I have just purchased an A Reg 1983 water-cooled T25 hitop.
A few things I would like answered, or any help provided would be gratefully received.
1) I did what most new owners do, when buying a secondhand vehicle, and that was to fill it up with petrol - for only it to leak for 40 minutes - I do understand this is a known fault of the top of the petrol tank rusting. Does anyone know where a good garage is ( preferrably in SE London / Kent / Sussex areas ) which could fix / replace this?
2) General appearance of the 25 year old T25 is OK ( it could be better !). Some rusting round the windows, bottom of doors, etc. Also, when this is fixed, a respary would be beneficial. Again, any garages that specialise in this field, in the same areas.
3) Fitted in is an Electrolux '3 way fridge'. On electric hook up it works. The other two ways, from the battery when the T25 is moving doesnt seem to work, neither does the gas. No handbooks were passed over, so its the blind leading the blind on this. Also, the fridge, when on hook-up doesnt get that cold, is this a common fault?
4) I have ploughed the web, but cannot find any specialist garages at all, I am assuming that most ' normal ' garages will do servicing, MOTs etc?
It may not be the tank rusted, it could just be the rubber pipes on top of the tank that vent into the plastic bottles under front wheel arch.
your fridge probably needs major work, if it is repairable at all, you really need to go to a caravan repairer to get it fixed.
'Normal' garages dont really like working on vehicles this age, you need to find a local old VW specialist.
I'm sorry to sound a bit negative but imho you do need a bit of mechanical knowledge to successfully run one of these vans even if you cant do the job yourself you need to know what is required or you will get ripped off left right & centre.
Your best bet is to register on these T25 specific sites here & here & tap into the combined knowledge you will find on them
------------- Sell my camper? I'd rather eat school semolina!
i have just done a full resto on mine
replaced the bottom 18 inches all the way round
got a new fuel tank filled it up and heard this trickling noise looked down and yes you guessed it it was leaking anyway we checked the top of the tank and have put it down to one of the breathers under the arch
hope your windows arn`t as bad as mine were
well one of mine there was a hole from one side to the other when we took the window out
as martym says be prepared to learn quickly or it will cost you a tiny fortune i bought mine for £850 and have just spent around £3500 on it and that was mates rates
labour for labour it si now insured for 7k
With luck, it could be just a pipe problem. Get some generic fuel pipe from a motor factor for just a couple of quid.
By the way, I still haven't got round to fixing mine. I just don't fill it to the top ;).
It's worth signing up to JustKampers - there's a very good tech forum and they sell almost every T25 part.
2. Rust is always a problem. Just keep on top of it. You'll find that the seams will rust. I had a leak at the front of my van - the floor under the mats was soaking wet. I scraped my seam sealer out with a knife, then using a fine artist brush filled the seams with rust eater. The Loctite one is good, but I think Kurust is the same. When this dried, I filled the seams with Neken bathroom selant!
No, I'm not joking. It's quite runny (more so than ordinary bathroom sealant) so it's the perfect consistency to fill the van's seams. My van's white, so I didn't even need to paint it.
Here's the stuff: http://www.neken.co.uk/product.php?id=3
One tube is enough to seal the whole van. Not bad for two quid.
You might not want to resort to such extreme cheapness, but it worked like a charm for me!
No more leaks - the floor's dry as a bone.
3. The fridge. I've got the same fridge. Mine is fine, but a little temperamental to light.
It works fine from battery (while driving), so much so that there's ice on the metal box thing inside when I arrive on site. It also works great from gas.
There might not be anything wrong with your fridge:
a) check that there's actually some gas going to it - in one of my under sink cupboards, there's a T-piece and a screw valve. This is to prevent gas reaching the fridge if you just want to use the cooker. If this valve is screwed in, no gas will reach the fridge, but the cooker will still work. Try looking for this valve as it will almost certainly be somewhere in your van.
b) If the fridge hasn't been used for a while, the lines will be full of air and it will take some time before gas reaches the fridge (the flow is very slow). Be patient. Leave the gas run for a few minutes before attempting to light it.
4. My local garage does MOT and jobs as normal. No problem.
---
Again, at this stage your probably fretting about your van. Relax and enjoy it. It WILL break down. Everything does. Mine broke down a few times but I could fix it at the roadside. It's worth getting breakdown cover - I joined this outfit: http://www.autoaidbreakdown.co.uk/
for £36 a year it covers my car, my wife's car and our van (I phoned to check and they said the T25 was no problem).If you do join them, bear in mind that you have to pay the recovery cost up front, then claim the cost back from them.
Some tips:
My van was running a bit rough when I had it. I changed the rotor arm, the distribution cap, the coil lead, the spark plugs, oil and air filter. I got my parts from a local motor factor (I'm in there so often they give me trade prices!) and the total came to about £50 as I was able to do the work myself. The van's now running really well.
