then look around for a stainless steel exhaust. I found a place years ago and fitted one to our last MH but can I remember where? 2006 Hymer B674 on a Fiat X244. Anyone have any relevant knowledge please? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest peter Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 What's a hodge?. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 7, 2015 Share Posted January 7, 2015 peter - 2015-01-07 10:47 PM What's a hodge?. A bodge I would think (lol) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 8, 2015 Author Share Posted January 8, 2015 Correct, I will resort to a bodge repair if necessary to get home - but does anyone have any tips about getting a proper repair later? Is it affordable to having a stainless steel system fitted? It's so long since I did the last MH that I can't remember what I did never mind what it cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Joe90 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 Dunno if you've had your head under the van yet, but this model can be prone to the front pipe connection flange where it connects to the centre / rear box rusting / fracturing. I've had that on two vans, front pipes on both of mine were non cat versions, and relatively cheap about £45, so you may get lucky, take a look. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I got a quote from these people,but that was 3/4 years ago, was not that much more than a Standard Peugeot exhaust as I recall. And they do 'Specials' which your Hymer might be. ? http://www.longlife.co.uk/dealer-locator/default.aspx Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 As modern exhausts last so long these days might not be worth the extra cost of a S/S one unless you are going to keep the van a very long time. As your van is an A class it probably won't be a standard Fiat exhaust and if you have to have one fabricated might not be much difference in cost between an M/S one & a S/S one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 I would say it will be a Ducato exhaust. The thing you need to look for is where does the tail pipe exit the vehicle. If it exits on the UK nearside then it will be cheaper and easier to to get a Stainless one made up. Some manufacturers fit the Continental LHD Ducato exhaust on a RHD van. Burstner and Frankia do this. Trying to find a LHD Ducato exhaust in the UK is difficult and the price is eye watering, usually 3 or 4 times the price of a UK RHD exhaust. Been there, got the T-shirt. OR, do what I did on my last van. Buy a standard UK RHD exhaust and get the mounting brackets moved to suit. My garage charged me £65 to move the brackets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 The exhaust on "Fanny" the Tranny went two weeks before we left *-) ..............no point in replacing it as the V6 needs a complete new system, so my garage chap cut out the sheared pipe and welded in a new section..................did it why I waited.........45 quid B-) ........... Worth thinking about if the rest of the system is fine ;-) ........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
euroserv Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 If anyone needs a nearside exit exhaust for a standard Ducato 2.8 from 2002 to 2006 I have one. We ordered it by mistake a few years ago and strangely enough have not used it. We did get one random van in 2003 that was fitted with the LHD exhaust at the factory though so even on standard vans built to order for the UK market some did slip through! As an aside; we have not yet fitted a down pipe or exhaust system to any of the X250 vans built since 2007. They just don't corrode at all! Not in 7 years or 300,000 miles anyway! I have my suspicions that later vans with DPF's might not be so long lasting though. It might be the coating of oil that non DPF vehicles have in their exhausts that keep the corrosion at bay and the newer ones don't have that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 It's the front pipe, broken away from the flange which connets it to the next section, so hopefully just a new front pipe will sort it.. The exhaust system is the original (nine years old!) so I can't complain. I'm getting a local garage-cum-exhaust place to have a look this morning and they have relevant parts in stock or easily available. I'll get the front pipe done and ask him to look at the rest. If I need a rear pipe I'll be in contact Nick! Thanks everyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 9, 2015 Author Share Posted January 9, 2015 Having difficulty getting a front pipe, so the garage is having to ask Fiat, submitting the VIN number. Fortunately that's easily found under the bonnet. I suspect the difficulty relates to the fact that the MH is a LHD import and although the front pipe will be the same as a UK Ducato, it will take them a while to confirm that. At least I will hopefully end up with a proper Fiat part. The uncertainty is whether I will get it before we plan to leave for Lancashire on Sunday. The rear of the exhaust system is well fixed and the dangling front pipe is clear of the ground so if necessary I suppose I could drive home - or get recovered home. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
