parts problem

I have a 2002 Auto-Sleepers Vivanti motorhome which is quite rare.  It has a Peugeot Boxer 1.9 engine with an aftermarket turbo added by AutoSleepers by TB Lancaster who no longer exist.  I need a new air inlet pipe to the air cleaner as mine is falling apart from old age.  Unfortunately there are many different inlet pipes on Boxer/Ducato engines that all look slightly different from mine - any ideas.  The inlet/outlet size is 77mm approx and 550mm long

Well the phone number still lists as C&M (Mark?) Auto Services, so worth a try.

Sorry to say but tried the number a few times and "it is not recognised".    
As an aside does anyone else on this forum have a Vivanti 4?   We might be able to share information.

Hi ,
If you google c&m motors in lancaster there is a different number,
Chris

If you tell us what model your Vivanti is we can tell you what AS van it actually is.   They were originally built as hire vans for a couple of years and have an equivalent AS model.

According to the handbook it is a Vivanti 4 based on the upgraded Boxer 270M chassis. Only one previous owner apart from Marquis motorhomes [the hirers?] I have all the books & leaflets that probably came with the vehicle [oven/fridge/tv etc] but they are of little help with the base engine/chassis and our local Peugeot dealer can best be described as useless.   Getting the right size air filter took 3 attempts!  I intend getting the turbo rebuilt during the winter before a continental trip next year and would like to set out in a vehicle I have confidence in.......

Have contacted C & M Motors regarding the demise of TB turbos who did conversions for Autosleeper and found out that although they bought some liquidated stock from TB they had no connection with them and the old staff from TB have gone seperate ways.   So any info or help is not available.   Which brings me to my new question - anyone taken a turbo out of a Boxer/Ducato?  Mine has stuck vanes so needs a rebuild but I want to get it out first.   The exhaust manifold bolts to the turbo are rather difficult to get to - any suggestions?

Maybe if you post a picture of the offending hose someone might recognise it, or maybe suggest an alternative.

Can't help with taking the turbo off, sorry.

You could return it to standard I suppose, which would make it easier to get bits, but you'd have to have the pump recalibrated or it'll overfuel.

Well the turbo is off at last after lots of bad language & bashed knuckles!   Had to remove inlet and exhaust manifolds, lots of pipes and various brackets to gain access.   The actuator is stuck and there is end float of the turbo blades.   So its a new turbo at £150 plus an oil pipe and a good selection of nuts and screws.  Why Autosleepers did not use a proper Peugeot factory fitted turbo engine is any body's guess - economy?   The suggestion of deleting the turbo would be fine but lack of power from the engine would be embarassing.  A 3 litre V6 engine transplant would be best

One interesting thing that I have found is that when doing the conversion TB Turbos used UNF/UNC [A/F] imperial nuts/bolts and studs!  Using these on a continental built base vehicle which is all metric seems a bit stupid.   Also I though that imperial fixings were phased out in the early 70's.....

I you need high strength nuts and bolts the the US  AN bolts used on aircraft will help. They are available from many sources  in the UK and come in every size UNF UNC etc, you could imagine.. LAS aerospace at Okehampton are a good source for all aircraft bolts.

Hi,
Slightly off topic but from my earlier engineering days we referred to whitworth and bsf as imperial, af and anc were american or af (nut size measured across flats) and then metric sizes to totally confuse things and then of course british cycle thread, acme etc. etc. Your toolbox had to expand to carry all the spanners. The thwaites dumper factory produced a machine that had whitworth on the chassis, af on the transmission and metric on the engine, no wonder british engineering went down the swanee,
Chris

sedgewood wrote:Well the turbo is off at last after lots of bad language & bashed knuckles!   Had to remove inlet and exhaust manifolds, lots of pipes and various brackets to gain access.   The actuator is stuck and there is end float of the turbo blades.   So its a new turbo at £150 plus an oil pipe and a good selection of nuts and screws.  Why Autosleepers did not use a proper Peugeot factory fitted turbo engine is any body's guess - economy?   The suggestion of deleting the turbo would be fine but lack of power from the engine would be embarassing.  A 3 litre V6 engine transplant would be best

A very interesting thread, I hope that you get a good conclusion. 

At least you now have some useful knowledge about the inner workings of this arcane machine, you never know when that will be useful to someone else.

I know the admin of the UK Transit forum as a business acquaintance, when I mentioned a few years ago that I'd just bought a 2.5D non turbo AS, he casually (and hopefully joking) offered to transplant a Supra twin turbo engine for me. I didn't take him up on the offer