Technical 2003 2.8 automatic - uses a bit of oil

[wanderer 888]

Hi, newbie here. I bought a 2003 Fiat 2.8 Ducato automatic recently - as a motorhome in Germany (LMC Liberty). I bought it because I had been looking for an automatic, the 2.8 is much more powerful - and it had low kilometres, now at 106,000.

The van drives very well considering its registered at 3500 kg weight, with perhaps a bit more added baggage. Driving through the mountains from Spain through Portugal, it gets up most steep hills at a pretty good pace, a far cry from my old Fiat 1990 Ducato 2.5!

My main concern is that it has used a fair bit of oil since I bought it in June, I have done nearly 10,000 kms travelling. I had an oil change immediately when I bought it as I did not know when the last one had been done.

The dot markers for the oil when you start it up have gone from 6 dots to 2 in three months. Whether this is normal I did not know, but I have two theories.

One is that I noticed black smoke coming out the side exhaust one day when accelerating. I put a bottle of injector cleaner through the fuel tank and have not noticed any since. Not sure if the black smoke was just a tuning issue or using more oil.

The other is that I have worked the van pretty hard in having to accelerate through steep mountain roads - do you think this would be where the main oil use is from? Otherwise, the van motor seems to be a very reliable workhorse.

Auto Gearbox: Just on this theme, is there a way to optimise the gearbox on the van's computer? Seems to be working OK but wondered if there was this option or what I should ask for?

 

[varesecrazy]

Hi and welcome

I had a 1990 2.5 good motors..
but the 'turbo revolution' was certainly a good thing

From a similar era I had a car with an oil level sensor.. it was terribly inaccurate

I would get to check yours manually on a regular basis now.. just to gauge oil consumption..

There is a chance you will notice an oily area.. from a loose hose..etc

Or just as likely.. no great issue

Charlie

 

[corcai]

Are you using 5w40? It pisses through that engine. 10w40 or even 15w40 for Spanish temperatures.

 

[IceVovo]

Mine was losing oil also....all over the engine!
But turns out it was my Rocker cover gasket. It had hardened.
I just bought a new one from Iveco and installed it.
Seems to be leaking less oil ...but I am monitoring this.
I did not use any silicone gasket maker sealant.

Your is the 2003 2.8 JTD right?

It is hot here also. So I am using 10w40 and will do a more frequent oil change.

I also noticed oil in some of the air pipes. Van is oldish.
I hope my Turbo seals are not gone? They can go.
I am unsure if my Turbo is oil or water cooled?
Anyone here know?

Gearbox
I have the auto gearbox also.
It is suppose to be self learning from your driving style?
Note...I have the ZF4HP20 auto gearbox.
It has a manual shift mode...if you want to control the changes.

 

[wanderer 888]

that could be it, I recall that the recommended oil was rather light, at least 10/40 could have been 5/40. Thanks!

 

[wanderer 888]

Mine was losing oil also....all over the engine!
But turns out it was my Rocker cover gasket. It had hardened.
I just bought a new one from Iveco and installed it.
Seems to be leaking less oil ...but I am monitoring this.
I did not use any silicone gasket maker sealant.

Your is the 2003 2.8 JTD right?

It is hot here also. So I am using 10w40 and will do a more frequent oil change.

I also noticed oil in some of the air pipes. Van is oldish.
I hope my Turbo seals are not gone? They can go.
I am unsure if my Turbo is oil or water cooled?
Anyone here know?

Gearbox
I have the auto gearbox also.
It is suppose to be self learning from your driving style?
Note...I have the ZF4HP20 auto gearbox.
It has a manual shift mode...if you want to control the changes.

no leaks that i can see in mine, I used Castrol 10/40 for its first oil change, the equivalent to the German recommended oil - Selenia.
Yes mine is a 2003 2.8 JTD. I assume its the same gearbox, will have to check. 4 or 5 speed? My manuals are in German but I could not see ZF4HP20 written anywhere.

Trying to figure out how to use that manual option, it appears fairly simple, have not been able to find any video or reading material about it.

If it is self learning I would still like to figure out if it can be tweaked via the van's computer. Sometimes it appears to be searching for a gear but most times its not a problem. It is low mileage at 116,000 km,s so I am assuming its never had a gearbox oil change. Have no idea how often that is supposed to be done either.

 

[wanderer 888]

Are you using 5w40? It pisses through that engine. 10w40 or even 15w40 for Spanish temperatures.

Castrol 10/40

 

[wanderer 888]

the gauge is accurate, matches dipstick. Thanks for the tips on leaks, will keep a closer eye!

 

[IceVovo]

@Wander 888

As far as i know...the automatic only came as the 4 speed made by ZF for our years.
But you can manually confirm by removing the Air Filter housing.

Once you remove that and the large air pipe, you will have a view from above of the gearbox on the left side of the engine bay.

On top of the gearbox, there should be a Gearbox model identification plate.
Remember the Hindenberg? Remember the Zeppelin.
The Zepellin was invented in Friedrichschafen.
ZF is a german gearbox manufacturer from there.

Our gearbox is also used in the Mercedez Vito Van.

But it is also identifiable by using MES which can read the Gearbox ECU using the correct OBDII cable.

The automatic gearbox is basically a predecessor to the roboticised ZF Comformatic gearbox.
( that shift has 6 gears or more)

So you can watch a youtube video on the comformatic gearbox use.
It looks the same as ours...but ours only has 4 gears and a cable shift?.
I am not an automatic gearbox expert but have read the ZF gearbox manual.

The 4 speed cruises nicely at 100-110 Km/hr in 4th gear.

 

[IceVovo]

btw...You wouldn't find much info on the gearbox in the owners manual!

 

[wanderer 888]

thanks for the tips Peter, I will check it out sometime when next under the hood! I still need a video or tips on how to use this current gear shift in manual mode.

 

[IceVovo]

This is basically it for the manual shift part....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtncZsNJroE