I recently joined the club having purchased a 1984 T25. All seemed to be going reasonably well although having only spent one night away in her she needed some works doing in the garage on her breaks and wheels and well long story short having already spent over a £1000 on her, her engine has just blown up!
She is a 1.9 petrol and we desperately need a new engine for her having planned a week away in her in July. Can anyone advise me on where I can get a new engine, wether to go new or re con and what engines fit? Do I keep her original and get a vw engine or do I get any engine I can? According to my mechanic (good friend who I trust 100%) there is nothing salvageable on the engine.
Any advice would be gratefully received as this is our first camper and we really were expecting all this (the guy we got her from seemed a reasonable bloke - how wrong were we!)
Replacing what you've got will likely be the quickest and easiest route. However, a few more facts would be useful before diving in...
What happened immediately before the engine "blew up"?
What exactly has "blown"? Has your mechanic indicated what has gone?
Any replacement engine could well be "bare" so you will need to retain your ancilliaries - carb, dizzy, alternator, water pump etc.
You say it is a 1.9, do you know what variant? df, dg ??
Could you post a few picks?
Any number of outlets can supply a recon lump and sometimes engines for sale on here.
If you could do some investigating and answer some of the questions above there will be any number of helpers on here.
Tom (aka Matt)
1986 Hightop with 1.9dg 4spd. The boys call him "Magnus"
To be honest I don't really know, it's been in the garage for 2 weeks having the welding, breaks and a fuel leak sorted and as the mechanic was driving it back for us to collect there was a massive oil leak. He reckons there has been an engine fire recently (something the guy selling it to us failed to mention!).
Just checked the log book and the engine number starts with dg, does that mean its a dg?! (Sorry I'm a chick, so far I have spend my time making curtains and cushions for her, don't understand engines!)
OK so its a 1.9dg. Massive oil leak does not necessarily mean engine is beyond salvage - did engine seize or lose anything else. Very diffcult to say further though. Assuming you replace the engine, "blank" reconditioned units go from around £900 upwards.Second hand complete units go from anything around a couple of hundred up but obviously you need to be careful with 2nd hand and ideally buy with the help of someone who knows what they are talking about.Changing the engine is pretty straight forward (though not speaking from personal experience)and a good mechanic would find it pretty simple. Nice looking van in the photos but cant tell alot else..
Tom (aka Matt)
1986 Hightop with 1.9dg 4spd. The boys call him "Magnus"
Beattie wrote:I can only hope that my mechanic knows what he is talking about. Thanks for taking the time to look. Think I might just sob into my glass of wine now
Dont be afraid of getting a second opinion, i read some horror stories of mechanics who dont know the first thing about old engines, if they cant plug them into a computer they are lost
As a suggestion get your mechanic to show you the location of the massive oil leak and get some pics of it, then post them up and we can tell you whats what.
Adding images is easiest by getting a photobucket account, upload your pics to photobucket
then open the pic in photobucket go to 'get links' button and select and copy the [IMG] link
In fairness that's what I thought when I brought it, I did obviously look at the engine before handing over the cash and it liked clean, started first time with no smoke (that's as much as I knew to look for to be honest). I am in Hakstead, Essex, the van is currently in Clacton, Essex with the mechanic who was fixing the breaks, was planning on just leaving it with him to do the engine. He can't do anything until Monday so wanted to know what my options are and how much I'm looking at paying.
If I get a new engine ( and now clutch as well apparently) would people recommend sticking with VW or getting a Subaru or different engine?
I got the van as more of a long term life style choice for my partner and I but am mindful of resale value although considering what I have already spend and what I am looking at spending don't think I'm ever going to be getting my money back!
Have any of you put a new / re con engine in this type of vehicle and if so how much did you pay and is it worth it? Mechanic reckons the rest if the van is sound and having just replaced the frond brake disks, pads and callipers and some seals I am kinda hoping that with a new engine and clutch I'll have the perfect van that won't need anything doing to it for a long time but I might just be being delusional having brought a van the same age as me!
