1.9 petrol 1986 T25 white smoke issue!
Posted: 18 Mar 2011, 18:34
Hi all!
Just after some advice on my 1.9 T25… i'll fill you in a little on the engines history since I've had the bus, hopefully some one can shed light?
Had the bus since July 2009 and soon after had a major overheat about 15 miles from home! Left it to cool down and managed (with small journeys) to limp it back to my Dads house which was closest, where on arrival it blew a hose with a big puff of steam and like a clowns car I was expecting the doors to fall off! Took the bus to a local VW socialist who's initial estimate was around £100 to fix. Fine I thought this is what you get when you don't have the patients and buy a Camper without having it checked out first. After replacing a lot of hose and still to this day i'm not sure if half the work was necessary the bill had sky rocketed to £750!!
Well i had to swallow this as i should have done my research before hand . Bus was up and running though and was looking forward to more camping trips and days out as this why we love our buses My wife (Maz) was using as a daily runner and all was fine. Then the water pump developed a leak So reluctantly and as we were still paying of the last bill in instalments I went back to the same garage. The estimate to fit a new pump and check for other problems came to about £300, or the garage advised that the problems may persist due to the initial overheat, as he tried to point out there was seepage from the gaskets! Fair enough but how could he tell when there was remnants of pink antifreeze all over the engine? The alternative option which he highly recommended is that he would fit me a recon' for about 3 grand! Subsequently whether right or wrong I bought a new pump from Just Kampers and whilst replacing I fitted a new rotor arm, HT leads and some fuel pipe had her back on the road for around £80 Enjoyed more trips last summer, although not venturing to far from home as I didn't yet trust in my own mechanical skills!
Well another winter came and as Maz was no longer confident that the bus was reliable to get to work in so I bought her an X reg Beetle which she loves Well as a result the bus was neglected over the winter and many other factors got in the way of giving it a good run. I have a few times given the battery a charge and started her up just to clear the cob webs so to speak, although now I have noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust. This is not the initial vapour that all cold engines give off and at first would dissipate when the engine warmed up but now this seems no longer the case. I have had a search around the forum and there is of course plenty on this subject! Mainly diesels and glow plug issues and the obvious 'terror' of antifreeze entering the cylinder heads!
Now given that the engine would have been under considerable stress from the overheat should I have listened to the Mechanic? I'm not writing this to a have a dig because my bill was high as know I'm paying for hard graft and expertise (right?) Would anyone recommend replacing the engine en-light of the above? Also can i do this without having to spend 3k?
Sorry for writing a bit of an essay but I'm hoping the information would give a better picture of the possible cause Many thanx for any input!!
Ross (another fledgling seeking advice from the experts)
Just after some advice on my 1.9 T25… i'll fill you in a little on the engines history since I've had the bus, hopefully some one can shed light?
Had the bus since July 2009 and soon after had a major overheat about 15 miles from home! Left it to cool down and managed (with small journeys) to limp it back to my Dads house which was closest, where on arrival it blew a hose with a big puff of steam and like a clowns car I was expecting the doors to fall off! Took the bus to a local VW socialist who's initial estimate was around £100 to fix. Fine I thought this is what you get when you don't have the patients and buy a Camper without having it checked out first. After replacing a lot of hose and still to this day i'm not sure if half the work was necessary the bill had sky rocketed to £750!!
Well i had to swallow this as i should have done my research before hand . Bus was up and running though and was looking forward to more camping trips and days out as this why we love our buses My wife (Maz) was using as a daily runner and all was fine. Then the water pump developed a leak So reluctantly and as we were still paying of the last bill in instalments I went back to the same garage. The estimate to fit a new pump and check for other problems came to about £300, or the garage advised that the problems may persist due to the initial overheat, as he tried to point out there was seepage from the gaskets! Fair enough but how could he tell when there was remnants of pink antifreeze all over the engine? The alternative option which he highly recommended is that he would fit me a recon' for about 3 grand! Subsequently whether right or wrong I bought a new pump from Just Kampers and whilst replacing I fitted a new rotor arm, HT leads and some fuel pipe had her back on the road for around £80 Enjoyed more trips last summer, although not venturing to far from home as I didn't yet trust in my own mechanical skills!
Well another winter came and as Maz was no longer confident that the bus was reliable to get to work in so I bought her an X reg Beetle which she loves Well as a result the bus was neglected over the winter and many other factors got in the way of giving it a good run. I have a few times given the battery a charge and started her up just to clear the cob webs so to speak, although now I have noticed white smoke coming from the exhaust. This is not the initial vapour that all cold engines give off and at first would dissipate when the engine warmed up but now this seems no longer the case. I have had a search around the forum and there is of course plenty on this subject! Mainly diesels and glow plug issues and the obvious 'terror' of antifreeze entering the cylinder heads!
Now given that the engine would have been under considerable stress from the overheat should I have listened to the Mechanic? I'm not writing this to a have a dig because my bill was high as know I'm paying for hard graft and expertise (right?) Would anyone recommend replacing the engine en-light of the above? Also can i do this without having to spend 3k?
Sorry for writing a bit of an essay but I'm hoping the information would give a better picture of the possible cause Many thanx for any input!!
Ross (another fledgling seeking advice from the experts)