# talbot vans ?  good ??



## james pond (Oct 18, 2011)

the scarcity of RWD drive vans is forcing me to conside FWD. yes i know they theoretically have advantages, but are they mechanically reliable. several on ebay have gearbox faults. a chap on the 'other' MH site was stranded abroad when his wheel bearings gave up. my wife is disabled and reliability is paramount; oh, that and a nice bog.  advice, opinions, rumours, anything welcome.


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## caspar (Oct 19, 2011)

I'm sure I'll be quickly corrected if I'm wrong, but I think all Talbot based, Fiat Ducato based and Peugeot based diesel motorhomes from the late 80's - early 90's shared the same 2.5 litre engine. They are known for gearbox problems, predominantly with 5th gear as it was really just a bolt on to a 4 speed box rather than a properly designed 5 speed box. The gear box is vague to say the least,but once you're used to it causes few, if any problems. As regards other faults, the sheer number of them on the road must say something about them. I've just bought a Ducato based one, and everyone I talked to who had owned one of these had been pleased with it. 

At the end of the day, if its been abused or you get one of the Friday afternoon ones, there'll be problems, but this is true of most makes. So far with mine I've been delighted.


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## Ste (Oct 19, 2011)

caspar said:


> I'm sure I'll be quickly corrected if I'm wrong, but I think all Talbot based, Fiat Ducato based and Peugeot based diesel motorhomes from the late 80's - early 90's shared the same 2.5 litre engine.



Well your almost right! Peugeot/Citreon are same 2.5 engine. Some of the fiats have the same engine, some have a turbo version. Some Fiat chassis used the Sofim 2.5/2.5t which Fiat developed with Renault (And can be found in the Master vans of the same period). If you need a Sofim engine (As I need right now) you may have problems, They are like rocking horse s@#*!! The differences are only slight but significant enough that the peugeot/citreon based 2.5 does not fit straight in as a replacement.

You can also find these vans with a 1.9 diesel or 2.0 petrol. ok for a small conversion, but a little underpowered for 3.5t coachbuilts.


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## scotsy (Oct 19, 2011)

*Rwd*

Although the conversion i am doing is a 'van' conversion so may not be what you are looking for it has RWD being the early shape Sprinter/LT with a 2.9TD engine, this van does 29mpg whatever speed you drive at and will happily return that mileage at a cruising speed of 75mph (doesn't seem to improve at a lower speed of 55/60mph). 

There are some lovely motorhomes built on the Sprinter chassis, i recently looked at a Ci Cipro based on the proper chassis that had something like 160bhp on tap!!!  Bit pricey but a lovely motorhome

I once had a FWD Van like the talbot called Citroen C25 2.5 diesel which used to eat driveshafts for fun :hammer:

Old shape transits are also available on the RWD but the floor is therefore higher due to the propshaft run

Ian


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## CompoSimmonite (Oct 19, 2011)

If relability is important then I'd suggest you seriously consider something like a VW or Ford with the massive spares availability / backup.
Whilst Talbot vans might be good if they go wrong then where are you going to get a spare part even if something minor ? Other than motorhomes they have virtually dissapeared off the UK roads over the years since production ceased. It's OK saying you can use specialist suppliers, import from abroad, buy off eBay etc but that doesen't help on a Friday afternoon in middle of nowhere whereas the AA / RAC can always find the bit needed for a Transit or VW. 
Just my opinion

Paul H


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## james pond (Oct 19, 2011)

thanks to everyone for their replies, the more the merrier to gain a consensus of opinion. i was talking to a mechanic to toaday nd when i mentioned bedford cf i was less than polite about them ; i had always thought them ok, least in the diesel version. been to look at a citroen c25 today; whew ! ropey engine or what. only 71,000 as well.   ste; not being at all mechanically minded, how do i tell the diff between the two fiat engines, dont fancy being lumbered with something i cant get spares for; ditto talbots, anyone out there experienced problems ??


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## Ste (Oct 20, 2011)

james pond said:


> ste; not being at all mechanically minded, how do i tell the diff between the two fiat engines, dont fancy being lumbered with something i cant get spares for; ditto talbots, anyone out there experienced problems ??



Not easy i'm afraid. Need a very small head and good flexiblity, or a couple or mirrors!! Lay on your back, feet pointing towards the rear! on the lower front of the engine block is a cast-in number. This along with other numbers, VIN plate etc. should give you the information you need to tell you which engine is which. 
There's also a Talbot MH owners club which covers all variations of the original Talbot van, Talbot/Pug/Citroen/Fiat/Alfa
Identifying the diff between the NA/turbo engines is a lot easier. Although the turbo isn't huge, its significantky different from an injection system. But make sure its an original turbo, not an aftermarket addition/modification, as the manifolds are different, and the NA manifold won't take the pressure!

If in doubt, find a friend who knows a little about things.


