New member needing help

[Beattie]

Wow the spelling of that post was atrocious even with predictive text! Shows how much I'm trying to drown my sorrows! FYI I'm in Halstead not Halksead!

[Beattie]

Also noticed LPG seems quite popular, while I'm replacing the engine is it worth considering converting to LPG?

[itchyfeet]

As said dont be in a hurry to fit a new engine and clutch, i feel perhaps your mechanic has 'seen you coming'
Get it back and get a second opinion please.

Maintenance on these vans is an ongoing thing.
No such thing as 'the the perfect van that won't need anything doing to it for a long time'

[Beattie]

Thanks for your advice I feel I'm in a bit of a predicament as the van is 30 miles away with the mechanic who is my brother in laws best man and he says it needs a new engine and I have no means of towing it any where else (my over car is a Toyota aygo!) got to trust him to make the right decision.
Bring on more wine!

[itchyfeet]

Thanks for your advice I feel I'm in a bit of a predicament as the van is 30 miles away with the mechanic who is my brother in laws best man and he says it needs a new engine and I have no means of towing it any where else (my over car is a Toyota aygo!) got to trust him to make the right decision.
Bring on more wine!

Mmmm unless you have deep pockets ask him to justify the new engine thing, why? whats so wrong? The expertise on here is second to none, the combined knoledge likely to be far beter than your mechanic so put family aside and challenge him to explain
if he doesnt know get him to log on here

[SamsBus2012]

Quick google search found these
Not far from you at all. I dont know them so cant recommend them but strongly suspect they know an awful lot more about flat 4 vw engines than you mechanic.

http://www.vwbullibarn.co.uk/contact-us/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Give them a ring, I'm sure they'll help you.And got to be worth getting them to give the 2nd opinion.
Stick with it!

[Plasticman]

agree, forget how well you know the guy , this is irrelevant in the scheme of things, second opinion from one that knows the vans ,well worth it, please take this on board and if your mechy is half a mate then he too would love a.n.other to have a look to save you spending money unnecessarily .....wouldnt he
mm

[LeeME3]

OK a whole lotta stuff going on here...talk of replacement engines, alternative engines, LPG, 'perfect vans' and so on. I am most definitely NOT an expert (but there are many on here who are) however I do have a 1.9dg now on LPG and in 3 years have gone from knowing pretty much nothing about these wonderful vans to now knowing...a little. So, from my perspective (and that means it will be simplistic) let me offer some hopefully sensible advice - others on here are far more knowledgeable and can add loads of detail depending upon the route you choose to take.

1. Find out what is wrong with the engine - many a VW Flat 4 (the generic type of engine you have) has been condemned by mechanics not used to them. To do this try and get the van to a specialist. Even if this costs you a recovery fee you will probably save in the long term by it being at a specialist.
2. If the engine is repairable and the costs seem 'reasonable' (only you can define that but for me it would be about 2/3 the cost of a replacement engine) consider the repair as repairing what is already in there is likely to be the simplest solution
3. If the engine genuinely is beyond repair the specialist it is at will have a view on whether any of it is reusable (ancillaries likely will be) and may even be able to help source / fit a secondhand engine. Recon engines start at around £1000, loads of threads on here about them.
4. Switching to a different engine is likely to be a more complicated, time consuming, specialist and expensive job - it's a great solution as you can end up with something modern, reliable, cheap to run etc but it's a big undertaking if you're paying someone else to do it and sticking with what you got is easier; so for the purposes of this discussion lets assume you either repair or replace your 1.9DG engine (and you know what, IMHO it's a decent enough engine, fit for purposes, not too demanding to maintain, but likes a drink!)
5. So hopefully by either repair or recon / replaced you end up with your van back and some financial sanity left intact. At this stage GET OUT AND ENJOY THE VAN - you've already said you're making curtains etc so I'm guessing you're bonding with the van so enjoy that! My personal view is you can get a few weeks / months of fun out of this year yet and there's no point you sitting at home dreaming and sewing while the van is in a garage for months on end.
6. Once you've got to know the van then you can start to think about how to make her 'perfect' (she won't ever be perfect, but she may be in YOUR eyes and that's what matters!) be that interior stuff and / or mechanical work or of course keeping on top of the bodywork.
7. Keep learning, listening and talking. As you're using the van stay on this forum, join the Facebook T25 group (there are several) and just chat and get a feel for the vans. You'll soon see what the multitude of options and variations are.
8. At this point you'll be automatically researching LPG etc (personally I went LPG after 3 months and, FOR ME, it was the right thing to do.
9. Continue to enjoy the van
10. Devise a long term plan to maintain / gradually improve her over a few years whilst still being able to use her. Be prepared to change this plan as the van herself will have an input by helpfully suggesting amendments - she will do this by giving you little clues...like smoke, drips, smells, random stops, etc. Don't berate her for this - it's just her way of communicating with you!

This is all entirely my personal opinion and can be ignored / pulled apart as others wish. But, for me, this way you get back on the road in minimal time (and hopefully relatively acceptable cost) and embark on a fun journey!

BUT...like everyone else has said, the first stage is to find out what is wrong with that engine. FWIW she looks like a very decent camper with potential to be a lot of fun and make some great memories. That's what mine is for and I've long stopped worrying about long term value because you can't put a price on the smiles already in the memory bank.