We've broke the van - what's wrong?

[High Peaker]

A completely different possible reason...

I had the same but opposite problem on my A/C Porsche 912 - would lose power when going downhill.
Turned out to be an overly taught lead from coil to condensor, so when engine lurched forward on its mountings (when facing downhill), lead pulled out a bit from the coil, which was mounted on the tinware.

It took a year to realise this - after everyone was busily rebuilding the carburettors, clearing the fuel system, and replacing coils etc, and it was an RAC man on a dark, wet, windy M6 who spotted it!

[Rozzo]

Cheers Andy & Rozzo.

'Gut feel' is it is something causing fuel starvation not an overheating / mixture problem. Breather pipe is where I will start as, like you say, start with the simple / easy things and rule out one at a time. I agree, if the engine was 'sick' it wouldn't repairing itself and would just get progressly worse so think fuel issue - i.e. dodgy fuel / fuel additive in tank; fuel pump diaphragm possibly warping when hot so not pumping fuel through to carbs. If it isn't breather, might remove fuel tank and flush just to put my mind at rest that it isn't the fuel additive that I put in. I am also going to recheck oil level now got van on level drive at home and if still overfilled will drain back to required level. (Don't know whether this may be the issue? Clogging oil cooler if over full?). After that I would suspect the fuel pump and will take that off and see if there is anything obviously wrong with components. Is it possible to get a refurb kit for these as don't really want to go down the electric pump unless really have to - would rather get a replacement mechanical pump for a scrapper...

Chris

it wont be your fuel i dont think,, i accidentally ran mine on 50/50 petrol and diesel but apart from smoke it didn't bother it.
see if your breather is blocked,, i think its on top of the drivers side plastic expansion tank but not sure. could be just plugged with muck.
can anyone confirm where they breath from?

[jason k]

i still think heat build up tbh. or the other thing it could be is a coil overheating.

i seriously doubt its breathers. its running too long. its when its struggling up hill.

mind my cousins did this when he overtightened the fuel filter and crimped it.

[Cafnod]

To check the fuel lift pump without removing it do a flow test if you know the ammount of fuel it should pump per minute, what you do is take the fuel line off the carb, or banjo if it is twin carbs, get someone to turn the engine over for fifteen or twenty seconds (time this) then measure the ammount of fuel pumped and multiply that by the necessary amount to calculate a minutes fuel. Technical info might not be in Haynes but it would be in a genuine workshop manual.
Thinking about what other posters have said about electrics if you have electronic ignition it could be that, fiestas used to be famous for running, dying losing power then running again, it was the sensor in the distributor. Likewise Austin maestros used to have a crankshaft sensor that was the issue but gave similar symtoms. Dont know if petrol T25's have a similar weakpoint, sorry although I am a specialist motor/mechanical engineer not up on VW ingnition systems.
If you havent changed the HT leads in a while it might be worth it, could be an intermitent prob on the king lead, and if you have another coil to try it is worth it, motor engineering is a bit like sherlock Holmes; Eliminate the impossible and whatever remains, however improbable must be the case.

[R0B]

also worth a mention.quite often owners fit these vans with a fuel filter in the engine bay.not realising there is one just after the tank.this one gets clogged with carp.causing fuel starvation.

[fullsunian]

also worth a mention.quite often owners fit these vans with a fuel filter in the engine bay.not realising there is one just after the tank.this one gets clogged with carp.causing fuel starvation.

A fish that big in your filter will cause fuel starvation

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Thanks for all that advice! I've got my work cut out eliminating all of that lot!!!

I did remove breather pipes and pumped through with foot pump and no obvious blockages, although on of the offside pipes had actually come off the attachment to the tank so I have reconnected now. Not sure whether that will make much of a difference.

There was too much to look at in time for Oktoberfest, what with the dark nights and limited amount of time I had. So we did make it to Oktoberfest but unfortunately in a tent- we felt like a right pair of lemons and totally out of it! I think everyone was looking at us thinking what a pair of Dingles!! Glad we went though - much cider was drunk by us in commisseration....

I'm just trying to summon up the energy to have another look at the van and it's problems. Got totally disheartened last week as when looking at all of the above, I noticed that the heat exchangers from JK that I changed around April seem to be leaking exhaust gasses around the joints where they come out of the manifold and into the actual exchangers (presumably these would be covered under warranty but can't be arsed with the fight at the moment) and there still seems to be lots of oil leaks despite me changing the pushrod oil seals around the same time which I hoped would cure this. Probably need to get the engine out and think about rebuild but niether got the money, skills or inclination at the minute.

Chris

[eric]

Strewth, and I think I've got problems with my heap right now.

The thing is Chris, from the help and advice you've received so far, it must be a least a little gratifying to know the peeps on this site genuinely want you to succeed in your goal to get your beloved working fine and dandy.

