A salutary tale for the Aircooled amongst us

[Shootz]

I just got one, this weekend and I'm not sure if I've got the idea right...

It'll maintain 40mph or so up a steep incline in 4th, and it'll rev its bits off on the same hill at about the same speed in 3rd...

So 3rd... is the way to go? Rev the thing?

Also, do they all leak oil? Stopped off at my mum's on the way to the ferry and she wasn't happy about the state of her driveway afterwards!

Treat 3rd gear like 4th gear in a car use 4th gear for cruising.
Lots of revs is best when driving it.
They are sluggish up hills though.
Oil leaks are fairly common did it leak much Dan? normally leaves a couple of spots on the drive but no more than that.
push rod seals normally the reason,although they were only done in August.
Lee.

[Dan Wood]

Cheers Lee,

It was only three drops of oil. You've not met my mum!
Haven't checked the level yet, but I'm sure it's still got plenty in.


Drove well, other than not being quite so gutsy as my old bus!

I kept catching myself grinning that T25 grin again, so thanks for letting her go. I saw you in my rear view mirror as I drove down your road and knew exactly how you felt after letting our other bus go this summer!

I'll keep you posted with what she gets up to....

[Shootz]

Thats ok then i thought that it had left a big puddle or something

Just marking its spot mate its an air cooled thing

Yeah was sad to see her go its been a great camper for us,but at the same time glad its gone to someone who loves these vans.

Air cooled wont be as fast as water cooled but they are old engines,and will last a lot longer than a water cooled if looked after.
You cant beat that proper VW sound either,i will have one again when i get to oz although it will probably be a bay
Lee.

[cumbriankeith]

you can get oil remover stuff from a good motor shop or even halfwits - strong caustic soda will do it too, carefully...
Rocker covers are another favourite for leaks, and rear crank seals, and even gearbox output shafts and input shafts for that matter.

[jason k]

if its leaking from the pushrod tubes sometimes a twist of the tube will be enough to reseal it, these ol aircooleds can be made to fly, just look at the performance germman mark gets from his!!

[RachelDaisy]

Hi Keith,
Our Aircooled went to RE Performance in Bury, North Manchester http://www.re-performancecentre.co.uk/ I thought you might be interested as it is not too far from The Lakes. I think it cost about £140 last spring. Definitley worth doing.

[Sir Chad]

Only owned Aircooled beetles but one thing i learn't the hard way was to always check that the alternator lamp came on before starting the engine.
Had the misfortune of losing the fan belt and the lamp didn't come on cos it was blown. Engine seized very quickly.

[cumbriankeith]

Fortunately with these Type IV engines the cooling fan is mounted directly on the end of the crank so you don't lose cooling if the belt fails, but you do lose cab heating cos that fan is mounted on the alternator.