Hymer B544

[Tezza]

I have just put a deposit down on a hymer B544. Its based on the fiat 2.8tdi engine. Can somebody tell me whats the difference between that engine and the 2.8jtd. and also any thought on the hymer b544 in particular. I know its a bit late now as deposit paid but is there anything i sshould be taking a close look at?

 

[Polar Bear]

I have just put a deposit down on a hymer B544. Its based on the fiat 2.8tdi engine. Can somebody tell me whats the difference between that engine and the 2.8jtd. and also any thought on the hymer b544 in particular. I know its a bit late now as deposit paid but is there anything i sshould be taking a close look at?

Check to see if the VIN plate, Alko chassis plate and the V5 log book all have the same weight shown.

In the shower room check that the sink and the catch that holds it back have no cracks in them as it would appear that some folks use the sink to help them get up from the toilet!

Mine is exactly the same as the one you are having, I have just done a run of 3400 miles, through France and Spain in two weeks, and returned over 30 MPG.

Has the timing belt been changed lately?

 

[mark61]

Probably the 2.8 i.d. TD. Means much the same as TDi. As said, pre Common Rail, but otherwise much the same Sofim/Iveco engine as the JTD. Fiat Iveco used the term uniJet rather then Common Rail.

 

[Deleted member 9849]

Congratulations on choosing a good solidly built van.Providing it has been serviced regularly the engine is designed to go around the clock.Fiat did make the 2.8 TDI from about 98-01 I believe.It's a direct injection 120 hp unit which is which is not the fastest but will easily keep up with traffic on the motorway.It may be necessary to change down for the long drawn out hills but not a huge problem,most of the owners I have spoken to speak well of the engine.
There's not much goes wrong on Hymers of that era,they were built to last.My opinion is that the Hymer golden years were between 98-06.Check all the fitted appliances on a vehicle of that age-fridge,hob,water heater,heating,and water pump.The only other things I would look out for is correct operation of window catches and skylights,rust on the front chassis member,operation of the drop down bed struts and fading of the front cowling and rear capping but you would have doubtless have checked that when you bought it.

 

[Tezza]

Ohhhhh I'm buying it from Webbs in Warminster and just rang them to confirm again what engine it has. The guy said that on the reg doc it has 2.8 but.......according to him they don't put wether it's a jtd or tdi and he is confident it is a tdi???

 

[Polar Bear]

Ohhhhh I'm buying it from Webbs in Warminster and just rang them to confirm again what engine it has. The guy said that on the reg doc it has 2.8 but.......according to him they don't put wether it's a Utd or tdi and he is confident it is a tdi???

What year is it Terry?

 

[Tezza]

Congratulations on choosing a good solidly built van.Providing it has been serviced regularly the engine is designed to go around the clock.Fiat did make the 2.8 TDI from about 98-01 I believe.It's a direct injection 120 hp unit which is which is not the fastest but will easily keep up with traffic on the motorway.It may be necessary to change down for the long drawn out hills but not a huge problem,most of the owners I have spoken to speak well of the engine.
There's not much goes wrong on Hymers of that era,they were built to last.My opinion is that the Hymer golden years were between 98-06.Check all the fitted appliances on a vehicle of that age-fridge,hob,water heater,heating,and water pump.The only other things I would look out for is correct operation of window catches and skylights,rust on the front chassis member,operation of the drop down bed struts and fading of the front cowling and rear capping but you would have doubtless have checked that when you bought it.

Thanks for that ...yes they left me alone in it for over an hour so I could play with and all seems good it's done 60k miles . But they give a full warranty for 6 months and that's a bit of piece of mind. The Spain trip is now on hold until the new year though. But at least we get a newer van to do it in lol.

 

[Tezza]

What year is it Terry?

It's a 2001 60 k on the clock. No real signs of wear.

 

[Robmac]

Nice choice!

 

[Tezza33]

The 2.8 i.d. TD is an Iveco engine (which originally was based on the 2.5 Renault Master engine), it doesn't have the same complicated electronics of the JTD engine because it is direct injection and if you don't want the advantage of that it is a good choice, it is 122 PS so only slightly lower than the JTD's 128 PS, make sure it isn't the indirect 2.8D2 because the power was a lot less at 87 PS, all were in use at the same time 1999 -2001

JTD engine code is 8140.43S
i.d. TD code is 8140.43
2.8 D2 code is 8140.63

 

[Tezza]

Where would I find the engine code please?

