(I went for 2.2 dj as i wanted bit more power whilst keeping things VW.. I use my van to travel all over Europe for work and have insurance to allow 365 days abroad. They are very strict and don't allow Subaru's or corsa epas etc)
During run in and after I returned to TES on 2 separate occasions explaining the engine did not run so well and was noisy in an effort to get things looked at just to be fobbed off that in Jim's opinion the engine was fine, and there was nothing he was willing to do..... and even suggested i was imagining the tapping sounds!!
not blowing my own trumpet here but i work as an Aircraft mechanic building VIP jets etc. I did a 4 year apprenticeship to do so, i am used to working with skill not with imagination!! but on that score basically gave up on getting any after sales support..
So this engine has run approx 13 000 miles over a year and a half and finally gave up last week, luckily in this country 50 miles from my families home at start of my journey and not half way to my home in Czech republic where i was heading.
The engine has not been trouble free in this time.. firstly the crankshaft oil seal started leaking. I had the gearbox removed to replace it and found that the flywheel was scored and had wore through the seal over a short period. £300 labor later and a new seal and flywheel stopped the leak... (should have been a warranty, but didn't want to waste my time with TES, after all they had put the flywheel back on in that state in the first place).... a little after this i started getting oil pressure light and buzzer sounding when coming up slip road off motorway. (van and i were in Germany at the time) I contacted TES giving symptoms and telling engine was still tapping away, He advised fitting a 30mm oil pump to make more pressure and agreed with me that it would only reduce the problem rather than providing a solution.. During this i found out the expensive way that i have beetle timing gear not original so had a t25 pump i could not return as was fitted and 5 days wait with van off the road waiting for a pump that would fit..
The end of this engine was quite dramatic in that it pressurized oil in sump, blew it up the breather through the carb and turned van into a smoke machine just passed Guildford on A3! I got a tow home, but bless her she drove her self off the truck and into the drive
So below are photos i took of various components upon strip down,
As can be seen above, the engine case was painted black over oxidization and 2 half's were separated using a cold chisel top and bottom of the crankshaft oil seal.. Part of TES price includes inspection for cracks in case... hmmm i wonder if that was done or not?.
small end bearings are very worn and there was excess play between them and gudgeon pins. looks very much like these were not replaced to me.
The engine is sold as 2.2 and i was told by Jim compression ratio is kept as standard dj 10.1 however the pistons are these made by AA....
T25 2100cc Big Bore Barrel And Piston Kit (95.5mm) Low Compression Big Bore Barrel and Piston Kit for T25 waterboxer vans with a 2100cc engine. These kits up the displacement to 2178cc from 2109cc. Low compression 95.5mm. as sold by cool air
On removal, each top compression ring on all 4 pistons was broken as per photos. It looks to me like incorrect rings are fitted to enable the ends to lap over and snag (opinions gratefully received) also can anyone say what the diamond cut out is.. found only on one piston????????? is quite symmetrical and doesn't look like damage...
So these pistons gain a few more cc's but have lower compression (same as mv), can anyone tell me what benefit this has?
The camshaft speaks for its self and is maybe the cause of the extremely worn valves, guides and lifters (sorry yet to photo) Particularly inlet valves.. one with maybe 1 mm play!. I was told by a VW breaker friend of mine that he had heard TES had some trouble with a bad batch of Chinese made camshafts at some point... just hear say but funny enough when i asked Jim about cam shaft specs and maker on the phone during low oil pressure saga he went strangely silent and would only tell me he had them made himself by someone..
The crankshaft was standard size with standard bearings and cam has beetle timing gear, the damage to timing gear was probably caused by a piece of piston ring found in the sump.
So all in all a complete P.O.S engine build performed by a so called specialist!
So what am i doing about it... I have new parts ordered as well as a bentley manual and a DTI and will build engine myself like i should of done in first place! This must wait till new year though as i must go to Hamburg for a month first to fit interior to an Airbus 380 but i will put a detailed parts list on here and welcome comments and knowledge from others with grounded knowledge in the meantime
cheers.
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