Club 80-90 Forums

Has anyone ever managed to find help with their camper, specifically an automatic gearbox, in France? Everyone we have encountered so far clearly thnks us mad to have a vehicle this old (it's an 1982) and shakes their head when we say it's an auto. There must be someone who can assist! We are in northern France, near St Quentin (Lille the nearest big town).

Rachelanddave

Well, I was there but a bit further south than you..

Yes the French think anyone that doesnt own a french made vehicle is bonkers.. and when its old and different, it just adds to the problem..

You will learn very quickly that to run and older different vehicle, you HAVE to develop a sixth sense and search out the helpfull ones..

There are several french forums so you can get on them.. (T3zone IIRC) there is a good group called TAG (Transporter All Generations) and a lot of members are up in that area..
You could contact the "syncro club france" too as they should be able to tell you where a specialist is..

Failing that.. I could do a run to France...

Whats wrong with the box?

Hello!!

I live in central France, own a 1980 T 25 with CT engine.

True you don't see many aircooleds in France, but there is a strong owners network. For new parts try serial kombi.fr

2nd hand stuff try le bon coin. E bay.fr is some use, but nowhere as good as .uk.

If you speak German, and you are in the north, there are some great VW specialists, but they are expensive.

I have good workshop facilities, but very little spare time, (restoring an old stone house).

If I can be of help you can PM me or try 05 55 21 44 68 between 8 and 9 pm. French time!!

Cordialement

Thanks very much for the swift replies! I am now registered on at least one French forum and now just need my language skills to be up to it. Sarran 1955, we may call you this evening.

The gearbox has been dicky for some time: after the new engine was put in, around December, it would fail to pick up a gear, so we would lose speed. It's happened a few times since then and we have just pulled over and started up again and it's been fine. We asked the specialist garage near us to look at it before we came away but they were more interested in telling us how badly they thought the engine had been put in and that we would be fine on this holiday...

It now won't go above 30 km/hour, ie above 2nd gear, unless we're going downhill. I am wondering whether this is at all connected to another problem we're having - again this got worse after the van spent some time in the garage - which is that we sometimes have to short the starter motor to get going. It hasn't started by turning the key in the ignition since we left London a few days ago. Last time we were on holiday in France, the call-out mechanic reckoned the problem (getting started) was either electrical (makes sense as we have to create an electrical current underneath the van) or gear-related (ie it doesn't know what gear it is in/is meant to be in and therefore isn't starting).

Our insurance company will make any arrangements either to get it to somewhere where they can look at it properly or tow it somewhere in the UK for work to be done once we get back. Meanwhile, we're determined to give them all the guidance we can!

Rachelanddave

Ok, here's what I know from my auto, and hopefully it will be of some help. It's a completely "manual" box so to speak, no electronics it just changes gear itself according to where your foot is on the throttle and how fast it's going. The switch that stops you starting it whilst it's in gear is in the plastic housing that the gearstick comes out of. It's just 2 contacts that cut the starter circuit if they touch, so I would unscrew the housing and just see if the contacts have moved or a wire has chaffed on something and is earthing out. The reverse light switch is there too, again just 2 contacts that touch - at one point mine earthed out and kept blowing the fuse when I put it in reverse.
I would also check the wires on the back of the starter; the actual power feeds are bolted on, but the starter switch wire is just a spade connecter and may have worked itself a little loose.
And lastly, if it's having trouble selecting gear and this fault only appeared after the engine change, it could be that the selector is out of adjustment. Start the van and put it in idle and then slowly move the lever into drive, but keep hold of it as you do so, don't just let it click into place; drive should be taken up just before it clicks into place. If not it could need adjusting, as it may be trying to select 2 gears at a time or not quite engaging gear, hence it feels like the drive stops and starts and doesn't know what gear it should be in.
Obviously the gearbox could just be dieing, but it could hopefully be a simple adjustment.

aidan.(gearbox guru)was telling me you need special tools to work on a auto gearbox.and very few if any garages will have them.when my auto box died i found it easier to find another box.than trying to find someone to repair mine.good luck..

Of course I would presume you have actually checked there is sufficient oil in the box.. it does have a dipstick that comes into the engine bay... no oil = no drive.....

The "auto" section of the bos is actually the same/near identicle to the one uses on Audi 100's apparently, so thats an option.. very few garages will have the tools or knowlesge to fix an auto box unless you get very lucky........

We will try the suggestions about taking the cover off etc., thank you. Oil is fine so it's not that. We've been in touch with Aidan and he's said the same thing. Where did you get your new gearbox in the end and what did it cost?