Fiat 3.0 Starting

[ianjacko48gmail.com]

Hi All looking to buy a motorhome with a Fiat 3.0 base vehicle, when I start it it seems to making a Thudding noise, when it stars it is absolutely fine. Vehicle has done 30000 miles. Any thoughts greatly appreciated

Cheers Ian

[lancepar]

Welcome........

 

I would imagine the surge from the starter turning the engine is causing something to make conact, which once the engine is running doesn't happen again.

 

Worn engine mountings, exhaust system fixing broken. etc etc.

 

B-)

[euroserv]

Exactly right!

 

All, and i mean ALL of the 3.0 Ducatos that i had on my fleet made this noise. Some more than others. A thump immediately after starting.

 

I think it was a design flaw by Fiat in that the engine mountings are directly opposite each other and an engine with a lot of torque is going to rock a little on starting.

 

This problem is worse on vehicles with worn rear engine/gearbox mounts. There are two pieces of the mount at the rear of the engine that can be accessed easily from underneath. If any of the bushes look worn or have a greasy appearance, you should get the support component replaced. This will not make the problem go away but it will help.

 

N

[onecal]

Check your engine mounts one may actually loose or bottoming out during high torque during cold start , also the dogbone gearbox mount may need to be replaced epically if oily or gone soft or perished

Replacing the engine mounts with a harder rubber may cause more problems

Have a look at your exhaust and replace the rubber mount on the first hanger with a stronger one and ensure there is enough clearance at the crossmember

Depress the clutch on startup and see does this help with the engine cold on first startup

It's a common fault