Technical 2019, 2.3 , 150 campervan front suspension issues

[deejays]

Agreed, but this is the biggest issue with these vans.
Finding a good mech eng with any experience on them and prepared to do the work, isa very rare thing in Australia.
The nearest Fiat service center to me is 2+ hrs away, and doesnt seem too willing to check this out.
I have tried unsuccessufully with 4 separate mech shops to even get a basic allignment check, let alone prepared to rectify the problem. I seems service shops have enough demand to choose what ther want to work on.
Fiat are just not well supported here.

Chadz, if you are intent on finding the issue yourself, you need another van for reference so you can make some meaningful measurements. If not, then you need to find a good mechanic. I feel it has become pointless for you to continue posting. If I was near by (which I am not) I would be happy to rock up with my van and have a quick look.

 

[bugsymike]

Agreed, but this is the biggest issue with these vans.
Finding a good mech eng with any experience on them and prepared to do the work, isa very rare thing in Australia.
The nearest Fiat service center to me is 2+ hrs away, and doesnt seem too willing to check this out.
I have tried unsuccessufully with 4 separate mech shops to even get a basic allignment check, let alone prepared to rectify the problem. I seems service shops have enough demand to choose what ther want to work on.
Fiat are just not well supported here.

What about a delivery company that uses similar vans, if you can find one local, ask them what garage they go to.
It may not be Fiat based, but if their mechanics are good alround at their job they may be of more use, I never specialised on Fiat or any other make, my customers had many different vehicles and kept coming back to me, some for well over twenty years, until I retired.

 

[Anthony489]

Hi again Chadz

My mistake, you are correct of course, negative camber corresponds to the wheel leaning in at the top.

A 16 inch rim is 406 mm at the tyre bead, plus another 14 or so for the flange making 420 mm overall. Every degree of lean gives about 7 mm difference between top and bottom, so 60 mm in would be 8 degrees of negative camber as you say

That's still a massive amount, so something is seriously wrong

It's hard to see any error in strut top position (too far in) or lower wishbone length (too long) being enough to cause this, they would have to be absolutely miles out and the driveshaft wouldn't reach the hub.

That only really leaves distortion in the bearing housing / hub, which would leave the tyre sidewall roughly 50 mm closer to the strut tube than normal

I can't get to my van to measure this, any other volunteers to check out the normal tyre to strut spacing ?

 

[daroya]

The front end geometry has serious issues.
Front tyres hae worn down to < 3mm from new, within 15,000 kms. But even wear ?
The springs have the usual sag with only 750 mm measured to the wheel arch.
There is also the typical violent crash on the bump stops when any road bump or pot hole is crossed
I have tried 3 different suspension shops to get the allignment check and reset, but without luck since there is excess negative camber ( which cannot be adjusted) and none of the shops will do anything until i get the camber fixed.
My own crude but repeatable camber measurement suggests 10-15 deg negative on the driver side, and much more , 15-20deg on the passenger ( left) side. .??
At the same time there is at leas 15+ mm toe in !
Whilst this is a high milage (240k, kms) ex rental, its service records suggest new struts, ball joints, etc were fitted at 220k kms, and they do look recent.
What could be causing this excess negative camber ? …struts not installed correctly
A plan on the increased height Kings springs, but need to understand what else may need replacing
Sugesstions on good DJ hochzeit Mannheim in southern NSW also welcome !

Excess negative camber could be due to incorrectly installed struts, bent control arms, or subframe misalignment. Even with new parts, if they weren’t installed properly or are the wrong spec, geometry will be off. Sagging springs worsen the issue, and your measured camber is far beyond normal. Upgrading to raised Kings springs will help, but you may also need new strut mounts or control arms. Have the subframe and suspension arms inspected for damage or misalignment. A specialist familiar with Ducato campers is your best option for proper diagnosis and repair.

 

[Chadz]

OK,.. After overseas travel delay, i finally got down to fixing this camber problem.
Much time spent assesing the possible cause led me to conclude it must be bent struts…
…ehich turned out to be correct !
New struts and raised Kings springs were ordered and i have just finished fitting them today.
Camber is back to standard, toe in is also corrected and the front now sits 60 mm higher .
$650 Au total and a days curseing got it done.

 

[bugsymike]

OK,.. After overseas travel delay, i finally got down to fixing this camber problem.
Much time spent assesing the possible cause led me to conclude it must be bent struts…
…ehich turned out to be correct !
New struts and raised Kings springs were ordered and i have just finished fitting them today.
Camber is back to standard, toe in is also corrected and the front now sits 60 mm higher .
$650 Au total and a days curseing got it done.

Glad you got it sorted, I assume the Dealer sold it to you like that after the last prospective buyer going for a land speed record didn't see the hump back bridge whilst on roadtest.

 

[Chadz]

Most likely.
But those standard springs gave very short bump travel (50-60mm) that almost any pothole etc caused the bumpstops to be smashed
Those struts and springs were less than 1 yr old !