I have 12 Ford Transite - 54 plates 350 MWB which I bought new from Ford. They are now out of warranty and have done about 100k. In the last month I have had 5 of the vehicles gearboxes go. They have had to have new gearboxes in them and each garage that has repaired them tells me that the cause of the failure is the DMF which breaks up and destroys the gearbox. Ford wanted a kings ransom to put new boxes in so I took them to non-dealership repairers. I have spoken to Ford Customer Relationship centre who claim to have no knowledge of the problem. At £1500 or so each time the gearbox goes its getting expensive. I replace the DMF with a solid flywheel each time but I still have 7 vans in the fleet with gearboxes waiting to fall apart !

1. Does anyone know if Ford have accepted any liability for this problem (in or out of warranty) ?

2. Am I better to bite the bullet and have new solid flywheels fitted to the rest of my fleet prior to the gearboxes going. At about £400 its a lot less costly.

3. It would appear to be a common problem but I am not sure just how common it is - am I just unlucky ?

3. Should I just get rid of the remaining 7 vehicles and let someone else have the problem !

Philthebox, October 2008

Would have to be the worst vehicle I have owned,I treat my van with respect, have it serviced at the local ford dealership when due,I am about to have a second clutch and dual mass fly wheel installed in a vehicle with 200.000 kms.I have had to replace the brakes at rear endcompletely,Newmotor
waterpump,starter motor alternater harmonic balancer a host of sensors door handles plastic hoses slave cylinder and there is more. We should all get to gether to launch a class action against ford for allowing and knowingly selling such rubbishand taking no responsibility for it.I live in Australia

Peter Spielvogel, January 2015

My transit won't go into gear. Iv changed the slave cylinder and bled it, still won't go into gear. Anyone help, it a 350 rwd lwb 2001 51 plate. Thanks.

aaron, July 2013

i know this may sound rough, but i actually got a 1" 1/2 hole saw and drilled in to the bottom of the bell housing so that all the metal filings had an alternate place to go instead of knackering my starter motor! by no means is this a remedy to your DMF problem, once its on its way out it does need replacing, but it does buy you a few more miles! i did end up fitting the solid flywheel, but if i ever get a new van thats fitted with the dreaded DMF first thing i will do is make a hole in the bottom of the bell housing so all the crap has somewhere else to go bar in to the starter!!!!

valtra2710, September 2012

Hi i run universal clutches and i been fitting clutches for app18 years and yes transit do have probelms with dual mass flywheels ,but to diagnsos the probelm right first time is crutial to no futher probelms,
1. starter playing up soon as there is metal filings on starter,remove gearbox replace clutch ,dmf,spigot CLEAN throughly bellhousing than CHECK bearing carrier is not coming loose and the other probelm is NO ONE CHECKs gear oil because the level plug sits behind the slave (silly idea) so no one checks the oil
2. we must have done thousands of transits fwd/rwd
and i totally disagree with slid coversions sorry but i rather not do the job
3.gear box are in my eyes are good for the mileage they cover but hay if you checked oil/replaced they wiil last longer
4,cost approx 495+vat for clutch & dmf using luk parts

khalid, September 2011

hi, now having my 4th starter motor in 6 mths fitted, only now to be told about DMF, what a load old s**t these seem to be. Ford sort yourselves out, have always been a ford man, maybe time for change.

Nick Causton, January 2011

My 03 plate transit is having a new dmf and clutch kit fitted as we speak! Friend is fitting it for £320 including labour! Shop around a bit more mate! Garages and mechanics can easily rip people off who are unable to do it themselves, but a quote of over £1000 sounds rediculous!

Will, January 2011

transit pickup 56 plate 37000 miles,had it 8 months dual mass flywheel gone, just been quoted £850.Is that too expensive or the going rate? Devastated.

Henry, January 2011

I have a transit 51 plate lwb 300 fwd, Fly wheel had gone, nursed it to the garage, spent £1000 on it, Thrust bearing, d m flywheel, clutch kit.....1 week off work with massive amounts of agro...I am again nursing it around, first is worse then it every has been, i'll push it in 1st, have to pull my foot up 6" to feel the last click......what the hell, i really don't need this ....anyone got any ideas? ....I've has so far, not put the clutch cables back right, selector, and finally gearbox....Too me it doesn't feel like it's been fitted properly, but I need some advise....I'm a courier and any time off means I have to hire a van :(...help??

Dani Kowalski, December 2010

if any one has got a ford transit and its still under warranty the first time the the starter fails, or you get a rattle from the gear box area, pulsing on the clutch pedal, or hard to get in 1st or reverse get it back to them and insist they fit a new fly wheel and full clutch kit and slave cylinder dont let them con you they know of the problem, the dealers try to farm you off with any old chat stand your ground tell them you know what the problem is. good luck.

david, September 2010

i have a 07 transit with starter motor problems since sept 09 ford had it back 4 times in one year all they did was blow swarf out of starter housing and give it me back saying they sorted out the problem then just as the warranty ran out the rattle appeared yes the fly wheel was nacked took it back to fords they said give us 12000 quid and we will put it right. they new all the time what was wrong with it yet tell you lies to get rid of you, ford need to sort this out a lot of people will suffer in the future, they need to recall all vehicles and solve the problem.

bill coventry, September 2010

i have a ford transet front wheel drive 2001.
a few week ago started to rattle thought it might be the belt tensioner, replaced it with new kit.
problem was still there.

