Technical X250 Advice on maintenance/repairs (thermostat, engine mounts, belts...)

[nigelvan]

Hi again!
It's been a while since I posted on this forum while we were on the road with our 2007 Citroen Jumper 3.0 converted van.
We are spending a few months at home and I want to take this time to thoroughly prepare the van for the winter and the next trip towards Eastern Europe.
We are getting close to 140000 km and I think I need to check and replace a few things. I got the van at 114000 km without service history and I did replace a few things like filters, the famous throttle body and complete brake system overhaul.
I want to check with you guys if some jobs are maybe not needed, or are harder like they seem... So here's my to do list:

- Replace AC and Accessory belt: doesn't seem like a hard job, do I need special tools? I think the pulleys are fine but I'll check the alternator clutch. as well.
- Replace the thermostat: it runs cool even in summer, about 1/8th below the middle of the gauge, the ODB tool tells me around 80 C while cruising. Reaching 95 under heavy load. It also takes a while to warm up, I can feel the expansion tank getting hotter when the thermostat should still be closed with a cold engine. Might this cause excess carbon build-up on the TB? Doesn't seem like a hard job as the thermostat is at the front of the engine. Should I replace the temp sensor as well while at it? Coolant will be replaced when I do this of course.
- Replace engine mounts: Getting weird squeaks when releasing the clutch suddenly or when tapping the accelerator at low speeds when in 2nd and 3th (with clutch engaged already). I figured this could be the engine mounts. Also feeling some droning coming from the engine when stopped at a traffic light (not always). I have no idea how hard this job is. The rear engine mount seems tricky. The clutch itself seems to be in good condition but it's hard to tell for sure.
- Drop the oil pan and inspect the sump and look for things that shouldn't be here and see if there's gunk from late oil services before. Oil pan needs an anti-rust treatment anyway. Also doesn't seem like a hard job if no bolts break.
- Normal oil service & filter: I am running Liquimoly Leichtlauf Hightech 5w40 now. People telling me to use 5w30...0w40... use this additive, that additive. Anyone has any advise for oil and additive (if I should any) for the Iveco 3.0?
- Drop the fuel tank for inspection: During the time we've had it we had 2 stalls on the same day with "Fuel regulator performance" issue. It never came back. Did we get bad diesel in Italy? Since the van clearly hadn't driven much lately when we bought it I figured they might be some crap in the tank. Seems like a rather intensive job. I might get a bore cam first to inspect visually. But replacing the fuel pump after 15 years might also not be a bad idea.
- Inspect the control arms/wishbones: the rubber doesn't seem to good anymore.
Did I miss something?

I know this is a long list but this seems like a better idea than spamming 10 topics on the forum. If anyone thinks otherwise, let me know.

 

[nigelvan]

So what I did:
- Replace thermostat: easy enough, drop the coolant, unbolt 4 bolts holding the thermostat, replace thermostat and gasket. This fixed the fact that it was running a bit cool under little load.
- Engine mount: also not too bad, I replaced the back/bottom one, the whole piece. Squeaky noise when releasing clutch is gone. Smoother acceleration from stand-still
- wishbones were still good, no comments at the technical inspection
- Left the belts, looked good on visual inspection, belt-tensioner still does its job
- oil arrived too late, was only running it for 15000 km so it can wait.
- fuel tank: didn't go there
- oil pan: didn't go there as it involves removing the other drive shaft (long one)
- Cleaning MAF, MAP and EGR + heat exchanger

I did end up taking out the other axle to fix a small diff oil leak. Was a bit daunting but so happy I managed to do it on my own.

I also put some Total Diecyl in the tank and after 1200 km through Europe (including mountain passes in Austria and Slovenia) I can report an average fuel consumption of 9.6L/100km with full load (probably a bit over 3.5 Ton). Which seems really good considering it was above 10L before.

 

[gm6vxb]

It is possible you had judder when reversing, especially if going slightly up hill. More noticable though on the 2.2/2.3 Litre engines.
This was caused by a 'too soft' rear engine mount and 'too high' reverse gear fitted from factory around 2007.
The newer mounts are noticably harder so engine rock virtually disappeared but engine noise might be slightly more noticable than before.
The higher reverse gearing was debated on several Fiat motorhome sides under 'Juddergate' several years ago
with some people either burning out clutches or breaking parts in the gearbox.

It is worth looking at all the exhaust mounts including those on the downpipe to the silencer as these are known to split the rubbers, only
hanging on by a fabric(?) tape around the rubbers.
I have replaced all of mine (Ebay ones) but also put a strong cable tie around the outside and so far (6 years) have not had one split, before had them
splitting nearly every year.

The oil sump is also an issue with all Ducato X250 models as they do tend to be in a position to catch every stone flying up and taking the paint off,
and in not too many years the sump goes rusty, and in my case developed a leak.
Even though the sump was only replaced two years ago there were rust spots starting to show, so spent a dirty afternoon wirebrushing, priming and repainting the sump in situ which is not an easy job without ramps.

Dropping the fuel tank is not too hard to do if you can get the van high enough to work underneath, but maybe easier to take the fuel pump out
of the top and have a look inside when fuel levels are low, but would be suprised if you found anything as fuel regulator problems are further up the line from the tank/pump.

If the van has gone through an MOT recently then wishbone rubber mounts will be ok. You can replace these rubbers without having to replace the wishbones but this is not an easy job to do in a driveway.

 

[nigelvan]

Thanks for the feedback! I'm aware of the reverse gear problem but never had any issues driving backwards (just go faster). I guess it's harder to do if you drive a motorhome only a few weeks a year...this one is a regular van... I had a squeak when shifting a bit fast from 2nd to 3th or down from 3th to 2nd to slow down, also when releasing the clutch too fast. This is gone now; the rubber on the engine mount was worn out so the whole part shifted (the hole of the engine mount bushing is much bigger than the bolt that goes through it) every time scraping metal to metal.
Exhaust mounts were replaced last year because they were all gone indeed, good tip about the zip ties.

I forgot to mention but the oil pan was rusty indeed but not too bad yet. So I cleaned it up with a wire brush and Dremel and painted it with Hammerite metal paint (Anti-rust) just like you.
About the fuel tank I agree with you that problem will probably happen first in the high pressure pump or further down the line.