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## winchman (Oct 25, 2011)

I had a 1972 Bedford CF and it was the most reliable camper I have had wish I had never sold it.
I now have a Fiat Ducato Holds worth conversion, they are very cheap but just the same inside as the other vans that cost twice as much, one guy sells the bits to repair the gear linkage so dont let thaht put you off.
The petrol engines are bomb proof old designand technology
The Talbot express club is fantastic and a good source of info and its free
Talbot EXPRESS Campervan/Motorhome Owners Club & Forum (Peugeot J5, Citroen C25 & Fiat Ducato models) • Portal


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## gibbon42 (Jul 13, 2012)

*Talbot/Ducato/C25/J5*

My 1991 Hymer Camp 46 is based on the Fiat Ducato Mk1 which is the same veh from the same Italian factory. Had it a year now & its just sailed through its Mot test.
The diesels are all painfully slow,mine is a n/a 1.9 so probably the slowest of the lot but in a coachbuilt motorhome speed is hardly a priority.
If you are worried about the gearbox then go for a lhd as the shaft from the column change goes straight down into the box and avoids the nasty lash up of linkages invented for the rhd models. If you do have a rhd then J K Towers does a fantastic range of mods to upgrade the linkages.
Parts availability is really not a problem(German firm Autotiele Augustin can supply anything you can't find in the UK at very reasonable prices) & these vans are very tough & much cheaper (and less complicated) than more modern stuff.
We love ours and spend as much time in her(Helga)as we can.


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## Deleted member 2636 (Jul 13, 2012)

Make sure that the van has power steering or PAS. I had one and the steering was so heavy that poor Mrs Baloo couldn't drive the B. thing


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## Burtie (Jul 13, 2012)

I had a Talbot express highwayman it never let me down once going on holiday
luckily I could do my own repairs and what not but it is the gearbox that gives the
trouble the only thing I encountered was sometimes it was hard to get it into reverse
gear but once in then it would be ok for a good while


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## Alejandro8100 (Oct 11, 2012)

gibbon42 said:


> My 1991 Hymer Camp 46 is based on the Fiat Ducato Mk1 which is the same veh from the same Italian factory. Had it a year now & its just sailed through its Mot test.
> The diesels are all painfully slow,mine is a n/a 1.9 so probably the slowest of the lot but in a coachbuilt motorhome speed is hardly a priority.
> If you are worried about the gearbox then go for a lhd as the shaft from the column change goes straight down into the box and avoids the nasty lash up of linkages invented for the rhd models. If you do have a rhd then J K Towers does a fantastic range of mods to upgrade the linkages.
> Parts availability is really not a problem(German firm Autotiele Augustin can supply anything you can't find in the UK at very reasonable prices) & these vans are very tough & much cheaper (and less complicated) than more modern stuff.
> We love ours and spend as much time in her(Helga)as we can.


I'm totally agree with you.You'r 100% good here that the gearbox then go for a lhd as the shaft from the column change goes straight down into the box and avoids the nasty lash up of linkages invented for the rhd models.
And if you do have a rhd then J K Systems does a fantastic range of mods to update the linkages.


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## Hobbsy (Oct 12, 2012)

I loved my talbot express, 2.5 td great power, never let me down, my mechanic never had any troubles with any talbot diesels. Oh and I was getting 30 mpg too


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## herbenny (Oct 12, 2012)

Burtie said:


> I had a Talbot express highwayman it never let me down once going on holiday
> luckily I could do my own repairs and what not but it is the gearbox that gives the
> trouble the only thing I encountered was sometimes it was hard to get it into reverse
> gear but once in then it would be ok for a good while



We got one of these too and touch wood no problems at all .....mechanically it seems in good working order had some advisories at MOT .... but nothing major ....we love it ...


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## lebesset (Oct 13, 2012)

best for me is the fiat with the 2.8idTD engine , economical yet powerful ; don't need a specialist with a computer to look at it as it isn't common rail with electronic control like the 2.8TD ; still in production in fiat's chinese factory
re the gearbox with the external 5th gear , they don't like continual high speed on the motorway as the oil feed is a bit marginal ...fortunately easily fixed though , there is a DIY manual on the ducato website [ from a guy in OZ ] ; fiat say they don't need an oil change with synthetic oil ...personally I use a semi and change it every 40K Km ; something to be attentive about when you buy a vehicle though


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## Aunty P (Oct 13, 2012)

*Talbot*



james pond said:


> the scarcity of RWD drive vans is forcing me to conside FWD. yes i know they theoretically have advantages, but are they mechanically reliable. several on ebay have gearbox faults. a chap on the 'other' MH site was stranded abroad when his wheel bearings gave up. my wife is disabled and reliability is paramount; oh, that and a nice bog.  advice, opinions, rumours, anything welcome.



Hi James, We bought a ten year old Compass Drifter on a Talbot chasis in 2004 with 33k on the clock. Eight years on at 78k she has never failed an MOT and apart from minor issues and routine stuff has been trouble free. What comforts me is that I can take it into any street corner garage in Europe and they can sort out any issues, none of your main dealer rubbish. Yes the gear box is like stiring porridge and the stearing is heavy, close maneuvering trains your muscles but on the road not realy a problem. A gear box linkage upgrade is available and when I can afford it I will have it done. 
If I won the lottery would I change the van, not on your life.


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## navigator (Oct 17, 2012)

*talbot vans ? good ?*

Hi  James    I have a coach built Hymer on the Fiat Ducato chassis with the 2.5td fiat engine I find that the gearbox is
a bit loose but as long as you don't try and drive it like a car its fine, power steering is really a must it I tried one without 
P/S and found it hard manoeuvre when parking, as stated before the Talbot owners club site is worth getting onto dosen't cost anything to register
good luck in your search


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