Help - on the verge of throwing in the towl!

[caleyking]

Hi All,

My story is classic a newbie....I purchased what I thought was a desirable van with having only conducted a small amount of research last summer and purchased on looks rather than reliability - hindsight is a wonderful thing. The van is a gorgous looking T-25, 1.9 petrol, watercooled with high-top fitted and body kit including a full camper conversion installed.

I found it on ebay and went to view it prior to bidding, I gave the van a once over but as it was ticking over for 30 min and sounded sweet as a nut, I didn't take it for a spin - big mistake I know - important lesson learnt! My last two cars have been new so didn't think of potential engine trouble never having any!

Won the van and on my maiden voyage it cooked up and had to be recovered. Unsure of the problem, checked the water pump - looked ok, whipped the thermostat out and removed the radiator, flushed etc. Drained and refilled according to the haines manual - engine still cooking up!

A local mechanic, dropped the engine to inspect the heads yet the garage refused to crack test them as one of them looked shocked, it appears that the previous owner has had one of the heads off and stuck it back on and sold it on ebay to the first mug AKA me!. As well as the suspect head bodge is that the automatic fan has been overridden by a manual fan switch which is highly suspicious to say the least!

So at present the root cause of the overheating/blown head gasket has not been isolated. I believe I have three options:

1/ Do as the previous owner has done and bodge the heads back on and resell
2/ Replace the heads and hope for the best
3/ Replace the entire engine

The first option is not really an option as I love the van and although I haven't really had the useage plus I wouldn't want to basically con someone as in my experience.

The second is just a bodge and probably doesn't address the underlying problems.

The third and most preferred, yet most expensive option, is to replace the engine whilst at the same time replace the rad, fan, sensor, thermostat, pipes. Also an opportunity to replace the clutch too so all in all, although expensive, should have relatively engine free motoring for the foreseeable future.

My question to you experienced T25 owners is whether option three is sufficient to prevent the next engine from cooking up or do I need to undertake any further steps please?

Last but not least, the only two places I'm aware of that can supply engines are Elite Engines or GFS. Do any of you have any advice or help that you can offer in my hour of need pretty please?

[ghost123uk]

Hi and a big WELCOME

Not to worry is the first thing

If you have a nice van with a poorly engine, you are much better off than having a rough van with an OK engine.

Engines are easy to replace, and once done, will last many years, whereas a rusty body will be a constant money pit !

Elite engines have a good reputation.
Cost around £1000 by the time you have finished.
If at all possible, get it to them for their FREE fitting service.
That way you know it's all correctly filled and bled etc.
They won't hand it back to you if there is a danger of it overheating as they offer a guarantee on all their work.

If it needs a new rad (unlikely) they will tell you.

Worth it in the end for sure

[dj biz r]

you sound like u had lust in your eyes,just like me,i didnt even drive mine before i parted with cash,it was a bodged "pooh",cooked not long aft .so i went recon engine + new exhaust cost £1700 fitted meself plus odds + sodds i stuck with a 1.9 dg wbx ,but realise now i couldave got higher powerd deisel so do investigate dont jump .check alternative engines,,good luck

[caleyking]

Thanks very much for your responses!

I like the idea of instead of doing a straight swap and opt for the high power diesel yet unsure of what other work is involved. There is not a cat in hell chance I could get the van to Elite to benefit from the free fitting unfortunately!

[RHINO79]

whereabouts in the country are you from if your down near me may be able to help you out as i own a garage in herne bay kent?

If not and you decide to go down the gsf route give me a shout as i have an account with them and may be able to swing a bigger discount

Good luck
Ryan

[caleyking]

Hi Rhino, miles away in Cheltenham, cheers though!

[Rockhead_Rumple]

Personally if you are toying with laying out £1000+ on a new engine, I would take the old system to bits and at least learn what the original problem is. Best case scenario is it is something fixable, which will save you money and also teach you plenty about your van. Worst case is it is unfixable, but you will still have learnt about yer van and potential problems and it wont affect your plan for a recon engine.

You might as well strip it and investigate it as even if you go for the recon route the van won't be on the road anytime soon

Try not to get too Disheartened, these vans are all about the trials and tribulations along the way. Gives you something to chat "pooh" about to other vw nutz!

[Nicola&Tony]

Hi Rhino, miles away in Cheltenham, cheers though!

