Club 80-90 Forums

HI,

I took my 2.0 Air cooled to my local garage to get the rotten heat exchangers and exhaust swoped over for a second hand set I sourced on here. The garage reckon that they are bent out of shape and won't fit properly, they spent most of yesterday and today trying to get it all to fit. I finally got it back this evening and it sounds awful, and I no longer have any heat through the vents. anyway that wouldn't be too bad, butif the van has been running for a bit and then I turn the engine off, the van fills with smoke, not pleasant at all.

To top it off, on the way back I stopped off to put some air in the tyres and then the starter motor decided to give out too (

Does anyone have any ideas on the smoke thing?

Cheers

Ben

GET IT SORTED ASAP- TOMORROW !!! sounds like second hand set are shagged and exhaust gases are getting into the heating system , (if they are in good condition)a possibility if exhaust is noisy is that the clamps/joints are loose and exhaust gases are being drawn into the air inlet/oulet side of the exchanger. whatever way - GET IT SORTED - YOU WILL MAKE YOURSELF VERY ILL - YOU ARE GASSING YOURSELF

what he said times 2!!
you need the system to be in perfect orderto avoid dying.

Hi ben where do you go for repairs as I live in Bristol and go to MAD in kingswood (vw is all he does) also Lycombe in Redland arre VW guys. Both very good.

Sherlock

ben50 wrote:HI,

I took my 2.0 Air cooled to my local garage to get the rotten heat exchangers and exhaust swoped over for a second hand set I sourced on here. The garage reckon that they are bent out of shape and won't fit properly, they spent most of yesterday and today trying to get it all to fit. I finally got it back this evening and it sounds awful, and I no longer have any heat through the vents. anyway that wouldn't be too bad, butif the van has been running for a bit and then I turn the engine off, the van fills with smoke, not pleasant at all.

To top it off, on the way back I stopped off to put some air in the tyres and then the starter motor decided to give out too (

Does anyone have any ideas on the smoke thing?

Cheers

Ben

Ben50,

Try Bristol Cherished Cars, very good on VW's and Martin is a top bloke with a wealth of knowledge.

Hes based in Whitchurch but travels. His mobile no is 07791574566

Tell him ttcharlie recomended him.

Cheers

Charlie

ditch the HE's and fit an eberspacher heater, will work out cheaper, safer and last longer

Cheers for all the replies guys.

Don't worry though I'm not going to be driving it any more like it is, couldn't even if I wanted until I sort the starter motor out, as there isn't room to bump start it on my hard standing.

I did ring Bristol Cherished Cars before I got the local garage to do it but he was booked up, I wish I had waited now though!

The eberspacher heater route sounds interesting, as I was planning a camper conversion over the winter months and would probably be looking for some auxiliary heating eventually. What sort of prices and time fitting would be involved with this? and is it something a DIY mechanic should tackle?

Cheers

Ben

since yours is a petrol it would be much simpler to do as i did and fit a propex heater.
are you sure the exchangers you had fitted weren't painted inside or anything,, or had wd or something sprayed around to stop them rusting? it will burn off if thats the case given time. i'd rn it on the drive a few times and see if the smoke dissappears. you shouldn,t have smoke in your exhaust gasses anyhow unless the engines had it?

ebers can be petrol or diesel and can run from a separate supply to your vehicles fuel under rear seat or footwell with 5L plastic emergency fuel tank being the source (tank in spare wheel carrier). I have not done it my self but basic electrical skills (and safety ie fuses!) and the ability to cut a hole in your van are essential. I wouldn't have petrol internally but diesel is safer , if you are going down the camper conversion route then propex with a propane bottle would be better. Again with propane you have to be vigilant with connections to prevent gas leaks and bottle should be stored in a separate sealed unit with vent hole externally. Insurance maybe tricky otherwise. Diesel IMHO is the way to go.

I managed to get under the van at the weekend, and got the new starter motor fitted.

And managed to have a look at the heat exchangers and exhaust, and the garage don't seem to have connected up all the pipes, in fact I have found two left in the back of the van. I think the heat exchangers look like hey aren't goning to last too long, the skin on the right hand side one is all hanging off - I wish i had waited and gone to a proper garage!

Any way don't really want to go down the route of second hand exchangers unless they really are in good nick. So can anyone advise on replica replacements as Bristol VW can't help me. are they all the same or is there a supplier with better quality items?

Or should I just dump it all and put on J-tubes (is that correct??) and an auxilliary heater.

I don't really have any spare cash at the mo, as we have a baby on the way so I need to keep the prices as low as possible, but I don't want to have to do the job again soon either!
Now I've had a better look around the bus I think it is going to also need some work on the brakes and some welding for the MOT too.