MY NEW T25 WONT START! HELP!

[elmo makaroy]

Hi,

i am new to this forum and decided to join after getting my hands on a 1982 Aircooled t25 camper wich i swapped for a car wich i paid £600 for!

before i bought it it has had a new floor, new fuel tank, new rear shocks, new front brake calipers and discs,

it has a bit of rust on each sill but apart from that looks in great nick, i think it was origionally a bus that has been converted,

the camper was running up untill a couple of days before we swapped , wich is annoying, but i decided that it couldnt be to hard to fix it,

right let me explain the problem, please bare with me i am not a mechanic.

when i turn the key the engine fires after abit of pumping from the accelarater, but imediatly cuts out, the spark is there and the engine is turning over,

when i called the aa they came out and he said that the ht leads were old and brittle , i have changed the ht leads and the distributor and the rotor arm but it still would not start, the coil has been tested and is working perfectly.

next i called the rac out and he came out and said that the choke stays open on the right handside carb all the time, it is working on the left but not the right, he said that fuel is coming through to the carbs but only a little bit every now and then (clogged fuel filter mite explain this)

also the fuel filter looked blocked so i pulled it off and cleaned it out (temporary untill i could buy a new 1 ) but that didnt get it going either

i have now had it towed to a garage who have looked at it and have come back to me saying that they think it is the idle cut off valve wich is on the left handside carb i believe, they have ordered the part along with a new fuel filter, wich will hopefully arrive tomorow,

i just wanted your expert thoughts on wot you guys thought it mite be? do you think the mechanic is correct with his diagnosis? has any1 here had a similar problem?,


i cant wait to get it running my plan is to do a full restoration inside and out and go camping with my girlfriend next year as soon as the weather starts getting nice,

hany help would be very much apreciated,

thanks

[elmo makaroy]

when i say idle cut off valve im not sure that wot its actuall called, it was somthing like that,

air bypass valve , or idle bypass valve or idle cutoff valve?? somthing like that

[elmo makaroy]

someone here must have some idea of wots going on with my camper, i thought this was were all the experts hang out?????

[andisnewsyncro]

I'm no air-cooled expert but I think "pumping" the accelerator won't help. There's a way to set the choke - from memory foot to the floor once, then turn the key.

I may be way off the mark but at least it's a reply.

someone here must have some idea of wots going on with my camper, i thought this was were all the experts hang out?????

Be patient & somebody with decent air-cooled advice will be along shortly, you have posted 3 times in a very short space of time and we all have our own stuff to do & deal with; politeness costs nothing

[kevtherev]

what carbs are they?

and yes the idle cut off valve would cause these problems, so your van is at a garage that at least isn't yanking your chain

[Ralf85]

Assuming everything is working properly, whether it is water cooled or air cooled, to start you press the throttle pedal to the floor once and that locks the choke. Pumping the pedal will only flood the carb. It sounds as if you have a custom carb set up. My gut feeling would be to ditch the carb set up you have and get an original VW one assuming that there have not been any engine modifications. I suspect that installing a new carb will be cheaper than asking garages to tinker around with old carbs. However, try and find somebody locally who understands air cooled T25s, as most garages will not have a clue but will still charge you a lot of money for tinkering. Good luck

Patrick

[billy739]

unfortunattly with a poor running /starting Aircooled 2.0 engine there can be many faults.

diagnosing a fault without seeing it is almost impossible.

chances are in its lifetime its had many a so say 'mechanic' look at it and all 'done there bit'

you need to take it to someone who knows these things rather than just any garage as this can result in hefty bills usually for incorrect diagnosis.

putting your location in your profile is always a good thing - if your in gloucester i will come and have a look, chances are you are not but there are members all over the country.

usually down to the carbs and vacume air leaks.

i can usually spend a good few hours stripping the carbs and going round all the vacume hoses replacing and just fitting them correctly!

[elmo makaroy]

i am sorry i did not mean to come across as rude at all, i am just very eager to get involved with the camper forum and get my camper running,

billly739 - i am based in essex so i am a few hours away from you,

the garage who has it seem pretty certain of their diagnosis, so i will let them replae the idle valve and fuel filter and see if that helps, i think the main problem is that this part is faulty and is somehow causing the choke flap to not know when to close thus the engine is struggling to stay worm enuff to stay started, the engine starts and revs up so i dont think theres any problem other than the choke flap not closing like it should, aparently the reason the choke wont close is down to the idle cut off valve

prd - the engine is completly standard and has the origional carbs they are not modified at all im not sure wot made you think they were modified carbs.

thanks for all your thoughts, the garage have ordered the parts wich were meant to arrive today but due to the snow they did not get any deliveries just my luck, hopefully the parts will arrive tomorow and i will be able to let you know if that has fixed the problem,

while the camper is at the garage i have asked them to adjust my handbrake, does any1 know of anything else i might want to get them to look at while its there, i want this camper to be running well and be safe and reliable?

thanks for all of your comments/help

[New Kentish Campers]

Get the garage to put it up on a ramp and have a good luck at the brake pipes and flexibles. Although an MOT item, its never a bad idea to be safe in the knowlege that your brakes aren't going to go west at a crucial time. Same goes for your fuel lines too, and the wiring, i.e spot lamps, reversing lamps,radio,etc. There's many a horror story with poor wiring which can torch your van in minutes

[Nicola&Tony]

. . . does any1 know of anything else i might want to get them to look at while its there,

Check behind the petrol cap, the filler pipe has a rubber neck which perishes over time, which could be dangerous and can also allow water to get into the petrol tank and cause running problems:
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Fu ... r_Problems

. . . i want this camper to be running well and be safe and reliable

Probably a good idea for you to start doing the repairs and servicing yourself and then you'll be more likely to spot potential problems before they leave you stranded at the side of the road.

Tony

[billy739]

sounds like it needs a good full general service ans a look over by someone who knows these vans

[edoh]

you might want to check out westside motors in woodford essex - pricey - but know what they're doing in terms of older vw's - elite vw - who exchange engines and also do some repairs - google vw garages + essex and see what comes up for older vw vans - theres some really experienced heads and hands in the neighbourhood -
theres also some really useful information on the wiki about 'reluctant starting' you might want to look at to give you a more informed picture of what your dealing with here -

maybe you might need to make a decision about what you want to deal with yourself - and what works you want to pass on to a garage - ?

i completely understand you wanting to sort your van out NOW! but these older vehicles - they seem to require some time and patience and planning and getting to know and building a relationship and some knowledge with the vehicle -

wish you wellness - and keep the forum updated on the vans progress -

ps 'i thought this forum was where all the experts hung out' -

and all the newbies - and all the inbetweeners - and all the learners and shade tree mechanics...

[Ralf85]

prd - the engine is completly standard and has the origional carbs they are not modified at all im not sure wot made you think they were modified carbs.

Well because as far as I understand it the ususal set up is normally a single carb. Of course I stand to be corrected.

Patrick

[Nicola&Tony]

Well because as far as I understand it the ususal set up is normally a single carb . . .

I'm not sure that's the case for Aircooled, have a look at this photo:
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Fi ... -top-1.JPG

Tony

[BOXY]

Well because as far as I understand it the ususal set up is normally a single carb. Of course I stand to be corrected.

Yep stand corrected, 2ltr air-cooled has twin carbs, unless one of mine is a spare