Your advice on this dilema please

[LloydyBoy]

Hello guys and gals........ I just wondered what your opinion on this is please!. As much as I love my van, I'm now starting to wonder if I should get shut of it asap!....... Since I've had it I've had a new 3 part clutch and drive shafts fitted, new exhaust and cat, and also all the other little bits and bobs that arise due to wear and tear....... Last week she failed her re-test on a faulty horn, Nearside track-rod end and rear brake load sensor spring.........After a bit of tinkering after a lot of tinkering (and a lot of help from this forum) we put these problems right...........

She's an 03 plate, 1.9D van and has done 116,000 and it used to be owned by a storage and distribution company. As I'm a self employed window cleaner, I bought it as an investment, as it already had a 250l water tank fitted with the reach and wash system etc, etc............

I never fill the water tank with more water than I need for a day's work, however god knows how much weight the old girl has pulled in the past due to her history......... (Can you guess where this is going yet?)......... The rear wheels have always been tilted inwards at the top as you look at it from the back, and I've heard that rear axle problems can be quite common.

My question is this........ In you opinions and taking into account the age, and how much I've already spent on putting her right, would it be worth taking the axle off and getting it reconditioned? I've found a place that will recondition it for £375. Or would you simply bite the bullet and get rid of the old girl?

Please find attatched a picture of the 'slight' camber illyme:

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Sorry, here's the piccy

[Trevor]

Hello guys and gals........ I just wondered what your opinion on this is please!. As much as I love my van, I'm now starting to wonder if I should get shut of it asap!....... Since I've had it I've had a new 3 part clutch and drive shafts fitted, new exhaust and cat, and also all the other little bits and bobs that arise due to wear and tear....... Last week she failed her re-test on a faulty horn, Nearside track-rod end and rear brake load sensor spring.........After a bit of tinkering after a lot of tinkering (and a lot of help from this forum) we put these problems right...........

She's an 03 plate, 1.9D van and has done 116,000 and it used to be owned by a storage and distribution company. As I'm a self employed window cleaner, I bought it as an investment, as it already had a 250l water tank fitted with the reach and wash system etc, etc............

I never fill the water tank with more water than I need for a day's work, however god knows how much weight the old girl has pulled in the past due to her history......... (Can you guess where this is going yet?)......... The rear wheels have always been tilted inwards at the top as you look at it from the back, and I've heard that rear axle problems can be quite common.

My question is this........ In you opinions and taking into account the age, and how much I've already spent on putting her right, would it be worth taking the axle off and getting it reconditioned? I've found a place that will recondition it for £375. Or would you simply bite the bullet and get rid of the old girl?

Please find attatched a picture of the 'slight' camber illyme:

---

Sorry, here's the piccy

Difficult question, If the engine, electrics and body are all good I think I would bite the bullet and hope to get a few years out of it yet.

After all what else could go wrong? .. No rude answers thank you.

[Les]

HI Lloyed,
Trevor has a point,what else can go wrong.
I really empethise with your plight,I am a self employed gardener and like you my van is my livlihood.Its sometimes difficult to decide these things.It may seem £375
is a lot of money to spend on a old van, but replacing it has its own set of problems,hunting for a other motor is a major time consuming rigmarole and if your like me purchasing on a budget you may buy into a new set of unknown problems.Its up to you of course,but I'd stick to the devil you know.

[evdama]

Also consider how much time(even at basic minimum wage rates) and money youve already put in -that would be sacrificed if you sell-and you wont get much of a price with the axle like that.
I think you should fix it.
Can you get a s/hand axle from a car?

[taxi]

Tough call, but I agree with the above posts, at least you can hopefully get good service from all the parts you replaced, which helps.

[j90xxx]

I agree.
When MOT done you should at least get 12 months out of it.
Do any other axles fit?
Have you tried scrapyard/breakers for the axle, probably loads cheaper and if from Multispace carried less weight in the past.

[LloydyBoy]

I'm pleased you fellas all seem to be saying the same thing, because the 'keep it' option was the one I was leaning towards. Like you said Trevor 'what else could go wrong'? The body work, engine and electrics are all fine. Overall it's a bloody good van, which has served me well.......... It's just a shame that it's been abused in the past!......... This is my second year of being self-employed and my business is in it's infancy. Also due to the terrible summer and no doubt the terrible winter that's fast approaching, also the fact I became a first-time father this year, money is tight. So I'm exactly like you Les, in the fact that if I were to buy another van then my budget would be tiny.

I know what evdama and taxi are saying about the work and time I've spent on the old girl up to this point, and if I were to sell it I would no doubt lose more money on it than what I put in........ So I guess there's my answer!

j90xxx, I was thinking about going down the reconditioned axle route, as knowing my bloody luck with vehicles, the axle I got from the scrappy would be f***** as well.

One more thing before I bore you all too much. I quite fancy having a crack (excuse the pun) at removing and re-fitting the axle myself........... I have a basic understanding of mechanics but I'm a bloody quick learner, and don't mind getting stuck in. That said, is this a massive, ''I wish I'd never started this fu**** b******''
of a job, or would you advise me to stop being such a pu**y and get my sleeves rolled up?.. Is it something you boys would tackle?

Thanks fellas, really appreciate all your thoughts

[CandR]

As someone who has always gone for 'keep it and fix it', my vote is obvious. With 2 exceptions, keeping the cars has always paid off. As long as you do the boring s**t work yourself, and find honest, reliable mechanics for the difficult important bits.

Do any other axles fit?
Have you tried scrapyard/breakers for the axle, probably loads cheaper and if from Multispace carried less weight in the past.

It's a good point about Multispace axles being less abused - but are they not the lighter version? Weren't the various Mk1 and Mk2 vans rated at various loads? 400, 600 or 800? Would the Multispace axles not be the lightest to give a comfy ride? I've heard contradictory information about this here in the Netherlands, and want to find out about it, partly because we've got a Mk1 Multi, and I might want a beefier rear axle in the future. And with that water tank Lloydy needs beef as well!
Can one find out the axle load rating on that site that Andre has given us access to?

[Coco]

The torsion bars are either 19.6mm or 20.5mm (on the Partner anyway) no other options are shown. I don't know what the difference in the ratings signifies.

I too would opt for replacement of the components rather than the van. My route would be to find another axle and recondition this, then replace it as a unit. Minimising the amount of time your van is U/S

[geoff]

Axle removal and replacement isn't a difficult job and as long as you have axle stands to support the body, wedges to chock the front wheels and a decent hydraulic jack then you should have no real trouble. Obviously you will need to be able to remove the rear exhaust section and be capable of bleeding the brakes. I'm assuming you have access to tools.
I haven't done a Berlingo axle but have done other Citroens and Fords and all of them are straightforward.
The only thing I would say is to look at the forum archive for setting up the body height or ask a new question as I seem to recall reading here recently that someone had difficulty getting this right ?
I would agree with getting an axle ready before fitting to minimise down time, may be a good time to sort out hydraulic hoses etc at the same time if needed whilst access is at it's best.
Good luck and let us know how you got on.
Geoff.

P.S. As said earlier it will be worth taking advantage of the money already invested in this vehicle as buying a replacement vehicle could throw up the same maintenance demands as you have experienced already, they are after all consumable items.