Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all, new member here.

I recently bought a 1985 VW T25 1600 diesel. So far I have had fitted by a couple of garages new starter motor (£250) new throttle spindle (£200) new cam belt and oil, fuel, & air filters, glow plugs (+£400).
As you can tell I am not a handyman or home mechanic!
Now the clutch has gone, and I'm that's going to cost £295 at Auto Volks in Shirley, West Midlands.

Fair enough, I got the Camper for a good price I believe. However, the engine does leak oil somewhat. Not a huge amount, a steady drip, but enough to make the drive look a mess....I wondered whether I should go for a/ replacing the engine whilst I still have a bit of cash left or b/ having it rebuilt, c/ leave it!

It seems fine driving, but I'm conscious of the fact that some major expenses have already hit me and if the engine were to go in a few months I may be too broke to fix it! I'm happy with the 1.6 however, fuel consumption wins out for me over performance - took a Bedford CF to France last year and and don't want to get down to those terrible fuel costs!

So, experienced VW people - should I get the van fully up to spec and invest in new engine or re-con? Or let it go and wait and see? Or can anyone recommend a truly impartial advisor to look over the engine?

Any and all advice gratefully received - this is my first VW since being a child on a family holiday in Spain in 1962, and I'm having a lot of fun!
Cheers!
Simon

Marcus, MrT25vanspares is local to you and knows diesels

I would look around and research prices/labour/parts etc ( this forum) beofre you get anymore work done .
The belt/tensioner/filters/oil would have come in at under £90 - £300+ for labour ......mmmmmmmmmmm (im crap and not a mechanic and could easily have done that in less than 4 hrs including numerous fags and tea)
£200 for throttle spindle ? what exactly did they do ? Diesels dont have a throttle body. If it was the diesel pump what exactly did they do ?
Think you should get a few suggestions/recommendations from chaps off the forum for garages.
Never done a clutch with engine/box in (always swapped em when i blew engine up!) but i wouldnt grumble too much at under £300 from what i know others have paid.

DAMN you Beaker - too slow again!

Thanks for this.

The throttle spindle job was listed on the bill as:

Throttle and Shaft Kit - £20.12
Labour 4 hours @ £45 all plus VAT of course (never quite sure where the "value" component comes in with that acronym)

So I do not know exactly what they did I'm afraid, but certainly in future I'll check here first.
Cheers
Simon

im guessing its the spindle that sits in the pump body that the throttle cable connects to - im sure Beaker/Baxter et al will give you an idea as to whether you got VFM with the labour charge.

If you study up a work shop manual for the 1.6n fitted to a T25 you may be able to do the repairs your self.It may appear daunting at first to a person with no experiance to work on these engines fitted to a T25.But take it from me with an other pair of hands if possible you can do most repairs your self.

As said you are paying way too much for your repairs I feel, can you not get someone on here to recommend a local garage?

As for your engine I would put up with the oil leak, mine has leaked for the past 4 years and the 1.6 na goes on and on (eventually )