Ford Transit Diesel automatic experience please
Discussion
I am shortly looking to upgrade our motorhome & one that we are interested in that comes up regularly is based on a 2.0 diesel automatic Transit but I have only ever driven Fiat/Peugeot manuals before.
I am seeking any experiences of similar based vans for those of you out there that use this type of base vehicle.
Particularly the 'box and any engine foibles that I need to be aware of.
Thanks in advance.
I am seeking any experiences of similar based vans for those of you out there that use this type of base vehicle.
Particularly the 'box and any engine foibles that I need to be aware of.
Thanks in advance.
Google “Transit Wet Belt problems” before you make a decision.
We have an automatic Transit minibus, they drive well, not sure about the extra weight of a camper conversion though.
Our gearbox made it to 150,000 miles before needing a £7000 repair, now on 220.000m with its third engine.
We have an automatic Transit minibus, they drive well, not sure about the extra weight of a camper conversion though.
Our gearbox made it to 150,000 miles before needing a £7000 repair, now on 220.000m with its third engine.
[quote=kev b]Google “Transit Wet Belt problems” before you make a decision.[quote]
Ah! I didn't realise they were wet belts, well that is off the list then.
[quote=kev b]Our gearbox made it to 150,000 miles before needing a £7000 repair, now on 220.000m with its third engine.[quote]
That didn't help them out either.
Many thanks Kev, that is all I needed to know.
Why, oh why do manufacturers fit these abominations?
Ah! I didn't realise they were wet belts, well that is off the list then.
[quote=kev b]Our gearbox made it to 150,000 miles before needing a £7000 repair, now on 220.000m with its third engine.[quote]
That didn't help them out either.
Many thanks Kev, that is all I needed to know.
Why, oh why do manufacturers fit these abominations?
Edited by E-bmw on Saturday 11th January 12:35
We’ve discussed what van we’ll get next rather extensively at work. We currently have an ex rental transit custom from 2018 that was purchased on ~15,000 miles. We did the wet belt at the new, earlier interval. (IIRC it’s something like 6 years or 60k, rather than the original 10/100k). It cost around £1500 at an Indy, so not cheap. Since ours was bought on such low mileage, it wasn’t at risk of having the belt degrade too much before hand.
Having said all this, I wouldn’t buy another, and the current one was purchased before I worked for the company, or I’d have steered away from it. Also note the new transit custom (the one with independent rear suspension) uses the same engine, as will the new transporter which is simply going to be a rebadged transit with some different panels.
From my research I’ve seen the Citroen Dispatch / Peugeot Expert recommended (they’re the same van underneath, built under PSA/Stelantis, I believe the vivaro and also the Toyota vans are built by them too). You want a 2023+ 1.5bluehdi, as earlier ones had a weaker timing chain which could snap, or an older (2019/2020) 1.6 which are said to be pretty bulletproof. You may be able to find used examples which have had the chain upgraded, it’s 7mm vs 8mm.
It seems a minefield to actually get a decent and reliable modern van tbh, a lot of people I know have moved over to the Citroen / Peugeot, and I’ve heard a lot of issues (albeit non wet belt related) with one blokes transit in particular. Ours has been fine to be fair to it, and if you can get one with proven belt changes, factoring in the cost of doing it again could make it viable if you were really set on one.
Having said all this, I wouldn’t buy another, and the current one was purchased before I worked for the company, or I’d have steered away from it. Also note the new transit custom (the one with independent rear suspension) uses the same engine, as will the new transporter which is simply going to be a rebadged transit with some different panels.
From my research I’ve seen the Citroen Dispatch / Peugeot Expert recommended (they’re the same van underneath, built under PSA/Stelantis, I believe the vivaro and also the Toyota vans are built by them too). You want a 2023+ 1.5bluehdi, as earlier ones had a weaker timing chain which could snap, or an older (2019/2020) 1.6 which are said to be pretty bulletproof. You may be able to find used examples which have had the chain upgraded, it’s 7mm vs 8mm.
It seems a minefield to actually get a decent and reliable modern van tbh, a lot of people I know have moved over to the Citroen / Peugeot, and I’ve heard a lot of issues (albeit non wet belt related) with one blokes transit in particular. Ours has been fine to be fair to it, and if you can get one with proven belt changes, factoring in the cost of doing it again could make it viable if you were really set on one.
Thanks for your experience, although not all of it is relevant to my other options.
The Fiat/Pug based motorhomes seem to exclusively use the 2.3 140/160 PSA engine which has now gone to belt from chain in the age I am looking at.
I have now decided that the Transit based ones are out as to keep up manufacturers servicing would cost an additional £3 to 4K (over a 6 year 'belt swap cycle) over the Pug/Fiat based ones which I would be happy to service and belt change myself.
TBH the one Transit based van I was looking at as a possible would basically need to be new, so was only ever a slight chance of ever happening.
The Fiat/Pug based motorhomes seem to exclusively use the 2.3 140/160 PSA engine which has now gone to belt from chain in the age I am looking at.
I have now decided that the Transit based ones are out as to keep up manufacturers servicing would cost an additional £3 to 4K (over a 6 year 'belt swap cycle) over the Pug/Fiat based ones which I would be happy to service and belt change myself.
TBH the one Transit based van I was looking at as a possible would basically need to be new, so was only ever a slight chance of ever happening.
We ran a couple of 21/22 Transit Customs and a couple of big Transits. All drove well comfortable, fast etc etc. One of the Customs needed gearbox work just out of warranty, something to do with the duel clutch flywheels needing to be skimmed or refinished. I think it was the London van so not sure if it overheated at some point.
Other than this they were fine.
The Vitos we ran were just as reliable but didn't need the gearbox rebuild as they use the traditional torque converters.
The Renault Traffics had a few issues with the electrics, Random faults etc but nothing serious.
One of our customers use big Vauxhalls (Sprinter size) of some kind and they have all had heat exchanger issues.
Other than this they were fine.
The Vitos we ran were just as reliable but didn't need the gearbox rebuild as they use the traditional torque converters.
The Renault Traffics had a few issues with the electrics, Random faults etc but nothing serious.
One of our customers use big Vauxhalls (Sprinter size) of some kind and they have all had heat exchanger issues.
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