Campervan disposal

zagmund

Where's the bursting into tears smiley when you need it ?

Further to my recent post about getting a gearbox for a '93 Ducato, it's looking increasingly like this just ain't going to happen, or if it does it will be too late for this season as we are starting to make alternative plans for the Summer.

So, we've been thinking about what to do with a van that can't be driven, or at least can't be driven far, due to having a big hole in the gearbox. From what I've seen the market is right down, so the value of the vehicle is likely to be pretty low if taken as a going concern. However, all the bits and pieces inside it must be worth something, if only to people who have a similarly aged Hymer that has had a few bits and pieces fall off it. I can't see Mrs Zag being happy with bits and pieces of campervan spread out all over our suburban front garden, especially as we are about to put the house on the market too. Not the best greeting for prospective home buyers.

So, does anyone have any bright ideas on how we can offload (preferably involving as much income as possible) the van ? If we can't sell it or even bits of it, how does one go about getting the campervan to the great campsite in the sky ? As in, practically . . . how do you make it vanish/go away ?

Any suggestions welcome,

z

Buford T Justice

Worst case scenario, Scrap merchants will take it

Put an ad on donedeal.ie you'd be suprised it may well sell there.

Donal94

http://stores.ebay.co.uk/ENGINES-INTERNATIONAL

these guys say thaty have a gearbox for your van

*Kol*

It's not worth nothing. The only thing wrong is the gearbox. To save yourself time I would sell it as one piece for a fair market price minus the cost of the gearbox. Selling it in bits would be a hassle and I doubt you would sell enough bits to equal selling it all at the one time, plus you will still be left with a shell that will probably cost you to get rid of.

muint

Find yourself a "real" mechanic - not a fitter that most of today's mechanics seem to be. The Polish are great mechanics and will tackle ANYTHING from our experience. Nothing is a problem to them!

Buford T Justice

muint wrote: »

Find yourself a "real" mechanic - not a fitter that most of today's mechanics seem to be. The Polish are great mechanics and will tackle ANYTHING from our experience. Nothing is a problem to them!

To be fair, give me a gearbox and I'd replace it no problem, and I'm Irish

sparkyjc

Zagmund,You have a PM

Aidan_M_M

Fingers McGee wrote: »

To be fair, give me a gearbox and I'd replace it no problem, and I'm Irish

Me too . I've done a few . What caused the hole ? Diff or gear train ?

zagmund

Thanks for the replies guys. They people I have the campervan with at the moment appear to be real mechanics alright - the problem is sourcing the gearbox. I have followed up on some of the links posted so far (thanks, everyone) but my real problem is establishing whether the gearboxes available are a correct match. I thought it would have been relatively clear-cut but I gather this isn't always the case. I'm stuck trying to deal between the garage and the parts suppliers and this isn't really my forte. Now, if I was trying to source a computer part, that would be different . . . I can tell my bits from my bytes but when it comes to car and camper parts it's all very blurry to me. Even the question about it being a diff or gear train that caused the problem - I honestly have no idea what either of those are, so that gives you an idea of where I'm coming from.

z

peasant

Once you know exactly what you need (exact type of vehicle, engine, possibly the VIN number ) give this guy a shout by mail:

http://www.axel-augustin.de/shop/index.php/language/en

He probably will have what you need or will be able to source it ...problem is the freight will cost a good bit as well ...so he's most likely a last ditch resort.

trad

What about repairing the hole in place? In the late 80's a very busy fleet garage that I worked in was given a sample of two pack epoxy resin that hardens and will stick to almost anything. You mix the two parts together a bit like mála and this was tried on the holed sump of a very much unloved sierra. The sump was given the wipe of the rag and the patch applied, sump filled, and car sent back out. It stayed in place until the car was wrote off.

Torq

trad wrote: »

What about repairing the hole in place? In the late 80's a very busy fleet garage that I worked in was given a sample of two pack epoxy resin that hardens and will stick to almost anything. You mix the two parts together a bit like mála and this was tried on the holed sump of a very much unloved sierra. The sump was given the wipe of the rag and the patch applied, sump filled, and car sent back out. It stayed in place until the car was wrote off.

I've done exactly the same myself on another ducato with a hole in the gearbox. I drained the oil, ground out the hole a bit more, washed it with carb cleaner then repaired the hole with JB weld. Worked a treat,did around 5k miles in the van then sold it on, so if any of you are ever in Romania (that's where it is now!) and see a bright green ducato with a 97 D plate, give it a wave and pray that the weld doesn't fall out of the gear box!

Torq.

PS. If any of you are wondering about me and Ducatos, join me and "Corkman" over here!

Aidan_M_M

trad wrote: »

What about repairing the hole in place? In the late 80's a very busy fleet garage that I worked in was given a sample of two pack epoxy resin that hardens and will stick to almost anything. You mix the two parts together a bit like mála and this was tried on the holed sump of a very much unloved sierra. The sump was given the wipe of the rag and the patch applied, sump filled, and car sent back out. It stayed in place until the car was wrote off.

The hole isn't the issue , it's what caused it! if some part of the gearbox made a bid for freedom....

@Zagmund , a post 95 shape one definitely won't work . It's completely different .

Also a Citroen/Pug one has a different bellhousing , but the actual gear case would probably swap .

Aidan_M_M

News just in... think I found one!!!! still in a early 90's Camper , between Nenagh and Roscrea . Owner is verifying it's definitley a Fiat 2.5 , tomorrow .

zagmund

Great news on that front Aidan - thanks.

In terms of fixing the hole - thanks for the suggestions, but I still have no idea how the hole got there in the first place so presumably whatever it is that is inside there trying to get out will just punch another hole if we fix up the first one. In addition I get a very non-comfortable feeling driving the van around these days (because of the number of times it has collapsed on me) so I don't think I would ever be comfortable with having a patch-up job on it.

Thanks for all the information & suggestions to date.

z

Aidan_M_M

Well this gearbox if it's right should replace your own . It's in a camper that got damaged .

martyc5674

I dont suppose that camper has a nice air con unit looking for a good home?

Aidan_M_M

Ah here , I might have to do the impossible daily , but miracles take a week at least! Lol

zagmund

Thanks once more to everyone for their advice and input to date.

I think we've decided to call it a day with the search for a new gearbox for the campervan. A few things have changed in general and I think we'll give the campervan thing a break for a few years.

I'm going to start looking/selling on donedeal.ie and other sites, but if anyone's in the market for a quick sale of a mostly-working 6 berth '93 Hymer Camp 52 drop me a line.

Thanks again for all the help and see you in 5-10 years when we get itchy feet again.

z

Aidan_M_M

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Fiat-Ducato-Refurbished-Gear-Box-/180531668633?cmd=ViewItem&pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CommercialVehicleParts_SM&hash=item2a0886a699

zagmund

Thanks Aidan - sadly we're all out of time, money and enthusiasm for the project. I really regret not going to you guys in the first place - our van has been languishing in a field (not a campable field . . .) for the last few months now and a few things have changed that mean that we are very, very unlikely to make much use of it even if we did get it back on the road.

I'm afraid it's donedeal.ie for this van - we've had some great times in it, but at this stage we're going to cut our losses and be done with it.

I do, honestly, mean thanks to all who have helped me out with answers and links to date. I only wish the vehicle had been with you guys and not with the current garage who weren't too internet savvy.

z

sparkyjc

you have a PM