747 Posted January 9, 2015 Share Posted January 9, 2015 StuartO - 2015-01-09 10:27 AM Having difficulty getting a front pipe, so the garage is having to ask Fiat, submitting the VIN number. Fortunately that's easily found under the bonnet. I suspect the difficulty relates to the fact that the MH is a LHD import and although the front pipe will be the same as a UK Ducato, it will take them a while to confirm that. At least I will hopefully end up with a proper Fiat part. The uncertainty is whether I will get it before we plan to leave for Lancashire on Sunday. The rear of the exhaust system is well fixed and the dangling front pipe is clear of the ground so if necessary I suppose I could drive home - or get recovered home. The standard UK front pipe is the same as the LHD one. I know this because the same thing happened on my van and the garage got one off the shelf. It is the rest of the exhaust system that differs greatly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 10, 2015 Author Share Posted January 10, 2015 I've been assuming the front pipe is common to LHD and RHD but once this local garage started ring suppliers confusion stepped in. There are lots of exhaust parts on EBay, including front pipes. Too late now so I'll have to drive home and sort it out later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 Don't forget your earplugs ;-) .................I had to do a 400 mile round trip with mine 8-) .................It sounded like a Spitfire (lol) ............... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 10, 2015 Share Posted January 10, 2015 StuartO - 2015-01-10 9:49 AM I've been assuming the front pipe is common to LHD and RHD but once this local garage started ring suppliers confusion stepped in. There are lots of exhaust parts on EBay, including front pipes. Too late now so I'll have to drive home and sort it out later. You may find this thread on fun helpful confirms LHD & RHD front pipes are the same and a link to genuine Fiat one for 57 quid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 11, 2015 Author Share Posted January 11, 2015 lennyhb - 2015-01-10 4:22 PM StuartO - 2015-01-10 9:49 AM I've been assuming the front pipe is common to LHD and RHD but once this local garage started ring suppliers confusion stepped in. There are lots of exhaust parts on EBay, including front pipes. Too late now so I'll have to drive home and sort it out later. You may find this thread on fun helpful confirms LHD & RHD front pipes are the same and a link to genuine Fiat one for 57 quid. Hi Lenny - that thread seems to be about the rear section of the exhaust. Am I getting something wrong? We drove home today, 200 miles, no problem at all. Noisy pulling away and gathering speed through the gears but not too bad once I was over about 40 mph in 5th and it didn't seem noisy at all on the motorway at 60 mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 11, 2015 Share Posted January 11, 2015 Sorry Stuart brain must have dropped out of gear. (lol) I linked you to the wrong thread can't find it know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 12, 2015 Author Share Posted January 12, 2015 I spent today searching for a replacement front pipe once it became clear that my local garage couldn't get one using their usual trade sources. The part is simply not available through motor factors, as you would expect it to be. I will try Fiat commercial tomorrow but I'm not hopeful because I think either my local garage or the motor factor will already have done that. Otherwise it looks like taking a chance on the front pipes offered on EBay for around £50 - although I have also found two possible sources for supply and fitting of a stainless steel system, at between £300 and £450, which might offer a better, longer term solution. Surprisingly (to me) my 2006 Fiat-based 2.8JTD LHD Hymer does not have a catalytic converted fitted (some variants seem to have had front pipes with catalytic converters built into them) so I will at least be able to fit a front pipe which does not have one, although I have found a source of pipes with cats on line for under £100. At least I'm at home, the MH is tucked away in the garage and there is no desparate hurry to get this fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 13, 2015 Author Share Posted January 13, 2015 I rang our local Fiat Professional parts people today - and from the vehicle Reg number they were able to find a listed front pipe. They listed a plain pipe as well as one with a catalytic converter built in. In thepry he could order either and get it within a couple of days but he encouraged me to check with the MH manufacturer first because he'd had experience of ordering standard Fiat parts which didn't fit because the MH manufacturer had modified the exhaust