2.0 CU Aircooled lost power, help!

[ant_43]

Having just picked up our new T25 a couple of weeks ago, and knowing nothing about these 2.0 CU Aircooled petrol engines i thought i'd get my garage to give it the once over, change the oil, filter and spark plugs. The carbs got set up and adjusted and seemed to be running smoother and better. Picked it up last night and the verdict was, "a pretty solid van", should sail through the next MOT, all good!

However, about halfway home on the short drive back the van seemed to lose power, i had to change down into 1st to struggle up a hill, and limped it the rest of the way home. I immediately rang the garage back to ask what might be the problem, but it is difficult to check this kind of thing over the phone. No hoses / pipes etc seemed to be loose or missing on checking.

I was wondering whether the wise and experienced T25 owners on here may be able to point me towards possible causes of this loss of power problem? I was thinking perhaps a fuel starvation / delivery cause, or some kind of blockage as the garage told me that the van ran out of petrol while working on it which could have perhaps pulled some crud in / slightly blocked hoses etc. I think the petrol tank suffers from the rust problem on the top as the previous owner told of filling up and petrol going all over the forecourt once!

Any help would be very much appreciated!

[ant_43]

Just thought i'd add - i'm in Colchester in case there's a friendly helpful local T25 owner that knows their stuff? On my drive home i got a thumbs up from another T25 van - lowered and two tone green / black i think? Anyone on here?

[kevtherev]

Blocked filter
poor pump performance
Air leak on inlet side
timing wrong
brakes binding

[meehaja]

not sure how experienced you are working on vehicles like this so apologies if Im teaching you to suck eggs,

Start at the fuel tank... make sure there is plenty of fuel in there, put some more in to churn it up a bit (If you are concerned that the "fuel out" hose is blocked, take the hose off and poke a pencil or similar in there, but be aware that fuel will pour out so have a fuel can big enough for the volume of fuel you have in there ready!)

check the filter, is there fuel in there? is it flowing through nicely? Is it looking grubby? For £2 ish it probably can't hurt to replace it (you might need that fuel can again!)

Now to the engine!

fire it up!

pull the air box off so you can see the "flaps" on top of the carbs. have a look inside, any obvious crap? do they both smell equally petrolly? are both flaps moving at the same time and equally? (turn the link bar to rev it a bit).

All good there? check the airbox/ filter, see if there are any blockages or leaks in the box, also if you have a big breather hose on your right (as you look at the engine), make sure there are no kinks and its not pushed against the body.

check all vacuum hoses are appropriately attached and that the servo hose (back left of engine bay) is correctly attached and not leaking.

pull out each HT lead (one at a time so you don't forget where it came from), make sure the leads are sound, maybe bole a magic breath on each?), make sure each wire from the coil is properly on, and soundly attached to its mounting spade, sand any corroded spades with some wet and dry or similar. Follow each wire and repeat as appropriate (it might be worth removing the whole air box (bottom too) as I had a wire hidden under there with a curious joining box badly soldered on which failed on me).

Check the spark plugs are sparking (again one at a time, for the cost, might be worth replacing them)

check the oil while you are grubby (can't hurt)

failing that, call the AA, they seem to love working on my van (one spent 3 hours solving an electrical problem, in baking sun at the side of the room, as he said "I've no idea whats wrong but I know I can fix it". They have all, at some point owned a Beetle!

I know its not very technical, but thats my routine when I have a problem with mine, hopefully it gets you going again!

jim

[BOXY]

My money's on the fuel outlet on the tank or the filter being blocked if the garage ran it out of petrol.

[ant_43]

Thank you very much for the comprehensive replies here! I'm going to check later on this eve when i have a chance. The van has an aftermarket electric fuel pump fitted with a regulator after this. Just doing some research on this site and i've found it should be set at 2/3 on the dial. From memory i think it was at 1 when i looked after collecting from the garage. This can't be helping if the pressure is being regulated to approx 1 psi, it'll be the first thing i change later on!

Fingers crossed it's either blocked fuel lines / filter & a combination of not enough fuel pressure

I'm not new to cars, but these Aircooled petrols are new to me! I'll be back here asking more questions soon

[ant_43]

Ok, so i adjusted the pressure regulator to be on 2.5, put some more petrol in the tank and it goes like it did before. Result!

Bring on the weekend and it's first longer distance journey and camping excursion!

[T25rc]

Mine's got an electric pump fitted - i should probably fit a regulator and see if it makes a difference