So, I had to call the RAC out today.

[1664]

means he is cursed with a WBX engine

That is a matter of opinion - I wouldn't have anything else

[ermie571]

Great post Emma.... Get a job writing repair guides for Haynes or Bentley???
T

Tony - thanks!

Pepp....I wouldn't know where to start with yours!!!!!

Are Hyanes advertising then?

The girly guide to VW maintenance. The glossary would be.......interesting..... Perhaps a page on wiki?!

Eric....at least know what the van SHOULD be doing, even if you have not got the confidence to apply spanners to it.... Also, learn what the van is telling you.... I have to admit to reading the tech forum every day, even if there is nowt wrong with my collection.

Em
x

[Nicola&Tony]

Sounds like the guy who fitted the new hoses didn't bleed the system afterwards.

Yeah, sounds like that to me as well.

Eric I hope you're getting sorted with this? Worth asking Santa for a Haynes manual imho, they're not perfect by any stretch of the imagination but they're very useful to have, even if you don't do a lot of tinkering on your van. I wouldn't worry about mixing different types of anti-freeze, if you've got blue stuff in there just top the tanks up with a half & half mix of blue anti-freeze (available from Halfords, loads of other car accessory shops and petrol stations) and water. It's the bleeding process that takes the time. It isn't difficult (full info about it in the wiki), just time consuming and repetitive.

Remember; as the engine gets hot, the water in the cooling system gets hot and its pressure therefore increases, so don't take the blue dalek cap off the expansion tank until things have cooled down again (it's the same principle as for taking radiator cap off, on vehicles that have them). Also, don't try to bleed a cold engine, it can't be done, you need the pressure in there to push the air out when you open the bleed valve.

Tony

[Nicola&Tony]

BTW, what did the RAC bloke fiddle around with? He definitely said he had `reset` it. Oh, before I forget, he recommended replacement of `The Breather Hose.` He showed me how it was sort of flattened. I guess it was about between 5.53in to 6.87in. Can't be more accurate because I didn't have a rule with me.

I wouldn't worry about what the RAC bloke re-set, sounds like a red herring to me. Breather hose is available from Brickwerks and is easy to change:

link to Brickwerks breather pipe

Tony

[Nicola&Tony]

Um, 1/ well I've noticed an intermittant squeaking noise that seems to come from the back of the bus for the last few days.

Does this happen when you first start the engine and then it stops after a few seconds? If so, it sounds like the rubber belt that turns the alternator pulley and the water pump, needs adjusting. It's not a big job, just a bit fiddly and is covered in Haynes manual.

Tony

E D I T: I just remembered that you have a 2.1 engine, so it may be different to the 1.9 which is the only engine I'm familiar with.

[eric]

PROBLEM SORTED.

Here's what happened.
Having been given the green light to drive the bus to Andy the mechanic (The garage is his own business btw), I duly delivered same on Wednesday morning....... no probs (ie: didn't blow up!).

Thursday morning at 8.30am, I spoke to Andy and he said job done, so £5 taxi to his place.

Andy, upon arrival told me he had bled the cooling system, confirming LPG bloke could not have done this, but also informing me that he thinks there is something wrong with the electrics because the red light still comes on under road-test conditions. My heart sank. However, he gleefully told me, he knew and recommended an auto-electrician and that he's `mobile` and furnished me with his phone number. Spoke to Glynn who agreed to visit immediately! Without thinking, I gave him my home address and arranged to meet there in 15mins! Before I left Andy's garage, I decided to replace to face of my CD player in order to listen to `Jon and Vangelis` to calm from nerves and stress. I noticed within 100 mts that it was going on and off intermittently.

Anyway, I arrived home and within 2 mins, Glynn the electrician arrived. Nice bloke, armed with a look of determination which pleased me.

Before we set off for a test-run he told me to turn on the interior light on. Along the way, he announced the red light was going off and on, along with the CD player and curtesy light.

Back home and parked up, he asked me where the battery was located. I didn't have a clue, but proudly fished out the original 21 yr old hand-book. In there it stated that it was underneath the drivers seat. It was ......... an empty space!! So he tried the passenger seat. Same. I think I heard him swear.

So, back to engine compartment. He found it, tucked away on the left hand side, virtually hidden as if the position was an after-thought by the krauts. I am very weary and my legs were in pain by this time. In and out of the bus and walking around it was taking it's toll, so I got back into the bus and left him to his deliberations. I could hear him as busy as a bee going back and fore to the boot of his car taking out all sorts of stuff. Suddenly he calls me out to look at something. `See` he says, pointing to a gismo resembling a large mobile phone. `Earthing is your problem` he chuckled. `But we are on earth` I said pretending I have a sense of humour. I was also bloody freezing and not feeling very well at this juncture. I just wanted to crawl upstairs to my one bedroom decrepid council flat and rest, but this bloke obviously wanted to show me his expertise. I entered to bus via the sliding door because I did not have the energy to haul my 25 stone body back into drivers seat. (Yeah, I know. I'm a fat bathplug).

`Have to got any nuts and bolts?` he called after a few mins. I just mumbled `no, but Halfrauds have some ....... I think` I countered. He carried on with his ferriting around. Next second, I hear drilling. I'm in danger of hypothermia, so I'm sort of past caring by now and regretting big-time that I just didn't tell Glynn to fix the bus at Andy's garage. What an idiot!

`Come and look` I hear him shouting and so once again haul my ass to the back of the bus. I see he's fixed a thickish wire from one bit to another. `Cool` I unenthusiastically splutter. `Test-drive now` he demands.

So, head, curtesy lights on together with Jon singing `I'll find my sodding way home` and off we went.

After 5 mins. `Everything perfecto!` he shouted above the boy Anderson ............. and it was.

So, endeth my little spat with my beloved machine.

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LESSONS LEARNED (in my personal circumstances):

It should be now clear to all readers who survived thus far that due to incapacity (vascular disease in both legs) I cannot stand/walk for more than a couple of mins without severe pain, so therefore unable to DIY things on the bus, except stuff like changing the CD.

However, I now believe that the most important aspect of running this vehicle is ...... KNOWLEDGE. I have an inherent distrust of so-called `experts` and no doubt you guys have encountered these types at times in your lives. It is simply having the knowledge to ask the right questions at the right time and of course knowing the upshot. Thinking up (getting clued up after) questions days later is no damn good and more often than not too late to be effective.

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Finally, may I thank sincerely all you guys, not forgetting our Emma, for your help. Your interest and support meant a lot to me, more than you will ever know. I look forward to seeing you all sometime in 2009 when I shall grace meetings accompanied with LOTUS.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Eric.