I have bought a Broken one

[cooter]

Hi,

We have been looking to buy a Berlingo to replace our Ford Galaxy, we debated and deliberated about how good an idea it was and would we miss the Ford so rather than sell the galaxy and sink the money into a car, we have decided to buy a cheapy Berlingo and give ourselves a long term test. There weren't many budget banger ones kicking around in our sunny Cornwall but one 2005 2.0 HDI Desire did pop up on gumtree advertised with a noisy gearbox so yesterday morning we popped up and had a look at it. It was a trade sale and the guy selling just let us climb all over it, drive it, let it warm up for half an hour, pull up carpets and have a really good poke and prod. The gearbox is really noisy in 2nd and 3rd, but that is the only real issue apart from it needing a really good clean. I have a mechanic friend with a same year Berlingo Van and engine which failed its mot on the rear axle so he is donating a gearbox, I will buy a clutch kit for it and next Sunday its all going together. I had a really good read through the forum before I went yesterday and was armed with plenty of information regarding things to look out for so thank you for this excellent website and the contributors, fingers crossed this cheapy Berlingo turns out to be as good as I think it will be

[geoff]

Thanks for the update !

A Berlingo is a good wagon so you should be ok with it.

Due to gearbox noise and coupled with vehicle age you may well find some of the basic maintenance needs catching up - pads silencer etc - but these are small things really.

If you like the overall Berlingo experience then a little catch up won't be an issue and I can say for certainty that they are an inexpensive vehicle to maintain and buy parts for, DIY friendly is their middle name so bask in that luxury too !

[polar]

As geoff say. Also, the gearbox may well last for quite a bit longer with nothing more than an oil change so if time is tight let it run for a bit.

[cancunia]

I changed the oil in my gearbox a couple of weeks ago due to pulling out a driveshaft by accident while changing a spring. The difference on my '04 2.0 when changing gear is quite amazing so maybe worth a shot for about £10 from GSF.

[Derekg]

When removing the gearbox keep a good eye on the crank sensor which is located at the top of the bell housing, it is easily damaged when refitting and removing the gearbox. A source of non start if damaged.