SOLID ADVICE

In February 2007, I bought an LDV Convoy with the Duratorque 2.4 engine with 35,000 miles and, presumably, its original DMF. In October 2011, at 75,000 miles, the DMF failed. It was replaced with a solid flywheel and now, at 147,000 miles, everything is still fine with no broken drivetrain components. That shows that this engine and gearbox can run perfectly fine with a solid flywheel, so one has to wonder why a DMF was ever fitted? Yes, it made the vehicle smoother – but not massively – and without it you do have to be more skillful coordinating the clutch and accelerator, but only to the same degree as was the case before DMFS.

It seems bonkers to manufacture a vehicle, let alone a commercial where reliability is paramount, with a major component that will not last the life of the vehicle and may need replacing several times during the vehicle’s life. Robin Scammells