last week was finding it hard to change down gear.
the next few days the rattle got worse.

next thing i new . no gears at all. at to be towed to the garage. on inspection the gear box had gone. on further inspection the dms was all shot,

its cost me over £ 1200 . to sort out this mess.
not a happy man,,,

andy, August 2010

The DMF is used to absorb the vibration from the engine so as not to damage the gearbox. I'm A mechanic and have seen and heard of dozens of these breaking. If you use a solid flywheel it can lead to gearbox failure as that is the reason the DMF was adopted.

steve mccarthy, July 2010

My Starter motor went faulty last week so read your forum,I now realise I am one of the many who has a problem with my 54 plate transit dual mass flywheel,
hence I wish ford would have a recall, but it looks like I wil have to shell out £800.00? too

Steve Douthwaite, July 2010

i have a transit 03 t260 trouble gettint 1st and revers been told gear box gone sleceter gone clutch and fly wheel gone can anyone tell me witch one has gone before i start work on it

david, April 2010

On my 04 plate Torneo a bolt fell out of the selector mechasnism and crunched the gearbox at only 85000 miles. I had it repaired and a new clutch fitted. The dual mass was inspected and certified ok, but only 2000 miles later the starter refuses to engage because of metal filings on the shaft from the flywheel so it all has to come apart again. Ford customer servics think its funny. I will not replace my fleet with ford transits or cars. Watchdog have been contacted but dont seem interested

Ted Fletcher, March 2010

the dmf can not fuc yer gearbox

john, March 2010

Hi, I have a 56 plate , had it for nearly 2 years!

it is now in ford having its 3rd fly wheel and clutch and other bits it needs when this problem occurs!

They are taking another £1560 off me

mine also blows starters and mega fuses!

They say its my fault ... i drive like a c**k and they have denied other people knowing of the problem!

I have now contacted watchdog - contact them

Lets get them sorted out guys!!!

gavin, January 2010

my thoughts on this may be the dust its got no where to go . there are no vents in the bell housing causing premature failier on both (dmf) & (solid) but on solid flywheel clutch, thrust bearing wears through presure plate ,arm may be at fault ? keeping to much presure on plate causing the wear, but this is just a thought.

phil, December 2009

Hi mate,

I have an 2002 350 Transit, Having the DMF changed this week as my 2nd starter motor keeps slipping. Was only told after my warranty ran out the DMF should be changed for a solid one before it breaks the gearbox and the starter again. I would change them all if I was you, costly tho.

Regards

Paul, November 2009

My clutch and fly wheel is being replaced now aswell and has only just done 100,000 miles (04 plate). I wont buy transit again. I suggest you sell them.

Al, November 2009

Mine gone on 55 plate torneo, expensive to replace, plus out of work, as is working taxi

james, November 2009

hi
ibought my transit new in 2001 clutch went[dmf] in 2005 with 60000 miles cost 900 pounds to replace another 60000 miles later i am having the same problem

nigel1305, September 2009

we have huge problems with the same issue leading with replacement starters clutches etc change to solid asap Ford dont give a damn

philip elliott, September 2009

Hi, My son and self have two gearbox reconditioning companies, one in the UK and the other in Portugal, myself with 40 years experience and my son over 20 years. Between us, our companies have remanufactured over sixty thousand gearboxes to date, hardly Fred the shed. On these Transit vans, we have had a high incidence of the input bearing breaking up around the cir clip groove under guarantee depite only using origional equipent parts. In many cases taking the maincase as well. Some thirty Transit gearboxes so far returned under warranty with this problem. The most common cause appears to be the dual mass flywheel failure, although Ford in England and Portugal deny any problem. The earlier Transit with the MT75 gearbox using a slightly different ratio, otherwise identical gear kit with a shorter input shaft NEVER had this problem. Now in Portugal, we are considering that we will only sell this type of gearbox with a new complete clutch assembly and crank spiggot bearing. In my opinion, Ford should have a recall to cure this problem. I would welcome comments from others that have similar problems, as I would like to research this further. Please email me at peter@gearchange.co.uk

Peter Sparkes, November 2008

Hi I am having the same problem with my 07 transit took it back two weeks after collecting the van with gear box chatter wanted to return the van but they ignored me so I kick up with dunton research and they supposidly resolved the problem 22000 miles later its back in with a noisy gear box needing a new fly wheel what a load of old rubbish and yes when you talk to customer relations they dont want to know, me personaly will be getting rid the thing is you end up talking to a deaf ear. my mates van had 4 clutches in 12000 and a new dif

Dave T, November 2008

Solid flywheels tend to burn out clutch pressure plates/clutch bearing even with the correct fork fitted.

Jay, October 2008

for sure the transit has a problem with the dual mass flywheel. even ford themselves came up with the solid flywheel solution. i have replaced many of these and have only ever had 1 gearbox been destroyed. there are early signs to the flywheel going that if you know what to look for then could save you alot of money. the most common 1 is rattling when warm and pulsing through the clutch pedal when you blip the throttle or switch the engine off

ash, October 2008

sorry to hear about your ford transit problems you are not alone, i took delivery of brand new shape 56 plate it wouldnt run ,kept coming up engine malfunction 6 weeks out of work while they couldnt sort it ,took it back still waing for compensation 2years later i would get rid of fords and get hyundays with 5year unlimited warranty!

stuart, October 2008