Power ( lack of )

[MrBarbecue]

Hi guys
Took our t25 van for first proper outing at weekend to dubfreeze.
Whilst in convoy we noticed that when we got up to 3rd and 4th gear there wasnt as much oomph as there should be in a 2l Aircooled.
Once up to speed it was fine, but getting there was quite a chore for him.
Any thoughts?

all advice very welcome as i am greener than a green thing thats been dipped in green paint

[putney]

if its a 1600 dont expect a lot,they are woefully slow,2litre should give much better performance albeit at the cost of petrol consumption.

[BOXY]

What sort of power were you expecting? A 2ltr CU engine only started out with 70 BHP when new. Can you get to 70mph and hold 60mph on a motorway incline?

[MrBarbecue]

no, a steady 50 - 55 mph. A 1600 air cooled was pulling away from us

[BOXY]

That doesn't sound too good. The first things to check in order of ease (and cost):

Fuel filter under the van just after the tank outlet. Less than £2 to replace and if it's blocked it could be reducing your fuel at high revs. (you'd usually get a mis-fire though)
Compression check. This will point to any problems with the rings or valves.
Ignition timing. If you've got the original electronic dizzie, it should be 4' ATDC at idle, and advance to about 40' BTDC as the revs increase.
Carb balance. Getting the twin Solexs working together is fairly easy if you know what you're doing, but can quickly turn into a disaster if you don't.

Have you got the tools and desire to do the above yourself or do you have a local mechanic you trust?

A photo of you engine bay will help show any other potential causes of low power.

[MattBW]

Hi guys
Took our t25 van for first proper outing at weekend to dubfreeze.
Whilst in convoy we noticed that when we got up to 3rd and 4th gear there wasnt as much oomph as there should be in a 2l Aircooled.
Once up to speed it was fine, but getting there was quite a chore for him.
Any thoughts?

all advice very welcome as i am greener than a green thing thats been dipped in green paint

Sounds more like my 1600 diesel non-turbo

[The Bobdogs]

Is yours the brown westie...?

[MrBarbecue]

yes mate, now ive seen your username i recognise it. we were talking to you on sunday morning. Once we had replaced th oil the engine was back to "normal" and we got home no worries. just this niggling thing of having no oomph in 3rd and 4th. I dont expect a rocket or warpspeed, but honestly thought i would get more out of him than what we do.
gonna have him in the garage soon to do some diagnostics and see what the problem is

[The Bobdogs]

Mine's going on a rolling road for a tune up on Friday morning, I will let you know the results then you will have a comparison. We usually cruise at about 60 and on a good day she will hit the early 70's but then it gets expensive on fuel! If you haven't already done it, change the fuel filter even if it looks ok.
A good man for Aircooled and an easy cruise for you guys is Andy at Campershack just outside Grantham. Glad to hear you got back OK at the weekend..

[faggie]

are you getting full throttle , is the timing set to factory spec , what are the rubbers like on the balance bars , could they be drawing in air , is the distributer advacing correctly , the 2.0 engine should pull 85/ 90mph in a elevating roof camper i would not recomend these speeds but it should cruise at 60/65 mph without any problems , i was at dubfreeze we could have had a look for you , fist thing i would do is take a compression check

[MrBarbecue]

OK
Had a compression test done last night, heres the results

1 - 80
2 - 85
3 - 25 ( tested twice due to sheer disbelief )
4 - 115

My vw guy ( 30+ yrs experience ) recommended a recon engine as strapping new parts to a old tired engine is just throwing good money after bad.

the odometer reads 12478 KM so its obviously been round the clock at least once.

what does everyone else say?

[BOXY]

Before ripping the engine out it might be worth setting the tappets just to make sure they haven't been mis-set by someone in the past.

[sooperspur]

how have you got on?

been away for a while so just seen this.

i had similar problem with 2l a/c, but after reading tales of woe re new/recon engines decided to drop the motor and just re ring it as there were some broken. just managed to get it back in before embarking on a 3500 mile holiday in france/spain. never missed a beat, struggled a little as it got hotter and hotter but made it.

thing is at least i knew what i had done rather than putting an unknown quantity in the back.

and tbh it really wasnt that difficult just a bit time consuming.

ian