Hi.im new to this site and i must say im already very impressed! I was just wondering if anyone out there would be able to help.Iv just bought a T25 Panel Van(1983,a reg,aircooled,2ltr petrol) that has been DIY converted into a camper(perfect for me!)however,i bought her cheap as she had no mot,passed fine but now has developed a engine problem.She splutters alot,sometimes doesnt start and sometimes runs on just 2valves instead of 4.I called out RAC and they advised me to replace the rotor arm,i did so and it ran fine for a few days then the problem returned.i am in the process of changing the HT leads and plugs,fuel line and filter but was wondering if anyone had any experience of this kind? The RAC man assured me it wasnt anything badly wrong!!!Hopefully!
Hi and welcome, we have a T25 so does FIL, OH - aircooled Mick has rebuilt 2 of these engines, when he surfaces this morning will show him your post and see what he says
Hi Joey, if your engine is aircooled, it must have been a later fit, as far as I know they went over to watercooled in 1982, this is quite a popular swap as although the aircooled motor is a bit less power, it's pretty bulletproof and more reliable. Regardless, if yours is the twin carb set up, I had exactly the same symptoms when I first put my engine back together. The problem will probably be the carbs, they have electronic automatic chokes which are linked in to the throttle cable which have about 3 individual adjustments on them, and the carbs probably need balancing as well.
This not all as bad as it sounds, but I would advise you to take it to an aircooled VW specialist in your area, there are quite a few down your way, I can look you a few up if you need.
If you don't have twin carbs, it still sounds more like a tune up than anything major, these vans like to be used, if I leave mine standing around for a week or so, it coughs and splutters when first started, there is a great book on aircooled engines called 'How to keep your VW alive' written by a hippy in the '70's, he says, 'when you start your engine, you should leave it ticking over the amount of time it takes to make a roll-up (Jamaican Woodbine) before driving off', this is sound advice.
I had the same symptom once on my type 2 t3 2.0 litre aircooled campervan, basically what's happened is one of the carburettors has got temporarily blocked.
A quick and easy fix for this is to remove the air filter unit, put your hand over one of the carburettors to create a vacuum and rev up the engine. Be careful not to let your hand get sucked into the carburettor in the process.
Repeat the same procedure for the other carburettor and it should clear the obstruction. Your camper's engine should now run normally.
At this point it may also be a good idea to replace your petrol filter to prevent it happening again.
Also check the condition of the petrol hoses and replace them if they are chaffed or cracked, especially if they are weeping petrol !!! Always replace petrol hoses with synthetic yarn hoses and NEVER use cotton braided rubber hoses (eg. the junk that GSF, etc sell). Unleaded petrol destroys rubber and they will last for less than a month. I learnt this through experience.
You may have to do a search via google for 5 mm (or even just under 5mm, eg. 3/16") synthetic yarn fuel hoses, I would use marine grade hoses where possible. I have just found www.megaflex.co.uk which looks pretty good, but I don't know what the minimum order is, etc.
If all of the above methods do not work (and after you have checked everything), check your carburettors for air leaks (eg. do they hiss?). If that is the case then you may need to get your carburettors rebuilt professionally (don't go for brand new carburettors, they are awful and they are really not worth the money !!)
I had a similar problem on my old 2.0L Aircooled Bay Window.
Check for vacuum pipe leaks, down behind the carbs (if twin carbs) is some kind of balance pipe connected by rubber elbows, my elbows had perished and was sucking in air.
Not trying to nick your thread M8.... but i have a 'single' auto choke carb on my 1900cc watercooled engine.... my question is there would i start to look for a reconditioned one
cheers !!
Nannycatch.....
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Lord Scratcher and Lady Jayne
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You tried your best
and failed MISERABLY.
The lesson is : NEVER TRY .
If you've got a carburettor problem, then I would get it professionally rebuilt (eg. Gower and Lee) since it would be a far better option than a badly built brand new carburettor.
If however you are looking for another engine, then there's Remtec. They are the UK remanufacturers of VW engines.
You can also get replacement engines from Just Kampers, possibly VW Heritage (they deal with Remtec as far as I remember) and maybe even Eurocarparts (I got my brand new VW Type 1 1600 mexican carburettor engine from there).
I hope this helps.
Also Joeyd, have you managed to get your engine up and running ?
Hi Nannycatch, you could try big boys toys at Thurrock, they do lots of carb options and are much cheaper than JK for engine parts, very knowledgeable staff who are all VW enthusiasts.
cheers for the info again,iv changed the plugs,leads,checked all the hoses on the carbs,fuel line &filter changed,iv also done what Phade suggested(clear carb) and no luck.It now starts and has no acceleration,it idles (splutters) with no acceleartion,but sometimes,once out of 20 turnovers it runs great,i drove it 20miles last night with no probs and today it hasnt started at al!!really weird!
Does anyone know any aircooled specialists in the taunton/bridgwater area?
Sounds exactly what we had (I'm Aircooled Micks OH) someone recommended a good tune up and we were given the number of a guy in our area, he had 30 years experience with aircooled VW's. Left our pride and joy there all day with him, and he must have performed all sorts of witchcraft and magic on her and got her running and purring sweetly, the next day we went to devon in her for a week, she was a real sweetie, and now runs brilliantly. But we have to start her at least twice a week, she doesnt like to be left standing!!!!!! Aircooled Mick reckons its the best £100 we spent, and the guy is a magician or wizard. Just goes to show take it to an experienced person. When we saw his garage we were a bit iffy, but he is a master of spells. Sorry not a lot of help for you, but just thought I'd let you know of our experiences..
cheers for ideas again.Just taken her to the local garage to have her mended and received a phone call almost imediatly saying that the main reason was that the carbs were just full of crap.Also (amazingly) that she had around 4LITRES of oil too much in the engine!!!!! Im now counting my blessings for not being able to start her!!!My dad and i had been trying to work out why anyone would do such a thing when we looked at the pics of the van with the old owner,and noticed ....he lived on a huge hill!!!!must of put oil in all the time!!!
Thank fully she is running fine now but the garage man whent to move her and there were no gears!!! only a bolt holding on the synchro or something!!
anyway....lesson for today....dont check oil on a hill!!!
up date for you guys! After the garage getting her going and cleaning nearlly all parts of the engine,she started just stoping and stalling after getting warm. The coil was changed with no luck but then we decided to overide the little black box (think its the idle system)and this has curred it!!Going great now!!
--Nannycatch--have you taken the top off your Pierburg & cleaned out the floatbowl?--it worked for me--replacement Pierburgs are very hard to find--I contacted Gower&Lee they were no help--
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: Vw T25 engine problems!
