Thought I would give a quick update on the resolution to my predicament. Having rolled a rock in a deep snow filled puddle, the result was a cracked transmission sump on the evening before a long bank holiday weekend, during Ramadan, in Morocco. Whilst we managed to get out of Morocco via a 6 hour flatbed trip, I thought we would get some better assistance form IA when in Europe. That turned out to be rubbish, IA customer service remained utterly useless and IA European Assistance similar. In fact the first number I was given by IA was the Ducatti AA helpline!
Faced with the following choice: -
- wait 4 days for the two southern Spain dealerships to open, order the non-stock sump, and then a wait for it to arrive, however long that might be.
- arrange the potential recovery of the car which could take 4 to 6 weeks to arrive back in the UK.
With little confidence IA would expedite the replacement sump I took it upon myself to investigate a repair with the aid of a friend. With the sump removed we proceeded to sand off the fins to the plastic sump, Dremel out the crack from the outside (as the crack was directly above the sealed filter), apply 2 thick coats of araldite, 1 tube of epoxy putty and 5 litres of the most expensive transmission oil ever from a friendly BMW dealership, the repair was made. Didn’t lose a drop on the 750 miles home and pleasingly the new sump was fitted earlier this week by the very helpful dealership being Harwoods in Portsmouth.
View attachment 1712872593416.jpeg
A few other repairs required underneath, and a few lessons learnt before the return to Morocco in September: -
- However unlucky rolling a rock up into the centre of the car was, full underbody protection must be fitted.
- Probably fit the Eibach performance lift springs with new 17 x 7.5”rims and 285 70 r17 tyres raising the car a valuable 2”
- Prior to travelling to remote parts I will be making contact with the most local IA repair centres directly beforehand.
A big thank you to those who helped with advice, did research on part numbers, and was generally just there for me. The Forum remains the most useful source of help and support, 24 hours a day! It’s a shame IA continue to fail its aftersales service either though providing a promised parts / technical manual or just having an effective customer service team with technical backup.
One last thing is I have an outstanding C/S case number which was created on 29th March. My last contact with IA was 31st March and as far as they are aware I could still be stuck in Spain!!
![[ Adam ]](https://ineosforum-data.community.forum/avatars/m/9046/9046040.jpg?1705937698){kind=avatar}
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