Club 80-90 Forums

Hi all,

I bought my camper before xmas and am just getting round to sorting it out - yes it needs sorting!

It's a 1986 1.9 Autohome conversion with a DG engine - tried to find code on engine using Haynes but could not see it anywhere so resorted to log book. Haynes says it's on block behind v belt but which i couldn't see it. It could be covered in grime though!

It has also been converted to automatic.

I originally was looking for a T4 to carry my surf gear but this came up at a price i couldn't refuse and i really enjoyed driving it home. It has very definitely grown on me! I havn'nt driven it since though. It needs a full service, certain leaks curing and, as seems quite popular on here, a starting/stalling issue solving.

The problem is it takes far too long to start from cold. Once started it idles ok, however today when i started it (after about 3 weeks) i had to keep my foot on the throttle till it warmed up. Once warmed up it idles fine. Once moving, the van tends to stall when coming to a standstill, at lights for instance, but will restart immediately. Reversing also causes the van to stall.

Looking in the engine bay today i found a loose cable with a 3 prong plug in a rubber boot un-connected. The other end is connected to the top/offside of the gearbox ( i think). I don't know if this is related but i'd quite like to know what it's for.

I've checked the earth strap from the starter but i cannot see the gearbox one. Where does this attach?

And finally, i am putting an order in to Brickwerks. Do we get a discount with them?

Thanks if you can help with any of the above.

Hi welcome to the club

There is an automatic choke on these vans - you have to floor the accellerator pedal once to prime it before starting. Don't know about the stalling problems as I'm a bit of a thickie but sounds like you need carb setting up.

Members do get a discount off Brickwerks but you are only registered to post at the moment so you're not a 'member' as such yet. Click on 'Membership' button at the top of the page, fill it in and send, then wait until it gets processed. Once processed, your user name colour will change from black to blue and you will be able to access the member's only forums where there is a thread which tells you how to register for discount at Brickwerks.

Looking in the engine bay today i found a loose cable with a 3 prong plug in a rubber boot un-connected. The other end is connected to the top/offside of the gearbox ( i think). I don't know if this is related but i'd quite like to know what it's for.

that is for vw garages in the 80's to diagnose the system well I say diagnose I think it sorts the timing out without the need for an old fashioned strobe.

mine always cut out too, it could be the carb heater on the dg I think there is an inlet heater and an element in the carb which uses the water temp in the carb to use. check your air filter for oil from short journeys etc sucking oil condensation back into the carb during warm up. I assume after about 10 minutes it is fine all day long??

we used to run ours for 10 minutes then switch off and it would be fine in about 20 minutes to use.