I have just replaced the front subframe on my 1997 Ducato based Swift Royale 610 motorhome, the MoT tester found a serious case of corrosion on the base of the passenger side front attachment arm. These are known for rust on the front subframe & radiator crossmember, my guess is that the rust protection was inadequate on manufacture.
Sourcing a new one was difficult, the only supplier I could find was in Germany at a cost of £1170 plus vat & freight but they did not return mine nor my garages emails so they must have been out of stock, second hand ‘rust free’ ones were on eBay for £350 + freight, but that was a last resort.
The earlier Ducato subframes are fixed to the vehicle chassis with 6 12mm bolts, a later modified version has 8mm bolts, the dowels on the arm fittings are reduced for the 8mm bolts and consequently the 12mm bolts will not fit.
A lot of internet searching and phone calls turned up nothing but a cross reference list of Ducato subframe fitments, local van dismantlers only had 2012 on Ducato that the subframes were not compatible, sheer chance found a guy in a van repair shop who told me of an 2006 van just into a local scrap metal yard and I checked it and found it the same type as the one on my 1997, so I bought that for a couple of hundred quid which I thought great value as the anti roll bar and front arms were included.
All sorted now, if you haven’t checked your subframe do it now-mine had no corrosion on it at the last MoT, it had been eaten away from the inside-I covered 3,600 miles in France last year too!
Sourcing a new one was difficult, the only supplier I could find was in Germany at a cost of £1170 plus vat & freight but they did not return mine nor my garages emails so they must have been out of stock, second hand ‘rust free’ ones were on eBay for £350 + freight, but that was a last resort.
The earlier Ducato subframes are fixed to the vehicle chassis with 6 12mm bolts, a later modified version has 8mm bolts, the dowels on the arm fittings are reduced for the 8mm bolts and consequently the 12mm bolts will not fit.
A lot of internet searching and phone calls turned up nothing but a cross reference list of Ducato subframe fitments, local van dismantlers only had 2012 on Ducato that the subframes were not compatible, sheer chance found a guy in a van repair shop who told me of an 2006 van just into a local scrap metal yard and I checked it and found it the same type as the one on my 1997, so I bought that for a couple of hundred quid which I thought great value as the anti roll bar and front arms were included.
All sorted now, if you haven’t checked your subframe do it now-mine had no corrosion on it at the last MoT, it had been eaten away from the inside-I covered 3,600 miles in France last year too!
