Clutch/ France

Drover

Drover

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So after 13 years it had to happen...it's broke down
Either the clutch slave cylinder or the pressure plate.
The pedal just stays on the floor.
Got told the recovery won't come out as we were on a motorway.but we weren't we were on a road alongside it.
Managed to get it moved into Sassenage by Grenoble and they came out.( different garage)
So does anyone know of a garage that will do the job as the breakdown garage doesn't know of one and Safegaurd are looking at bringing it back to the UK...
Sat on a aire while they figure it out.
 
I think it will be cheaper to get it replaced in France.

Try contacting local motorhome dealers and asking them for recommendations, then check Google Maps reviews.
 
Oh bad luck. Its every motorhomers worse nightmare especially outside the UK. Not sure I agree with Canalsman though. Whenever I have had work done in France its been more expensive that the UK. Good luck getting sorted.

Just one thing to bear in mind. Once when we had trouble they couldn't get the van looked at for four days but the breakdown people paid all our site fees where we ended up in the van while we waited for recovery. Check what you are covered for if there is going to be a wait.
 
They wanted to take the motorhome to their depot and us to a hotel.
But they would not repair it, just store it.
Safeguard asked if we would stay at the aire for up to 2 days...we chose to stay.
both garage or Safeguard can't find a garage to do the job
They will pay up to £1200 if we go hotel/car rental..if they have to take it back to uk....
Not the outcome we want...but...
 
barryd said:
Oh bad luck. Its every motorhomers worse nightmare especially outside the UK. Not sure I agree with Canalsman though. Whenever I have had work done in France its been more expensive that the UK. Good luck getting sorted.

Just one thing to bear in mind. Once when we had trouble they couldn't get the van looked at for four days but the breakdown people paid all our site fees where we ended up in the van while we waited for recovery. Check what you are covered for if there is going to be a wait.
Click to expand...
Not always so Barry we took ours to the main Fiat dealers in I think Dieppe for the brakes sorting and the bill was far less than it would have been in the UK.
 
We used Safeguard. They were always brilliant. So were the French recovery people, their version of the AA.
We had 3 major breakdowns in 20 years.
The call centre staff were magnificent, all speaking good English .
It's all part of the great motorhome adventure.

Good luck
 
Sounds like diaphrame fingers when release bearing goes smashing through it, high miles or foot sitting on the pedal.
If lucky slave cyl, but best look at flued level in m cyl to see if its down or gone.
Hope you get sorted fast, bigish job to do clutch if f wheel drive.
 
barryd said:
Oh bad luck. Its every motorhomers worse nightmare especially outside the UK. Not sure I agree with Canalsman though. Whenever I have had work done in France its been more expensive that the UK. Good luck getting sorted.

Just one thing to bear in mind. Once when we had trouble they couldn't get the van looked at for four days but the breakdown people paid all our site fees where we ended up in the van while we waited for recovery. Check what you are covered for if there is going to be a wait.
Click to expand...
France has laws that require the various charges to be shown at the garage, so a 'devis' [binding estimate] can be obtained up front and then it is x hours labour at y rate per hour, plus the required parts [which can be costed before you commit]. The bad news is that the devis binds both parties, so, although you can see what you'll be paying for, with no spurious 'ah, well we had to hire a special widget loosener which is 200€ extra' items, there won't be a 'your brake cable is slack, but I'll give it a quick adjustment while it's up on the ramps'. The work I had done in France was often cheaper when using the village garage; cash quote, possibility of using 2nd hand parts, and, being only 400m from our hovel, we could nip back and forth if parts were delayed, or an earlier job had been delayed

Steve
 
trevskoda said:
Sounds like diaphrame fingers when release bearing goes smashing through it, high miles or foot sitting on the pedal.
If lucky slave cyl, but best look at flued level in m cyl to see if its down or gone.
Hope you get sorted fast, bigish job to do clutch if f wheel drive.
Click to expand...
It's the one with the slave cylinder in the bell housing.
No fluid loss. So could be knackered fluid or worn cylinder or fingers/ pressure plate worn out.
I did manage to get a bit of pedal to get out of gear then start on key in 1st and move a few miles to where we now are.
Worse case is a train journey back to uk for us 2 and the dog.....if her spanish passport works.....
 
It happened to mine and it was the slave cylinder in the bell housing and the fluid had contaminated the plate so new clutch as well. A costly job. Same symptoms pedal on the floor. It shares the same res as the brakes in two halves so have a proper look to see if the fluid has gone if I remember rightly .Master cyl failiure will also give you a peddle on the floor but a lot cheaper and quicker fix.
 
I feel your pain!
This happened to us last year in France. The slave cylinder is in the box. Pedal straight to the floor and fluid under the van.
Cost us €1400 and had to wait a week for it to be done. Top tip in France is to offer cash and they will do it quicker. If we hadn’t paid cash it would have been 3 weeks.
 
No idea which van you have, so a bit limited. The slave cylinder went on our 2007 Ducato not long after we got it, same symptom, so possibly that, there are two options, one internal and one external, ours was the latter, so it could be fixed anywhere, even at the side of the road, £120 fitted.
 
Drover said:
train journey back to uk for us 2 and the dog.....if her spanish passport works...
Click to expand...
'There's no problem with pet passports coming back to the UK from the EU.

However, you may have an issue as foot passengers with a dog on a ferry.
 
It does seem to be difficult to find a Ducato service centre using the Fiat website. You might try completing the form at https://www.fiatprofessional.com/fr/mopar/contacts-concessionnaire

Alternatively, https://www.fiatcamper.com/fr/mopar/services-au-client gives a European freephone number.

Otherwise, these are in the Grenoble area:

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