system during the build/conversion. That makes sense because the bodywork is often wider than a standard Fiat Ducato van and MHs often have Alko rear chassis, so at least the rear of the exhaust system could have needed alteration to ensure the tail pipe cleared the bodywork properly. The plain Fiat front pipe was priced at £57 plus VAT (so about the same as those offered on EBay) and the catalytic converter version was £1012 plus VAT, so quite a difference. It is illegal to fit a plain pipe instead of a catalytic converter version but from my enquiries so far it's not at all lear how the MOT Tester would be able to tell which one was supposed to be on the vehicle. I also tried to contact Hymer, to ask if they had modified the standard Fiat exhaust.but Hymer no longer publish contact information for technical enquiries so you have to make contact via a dealer. I therefore contacted the parts chap at Lowdhams. His initial response was to say that Hymer never got involved with exhausts and in 15 years he'd never had to order any exhaust part. But he did see that from my viewpoint, after what the Fiat parts guy had said, that it was necessary to know whether hymer did modify the exhaust or not - and if they did whether they could supply any non-standard exgaust parts which the system included. There is of course nothing in the Hymer manual which comes with the vehicle to help. So I've ordered a non-cat front pipe from EBay, which should arrive within a couple of days and hopefully that will fit and I will be able to get back on the road without waking the dead each time I set off. In slow time I will look into the availability of a stainless srteel system as the longer term solution, since my nine year old rear exhaust system isnt going to last for ever either. It really shouldn;t be as complicated and difficult as this to repair or replace a Hymer exhaust system. These vehicles are sold in large numbers across Europe and LHD models have always been sold through UK Hymer dealers as well as RHD versions. Hymer and its dealers should make the necessary information available easily as ell as supply any exhaust parts which are not standard Fiat items, just as they supply other MH parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 16, 2015 Author Share Posted January 16, 2015 The EBay replacement front pipe (non-cat) arrived today and it is clearly correct for either RHD or LHD vehicles, as someone had already confirmed. I have also found (on EBay) a source in Leeds for a full stainless steel system, supplied and fitted, lifetime guarantee, for £399. There are other sources of stainless systems including a cheaper type of stainless (good for 10 years) for £299 but the standard Fiat system has lasted over 9 years on my MH so I'm not sure that one appeals much. These are all non-cat systems which are made to fit on any Hymer, perhaps any MH. Presumably lots of post 2001 MHs will have cats fitted, which will make things significantly more expensive. I will fit the replacement front pipe and then survey the rest of the system carefully with a view to getting a replacement stainless system before any other part fails. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StuartO Posted January 21, 2015 Author Share Posted January 21, 2015 I have bumped this thread in order to finsih the story witha few more details which might help other motorhomers. The front pipe I ordered from EBay was a good fit. According to the EBay listing it is compatible with 2.3 as well as 2.8JTD of the X244 series Fiat, LHD or RHD, so those made from 2002 to 2006. My MH is a LHD Hymer B674 manufactured late 2005, registered early 2006. No catalytic converter. Installlation was straightforward leaving the rest oif the exhaust system in situ. The front end is a spring loaded mounting system which uses two 10mm specially shaped bolts and standard 10mm nuts; we replaced the nuts with new and the bolts were reusable, as were the springs and special washers. There is no loose gasket or olive at the front end. The rear end is a three bolt flange and the old bolts had to be cut off with an angle grinder, so we used new ones to fasten up. Between the two flanges is a large double-cone shaped sealing washer which we were able to re-use. The mechanic fastened the rear end loosely then the front end loosely, then tightened up the rear to seat the double cone olive, then tightened the front on to the springs until the nuts bottomed on to the special bolts, which leaves then spring-tensioned correctly on to the exhaust manifold. The front end is tucked up behind the lower cross memeber and gets little in the way of road spray but the rear end catches lots of it, which is why the front pipe fails before anything else. The front pipe cost me £49 (because there is no cat) and I was charged an hours labour to fit it. Fortunately the rest of the system looks plenty good enough for the next MOT. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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