Club 80-90 Forums

Dear members ,I need help! my wee van(1984 ex german army 1.9 watercooled lhd) isnt going well.it starts and idles for a while .when i drive ,the van seems under pressure and seems to have little power .The carb spits and bangs.the engine seems under pressure and only travels reluctantly with constant pumping of throttle.After a time it heats up Big time and it did spit out some water from the overflow tank .The van only heated up since i had a "mechanic",set the timing.I checked the plugs for signs of water but they are just a pale brown colour.would the overheating be caused by excessive throttling and the bad carb ,or is the problem likely to be more serious? I am very upset and afraid to entrust the van to another garage.The van seems to fire when im turning off the ignition.the carb is a solex. 02/11/09

mate
this needs to be in technical and you need to say where you are as there may be a member, a vw t25/t3 knowledgeable garage, or other resource nearby, cos remote diagnosis isn't that easy but tbh the symptoms are of head gasket failure (combustion gases into cooling system)but there's so much careful checking to do before making a definative diagnosis and that's what a mechanic should do, sniff test is conclusive (CO detection using chemical revealer).

As Aidan say's but you also need to bleed the coolant system properly so at least you know it's starting from a good state. Is the header tank totally full and the top-up tank on 'Max' ?

Ian.

Yes tell us where you are, as often a member will pop over and give you a diagnosis.

Your problem could be more than one thing.
What was it running like before the "mechanic" adjusted the timing ?
If it is badly out it could cause some of your symptoms.
(it is hard to get the timing wrong on these unless the "mechanic" is a complete numpty).

As has been said, get it properly bled of air first, as these engines do not take kindly to airlocks and the resulting "hot-spots" - See in our "wiki" here =
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Co ... ing_system" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personally I would then get the timing checked, get a compression test done (by someone who knows what they are doing !!) and a coolant "sniffer" to check for combustion gasses in the water. If it fails on the last 2 items, get ready for a big(ish) job

If it passes the above tests, then methodical checking of the ignition system and the carb is in order (and a sigh of relief is called for).

Aidan wrote:mate
this needs to be in technical and you need to say where you are as there may be a member, a vw t25/t3 knowledgeable garage, or other resource nearby, cos remote diagnosis isn't that easy but tbh the symptoms are of head gasket failure (combustion gases into cooling system)but there's so much careful checking to do before making a definative diagnosis and that's what a mechanic should do, sniff test is conclusive (CO detection using chemical revealer).

"aidan"...thanks for your great advice.. I need to approach the problem by a process of elimination..The starting point is the co detection test...then i can move forward..I will report any news to the forum....I am a fermanagh man living in london.....I am also blessed with the name..Aidan .cheers ,and many thanks

Ian Hulley wrote:As Aidan say's but you also need to bleed the coolant system properly so at least you know it's starting from a good state. Is the header tank totally full and the top-up tank on 'Max' ?

Ian.

Thanks for the advice ,ian....the tanks are full and at max line....Im going to find someone to do the CO "sniff" test(thats new jargon for my diary)and try to get the van checked step by step.....I live in east london.

[quote="ghost123uk"]Yes tell us where you are, as often a member will pop over and give you a diagnosis.

Your problem could be more than one thing.
What was it running like before the "mechanic" adjusted the timing ?
If it is badly out it could cause some of your symptoms.
(it is hard to get the timing wrong on these unless the "mechanic" is a complete numpty).

As has been said, get it properly bled of air first, as these engines do not take kindly to airlocks and the resulting "hot-spots" - See in our "wiki" here =
https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Co ... ing_system" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Personally I would then get the timing checked, get a compression test done (by someone who knows what they are doing !!) and a coolant "sniffer" to check for combustion gasses in the water. If it fails on the last 2 items, get ready for a big(ish) job
Thanks for your kind advice,ghost......I now have a starting point of tasks to begin the diagnosis of my sick van .Naturally , I am wary of high expense ,as this van has cost me lots and i havent had much enjoyment as of yet......The 2 tests you have suggested will be my starting point and i will report back to forum ..I live in london and my name is aidan.cheers