Try getting in touch with billy numbers, he's one of the traders on here and he's based in Gloucester, I think. He often has stuff for sale e.g:
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=66507" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

There's another dg engine in the for sale section at the moment as well.

Or you could stick a post in the wanted forum.

Hope you get sorted.

Tony

[ghost123uk]

Try getting in touch with billy numbers, he's one of the traders on here and he's based in Gloucester, I think. He often has stuff for sale e.g:
https://club8090.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=66507" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Good advice there from Tony.

I got a very good used DG from Billy739 2 years ago when my original one failed and it is still going strong and sweet

Re swapping to a Diesel, personally I wouldn't.
They can be just as troublesome (heads cracking and failed turbo's) plus the hassle of converting. Then, only the later type 1.9's offer any more power and they ain't cheap, plus you need new engine cross members etc etc.

My DG runs on LPG (most of the time) = no loss in power and 1/2 price fuel.
I would stick to a straight swap and get an LPG conversion when funds allow.
Simple, cheaper and less smelly than a Diesel !

[chuckle-bus-tom]

As you can see, it's not all bad!

Try also volkspares for their replacement engines, or read up in the wiki (in the top toolbar) about other petrol alternatives like Subaru flat fours; unless your a pureist, I personally think the Germans and the Japanese did enough damage when they first teamed up!

[caleyking]

Personally if you are toying with laying out £1000+ on a new engine, I would take the old system to bits and at least learn what the original problem is. Best case scenario is it is something fixable, which will save you money and also teach you plenty about your van. Worst case is it is unfixable, but you will still have learnt about yer van and potential problems and it wont affect your plan for a recon engine.

You might as well strip it and investigate it as even if you go for the recon route the van won't be on the road anytime soon

Try not to get too Disheartened, these vans are all about the trials and tribulations along the way. Gives you something to chat "pooh" about to other vw nutz!

Thanks for you kind words, just for the record, I've placed an order with Mick over at Elite Engines and am expecting it to be delivered in 2 - 3 weeks. To be honest, I do not feel confident enough yet to take an engine apart, find the fault and rebuild it. Hell an experienced mechanic cant find the fault already so I don't have a cat in hell's chance. I've been tinkering with it already and am beginning to understand the basics yet my priority is not learning extensively about engine at this stage. My number 1 priority is getting it fixed ready for the season as I haven't had much opportunity to have had much fun in it yet as the problem has persisted since purchased.

Just out of interest, why do you foresee it not being on the road anytime soon if I go down the recon engine route please?

[ghost123uk]

Well you are well on your way now

Fitting the engine is not difficult.
My best tip would be do it on as flat and smooth a surface as you can find.
Reason = you have to manoeuvre the engine VERY precisely on the trolley jack to get the gearbox input shaft to line up exactly with the bearing in the flywheel. This is most important and mustn't be bodged or forced in any way. (or you damage the bearing or shaft ) That is the tricky bit, you need a good eye and lots of patience to get it to line up and engage correctly !!

Hence the jack on a nice smooth surface to wriggle it about. Trying to move the engine on the jack that exact 2mm to get it lined up and slotted together, when on a rough tarmac road, is NOT easy (ask me how I know )

Just out of interest, why do you foresee it not being on the road anytime soon if I go down the recon engine route please?

I guess that was said because Elite often have a waiting list (they are very busy most of the time) - the only other thing that might delay you is the removing of the exhaust from the old engine and the refitting it to the new.

The refitting is DEFINITELY best done whilst the engine is still off the van.

To get it off, use Plus Gas on the nuts and bolts (NOT WD40 !!) and heat from a blow torch.
Get an exhaust fitting kit from Europarts (local branches and online) it has all the gaskets plus new nuts and bolts. Prepare for some of the studs that hold the pipes to the head to snap when you go to undo them on the old engine. New studs and / or bolts are easy to get from motor factors.

The rest is straightforward.
An engine swap can be done in 1 "short" day (weather and exhaust issues allowing !)
Just make sure you bleed the water system correctly (details in our "wiki" section, link at the top of every page)

Lastly, if you need any advice on all of this, ask on here before guessing or swearing !!

Oh and re the old engine, you will need to keep it in one bit to send to Elite as a trade in so forget it and look forward to a summer (we hope) in a nice VW camper with a nice new engine