On trying to start my 2013 Ducato based Swift motorhome one very cold morning in France 4 weeks ago the engine turned over but would not fire up.
Here I am 4 weeks later with the motorhome repatriated back to the UK and my local dealer has advised that the probable cause of my problems is the timing belt getting wet and freezing up thereby causing it to slip when trying to start. It seems the dealer is aware of the issue of water ingress into the engine bay (an issue I have found on-line to be quite a well known one).
I am now facing a bill of several thousand pounds to rectify the damage caused.
My research on the internet has shown many instances of the exact same thing happening to others but I am not having any luck finding out how those situations were resolved or whether Fiat took any responsibility for what clearly seems to be an inherent manufacturing fault and/or a design fault.
Can anyone out there assist in my quest to find factual evidence with which to pursue Fiat ? Thanks.

Hi.

The threads I have seen on here have generally been on older vans..whete the owners have just repaired the damage themselves.

Its all down to mileage coveted..and expected to cover.

If yours has covered significant mileage..a replacement engine along with new clutch could be a worthwhile investment.

AFAIK.. the SEVEL built Chassis all share the water ingress.

Unless the unit it within 2 years of 1st use..I suspect any assistance from FIAT would be unlikely.

My motorhome has only done 20,000 miles so I would certainly not be expecting to fit a new engine.

Several thousand would replace the whole engine and turbo. Did they actually assess the actual damage. Its possible it needs as little as a couple of valves and stem seals. New Cylinder head with valves is about €1000 on ebay from germany.

If it failed when starting, as long as the failure was from the starter only, and the engine did not run, damage is likely to be light.
Many diesels are designed to snap the rockers before serious internal damage is incurred. Pop the top off and look at them. Quite possibly one or two new ones needed, new belt, fitted and timed. So don't despair just yet.

There have been similar threads recently. Do a search.

Historically the Ducato has used several engine suppliers...
No idea of your motors origin..

We are just saying it could be cost effective to fit a complete guaranteed enging than spend a lot on labour reparing damaged parts.

As stated SOME modern diesels employ sacrificial parts.. so a peek under the cam.cover would be a sensible 1st step.

Charlie. Oxford

The last repair on 2.3 ducato I did with the same cause bent all 8 inlet valves and broke all inlet rockers,the water rusted the water pump pulley , all injector clamp bolts seized I managed to remove with out snapping but they pulled the threads out head , the glow plugs had seized in too, if your engine got the cone shape fuel injectors that don’t have sealing copper washer then you could have trouble with refitting that troublesome cylinder head getting injectors to reseal there’s around 380 to 400psi compression on good 2.3,new cylinder head with valves around £1200 I haven’t had piston or big end trouble from belt jumping when turnover on 2.3 advise go new cylinder head you’ll need 16 new rockers with all other bits still gonna be costly

Thank's for your reply. A helpful one from someone who appears to know about this problem.
One of the injector bolts has seized but the others are ok.
I have the motorhome with a Fiat dealer who are waiting on a 'specialist' outfit to drill out the bolt etc.
What was the year of the Ducato you worked on ?
Do you know how the water got into the engine compartment, that is to say where was it leaking ?

Your scuttle panel needs removing and resealing it’s caused all your trouble read other threads ,scuttle panel leaking!!wait a specialist??STOP !!what they charge an hour?have you had a price for them to drill down 2 inch to rethread head have they gave a price?the heads got to come off anyway so no point paying specialist what someone with a drill or wd40 the bolt will snap anyway,The engineering company can drill bolt on a pillar drill in half the time when they skim the head quicker and more accurate !!has the other injectors pulled out head ok .tell us what they charge to drill bolt!!or hourly rate.