Keep an eye on the coolant. At the back of the van, there are two coolant tanks. One is pressurised (and should be full at all times - it should only be opened when the engine is stone cold).
The other is not pressurised and its level changes depending on the engine temperatures. Keep an eye on this non-pressurised tank (it has an ordinary screw cap and can be accessed from the flap at the back of the van -it's more towards the middle of the van). It's safe to open the screw cap at any time. This tank should never run dry. Check it now.
If all is well, and the coolant is between the lines marked on the tank, screw the cap back on.
Next, run the engine to its working temperature, then unscrew the cap and look inside this non-pressurised tank and look inside. If you see a stream of bubbles, you have air in your system. Not the end of the world, but it could mean a leak.
Next, stop the engine, and as it cools, watch the water in this tank. After quite a while you should see it draw back into the pressurised tank and return to its cold level. Again, you shouldn't see a stream of bubbles and the tank should never run dry.
Phew! Don't let any of this put you off. Enjoy your van. Learn how to tinker with the van, and you'll save a bundle on costs. I've driven bangers since I was a teenager, so I had to learn mechanics the hard way.
I bought a MIG welder, joined this site: http://www.mig-welding.co.uk/
and leaned to weld.
Ignore Jinnan's bit about the coolant as yours is Air Cooled... Obviously had to much Jinnan
When I had my old T2 aircooled one of the best bits I fitted for the running side of it was one of the electronic ignition kits (Pertronix), smoothed out the running and much better starting.
As already stated check around for isolating valves to the fridges gas system, my old T25 Westy had taps at the underfloor tank as well as in the kitchen cupboard and they all had to be pointing the right way.
Quote: Originally posted by AndyVines on 01/9/2008
Hi
Ignore Jinnan's bit about the coolant as yours is Air Cooled... Obviously had to much Jinnan
I would say its you thats p*ssed, unless you just know nought about T25s--- the OP states the van is watercooled, '83 being the year the WBX was introduced & all petrol T25s air or watercooled already have electronic ignition. Petronix is an upgrade for T2s.
------------- Sell my camper? I'd rather eat school semolina!
Had to replace my fridge as the old one was dead.
Have been right through and replaced all fuel and breather lines, most of which were missing anyway which isn't good.
Have found that my Haynes manual was one of the best things I have bought! Have done lots of jobs myself now; replacing front calipers, doing pushrods and seals on the engine (no oil leak at present horay). Done lots of other stuff but don't want to bore you!
I'm currently fighting with the insurance company to get mine fixed as a silly little girl in a fiat punto decided to pull out of a junction turning right and didn't look our way, so didn't see a big orange T25 coming her way! Ouch
Steve
------------- Don't take your organs to heaven - heaven knows we need them down here. Join the NHS Organ Donor Register - someone did who saved my daughter's life.
Quote: Originally posted by AndyVines on 01/9/2008
Hi
Ignore Jinnan's bit about the coolant as yours is Air Cooled... Obviously had to much Jinnan
I would say its you thats p*ssed, unless you just know nought about T25s--- the OP states the van is watercooled, '83 being the year the WBX was introduced & all petrol T25s air or watercooled already have electronic ignition. Petronix is an upgrade for T2s.
Sorry miss-read the watercooled aircooled bit, as you also miss-read my post as I did state that I had the Pertonix on my old T2, and my comment was tongue in cheek as per my smiley inserted.
My T25 was the 1.6 turbo diesel running extra boost and fuelling, good performance and economy.
Quote: Originally posted by AndyVines on 02/9/2008
Sorry miss-read the watercooled aircooled bit, as you also miss-read my post as I did state that I had the Pertonix on my old T2, and my comment was tongue in cheek as per my smiley inserted.
My T25 was the 1.6 turbo diesel running extra boost and fuelling, good performance and economy.
Whats happened to the friendly VW people of old?
I didnt missread your post, If you wernt(incorrectly) suggesting fitting aftermarket electronic ingnition to a T25(that already has electronic ignition)why did you mention it?
Your 'tongue in cheek' comment was in fact a rude remark directed at somebody who had taken the time to write a helpful post(unlike you)
& If I wasnt a friendly VW person of old I wouldnt be suggesting that you restore the factory settings to your poor little overstressed JX motor before it destroys itsself.
------------- Sell my camper? I'd rather eat school semolina!
Hey chill, sorry if I have offended you, I admitted I got it wrong and had miss-read the original.
As for the JX it was a NOS imported engine from Germany so it was deemed by the VW specialist to be a worthwhile tweek, the van was sold on and the new owner is aware of the modifcation.
Although we enjoyed our years with the VW's we were away so much that we decided to go for something bigger, and now have our Hymer A Class, still got a flat four though in the guise of a Subaru Legacy 250T, now that engine in the back of my old T2 Westy would have been fun.
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Topic: T25 Camper help required !!