 

[lebesset]

sticker on the engine as per 33's post it will be marked 8140.43 for the 2.8 idTD, and is identical to the TD except an injector pump instead of common rail with complicated electronics ; all in all you have made an excellent choice

a few pointers

made sure you get 2 sets of keys plus the special red ignition key which allows you to encode replacement keys if required ...I also have the plastic card giving the codes for the immobiliser but i believe in the uk these were retained by the fiat importer

these chassis are bomb proof except for one thing ...the gearbox was originally 4 speed but fiat added a 5th gear with overdrive ratio in a separate box on the end ; this is drip fed with oil from the main box ....don't use 5th until the oil has had a chance to warm and flow properly , 5 miles should do it ; also never 'lug' the vehicle in 5th , wait until 50mph on the flat or up hill , obviously you can use it travelling a bit slower down hill as you use less throttle ; fiat say these gearboxes are filled for life but in view of the low annual mileage I change every 40k ...make sure 5th is not noisy when you make a test run

I have a 2000 548 which will shortly be sold as i am giving up after 30 years around europe ...as a matter of interest what sort of value does yours have at the same mileage , if you don't mind me asking ...I'll probably sell when i get back to france but gives me an idea of uk prices to compare

 

[trevskoda]

Hi i have the same donky in my iveco and its good for over 30mpg,make sure the cam belt has been changed at 50/70 thu or 5 years which ever comes first.
If its a inline engine then it has the same box as the old 2.5 which is light but still strong and you can change the oil but im told it has the be spec/iveco oil as there are whats called yellow bearing and bits inside,im not sure of this but i got it from outside sorce how said it was right stuff,the ratios are a bit low fist is a climbing gear and i seldom use it as my diff is low ratio soon to be changed.
Do use a semi sin light engine oil 5/40 or 10/40 rather than the old 15/40 as i find it takes a few seconds to put oil light out by the time it gets up to the cam.
There is a iveco web site and you should look in under second gen vans ,god luck with new toy.:wave::drive:

 

[Tezza33]

made sure you get 2 sets of keys plus the special red ignition key which allows you to encode replacement keys if required ...I also have the plastic card giving the codes for the immobiliser but i believe in the uk these were retained by the fiat importer

these chassis are bomb proof except for one thing ...the gearbox was originally 4 speed but fiat added a 5th gear with overdrive ratio in a separate box on the end ; this is drip fed with oil from the main box ....don't use 5th until the oil has had a chance to warm and flow properly , 5 miles should do it ; also never 'lug' the vehicle in 5th ,

two good points especially the 5th gear one, I personally don't use 5th gear until 10 mile although 5 mile should be OK, these should have the bigger diameter oil ways which was supposed to help but it is still better to be safe than sorry, I had an Iveco Daily with a 2.5 engine, same engine code 8140 and I rebuilt the bottom end, new crankshaft (new not reconditioned) and bearings, bores were honed to deglaze and fitted new rings, reconditioned Renault Master 2.5 head (as I said earlier they are the same) and I did 300.000 miles before I sold it to my Daughter, these engines are excellent if looked after, my Daughter ran it 6yrs before she sold it and the engine is still running now but in a different vehicle

 

[phillybarbour]

Hymer has fantastic build quality in that (2001) era, should be a great purchase.

 

[Sharon the Cat]

Awesome knowledge on this forum. :bow:

 

[izwozral]

Awesome knowledge on this forum. :bow:

.............and otherwise protagonists coming to the aid of a fellow wilder, it's what I love about this site. FELLOWSHIP.

Enjoy the Hymer Tez, just don't refer to it as a van otherwise D.Winty will throw a hissy fit.

 

[lebesset]

later ones had no dipstick ; good point though as you have to measure in the correct quantity ; the 4 speed box took 2 litres and some publications still say that is correct but in reality a minimum of 2.75 litres is required for the 5 speed , some people just put in the contents of 3 x 1 litre bottles without any problem

...fill , as stated , by removing the sensor ; it's a fun job to do , you have to remove the air filter system to get at it so try and do it when changing the fuel filter which also requires this ; it's still difficult to get the oil in , I have a cheapo chinese oil syringe about a foot long , take the plunger out and use it as a funnel

btw , agree about the engine oil , i use only 10w 40 and never top up between my annual change at 8-10 k Km , goes down about half way on the dipstick in that time , always has ; official oil change interval is 20k Km but one year is enough for me

 

[terry1956]

hymer b544

I owned an early b544 for years.the earlier td engine cant be chipped as there is no ecu. Build quality is better in earlier hymers then later. I fitted 4 leisure batterys in ours, only sold it after 100, 000 miles.watch for cam belts, front wheel bearings.

 

[trevskoda]

Does your donky look like this in my iveco 59/12