Technical 54 2.8 Ducatto JTD - Intermittent Clutch/Gear Selector Problem - Advice Appreciated

[Seaside John]

Two weeks ago I bought a 54 plate Burstner A Class motorhome with a Fiat Ducatto 2.8 JTD drive-train. It has done just 24,000 miles.

During the first week I had it I noticed that the clutch seemed to slip - the slightest pressure on the pedal allowed the engine revs to increase and if I put in third gear with the hand brake on, revved the engine and released the clutch the engine would only stall when the pedal was fully released.

Having found a few niggles in the caravan side of things I had arranged to take it back to the dealers for repairs yesterday at the end of a weeks holiday. During the latter part of the week I found it very hard to select gears with the engine running - I discovered that if the engine wasn't running I could move the gear lever in and out of gears easily. Due to this problem, my drive to the dealers the was fraught and had it not been Bank Holiday Monday I would have called the recovery service. During the last five miles of the journey I could only put the van into a gear by stopping, turning the engine off, selecting the gear, depressing the clutch, starting the engine and letting the clutch out. To change to a different gear I had to stop, turn the engine off re-select a gear and repeat the process.

The dealer was happy to send the 'van off to an off site garage to have it repaired and I left them to t and went home, a hundred miles away, in a courtesy car.

Today I had a call from the dealer to say that the garage had collected the 'van and taken it to their workshops and it had driven perfectly: they had tried it a few times through the day and could not replicate the problem I have described. During several conversations with the dealers and the garage through the day no-one has been able to suggest a cause for the problem, let alone a solution. I'm reluctant to take the 'van back with an undiagnosed, unrepaired problem (especially as it's going to be the first motorhome my wife has driven) and no-one, especially the dealer, wants to start replacing clutches and gearboxes on the basis of trial and error. Especially given the low mileage.

Any advice will be greatly appreciated,

Many thanks,

John

 

[taffybloke]

I would seek to have the van looked at by an independant garage like Dave Newell or get your money back and go to a trustworthy seller

Mike

 

[Seaside John]

Thanks for your comments taffybloke, and for the recommendation - I hadn't heard of Dave Newell before, I'll keep a note of his name for future reference - but one of the difficulties in this conundrum is the distances involved.

At this stage I was hoping a fellow member who might have come across this intermittent problem before could help identify the mechanical fault.

I think the dealer I bought the van from has quite a good reputation, it's a big family concern that has been around for decades.The last word I had from them was apologetic and positive.