rusty cross member!!!

[geoff1941]

In response to your article re. rusty cross member Jan 2008. i thought i must write in telling you about my experience. I own a Bessecarr E425. When my vehicle reached two tears old I noticed a rust patch on the ground where it was parked. On further inspection I noticed the cross member rusting. I invdtigated the problem and found that it was caused by water running from the overhead cab, down onto the bonnet and through onto the top of the battery. (if you notice that the battery on this model has a lip on the upper rim} this was creating a pool of water on the top of the battery. This was then mixing with the battery fluid and running over the lip onto the cross member therefore causing the premeture rust.

I removed the cross member, sand blasted and cleaned it up, also replaced the battery with one that does not have a lip! and since then have not hada problem. Hope this helps and you can sort your rust out! Geoff

[Derek Uzzell]

This links to an earlier posting ("Ducato Based Hymer Front Crossmember") by Fetch & Carry, part of which was published on page 217 of MMM Jan 2008

[colin]

Just wondering how long ago. The washing out of batery fluid I recall as a common problem on sevel vans, the excuese from manufacturers as I recall was "not our fault it's a van shouldn't be left standing for long periods" but I thought they eventualy fixed it, only to design the new van with a simileir problem of water flowing throu the engine compartment, of cause they can no longer use their old excuese as they suposidly designed new van to be converted to motorhome.