Now, get a grip and start the solving process!

Good luck mate.

Eric.

[eegdivad]

Hi Chris,
I have been reading your posts with much interest. The exact problem that you described happened to our van this summer. Unfortunately for us it happened on day 1 of a 10 day holiday to Annecy in France. Driving away from Calais the van started to misfire on hills and then run out of power coming to a halt. It also wouldn't idle at first but this later seemed to cure itself. When we pulled over and waited a while the van would start readily and we could drive off until we got to a hill or motorway or anthing requiring speed or power when again the van would run out of power and we would pull of the road again. I persevered a while but eventually gave up and called the breakdown company who recovered us to a franchised VW garage. Great, I thought, they'll know how to fix it. Problem was I dont speak French and they didn't speak English so I struggled to explain the problem. After leaving the van with them overnight we went back the next day to be told it was the 'bobbin', eventually worked out he meant the ignition coil and he mimed geting an electric shock when he touched it. This was duly replaced and so we carried on. The van hesitated pulling away from the garage but as we headed away down hill all was well.Until..yep..the problem came back and we continued to cough and splutter on hills before coming to a dying halt. I was so sick of it by now that I just wanted to keep pushing on. I eventually got onto a good long flat run and found I could keep going as long as I didn't go over 45mph..slower on the inclines (30mph tops). We got about 100 miles or so that day and pulled in for the night. Next morning i checked the fuel filter..it was filthy. i thought i had found the problem and so next morning we headed into town to try and find a new one. We made it too a major roundabout where the van delivered its piesta resistance (told you my French was poor) and broke down for good right on the roundabout. Fortunately we were rescued by an English speaking Frenchman whom arranged for us to be towed to the local garage. We left it there for 2 days and when came back were told that they had changed the fuel filter and cleaned the carb and it was now running well. Well, I knew it would run well on the flat but not the hills or at speed so i test drove it up the local motorway..yep, within a mile it came to a lurching halt unless I took foot off the accelerator, let it roll a bit and then carried on slowly with the occasional loss of power before the power slowly came back. I went back to the garage, got the mechanic and let him drive it. He took the van back and had a good look at the carb. When i went back he said its fixed..he had adjusted something in the carb (his English wasn't up to describing what he had done) and he said he had had the van up to 75mph ( i didn't know it went that fast). We took the van away. All seemed well as we mooched about town. 5 days later when we headed for home on the motorways..yep, high speed and hills..it all started again. Cue breakdown..me and the van! We had to abandon motorways as it wasn't safe and head home via every town and village in France and Belgium. I eventually worked out that I could carfeully manage 25mph on hills and 40mph on the flat, any more and the van would lose power and die. Now bizarrely as we got off the ferry in Dover and headed for Manchester I thought i'd risk a motorway. I found the problem had somehow partially cured itself as we were able to maintain 55mph and could make it up hills. The problem hadn't completly gone as we did still lose some power on proper steep hills. But something had improved somewhere in the engine. I dont think it was the weather either, as it was unusually hot on the drive home as it had been in France.
Now, sadly, I cannot yet shed any light on the cure as I am in the process of fixing several possible causes on my van. Coil has been replaced again, fuel pump replaced, filter replaced, carb has been refurbished and is awaiting refitment. I also intend to look at the fuel tank and breather hose. I cant help but feel that the problem was something to do with not enough fuel getting into the carb when it was needed and then as I eased off or stopped , the carb would refill and we would be ok for a little while. The last thing i did to the van before the problen started in Calais was to fill up in Dover . Contaminated fuel? I dont know. But I await any further news your story brings. Good luck Chris.
Dave.

[orangebooboobearcrew]

Cheers guys - it's nice to know you're not the only one with problems and the help of everyone on here is brilliant and very much appreciated.

Just gotta summon some energy from somewhere to get it sorted...Glad winter is coming so won't need the van too much.

Chris

[CovKid]

I'm plagued by same problem and it seems to happen once I get to 65 (ish). Vehicle holds back and if I keep throttle down, it will cruise to a stop. If I take my foot off and drop to 45mph, it will pick up again and run fine - until I get to 65 again. Changed filter (filthy) - even put a stock beetle rotor arm in - same. Yet to clean carb, and check fuel pump but feel sure thats what the problem is. Not exactly rushing this job though as it never shows around town but with a few days in wales planned, I'll need to sort it for sure.

[Helga]

What is the 'engine bay seal' and if you know nothing about tin ware how do you know it's all there? Anybody got a pic they could post to point out where this seal is? Is it the big sort of flappy one that goes all the way around the engine, between it and the bodywork?

[eric]

Nuke it from orbit Chris .... it's the only way mate.

Eric the helpful.