campers on second engines!

25sean

Hello,

Looking for advice on second engines in campers..

Am I right in saying that a second engine probably means the van has done A LOT of miles... and with a second engine(the one I have my eye on has 100,000 on its second) the other mechanical parts of the van will be well-worn..

I suppose the only way to know is to have a look but just wondering if there are any rules of thumb on second engines...

Im looking at a t25, maybe parts are easy/cheap enough to come by..

thanks in advance

The Bishop Basher

It's not unusual for VW's and especially T2's and T25's to have had a couple of engines replaced. Mine was on it's third. Obviously all the usual bits are prone to wear and tear. TBH the engine is the least of your worries as they're ten a penny and you have a wide choice to choose from.

Rust is the most important thing with these vans particularly the wheel arches, sills, gutters and most importantly the chassis.

Rust can kill a van. Anything else can be repaired.

Parts are usually easily got and the Vw scene is like a big brotherhood where people will go out of their way to help you out if you're stuck.

Best of luck with it if you do go ahead !!

25sean

thanks for that swanner..

i was hoping for that news.. van looks pretty good.. one careful owner.. i have a mate who's into old land rovers.. that brotherhood thing going on with parts, help etc.. and parts easy enough to come by...

want to pick up a diesel with a water cooled engine.. still reading the weblinks and guide books.. a good winter project..

let you know how i get on...

The Bishop Basher

No worries.

A good simple trick is to run around the panels with a magnet. It's amazing how filler can hide some really dodgy repair work and will cause youany headaches down the road.

Also don't be afraid to get in underneath and have a good poke around the outriggers and beams with a screwdriver. Anyone selling a solid van won't mind. I've climbed under some "solid" buses only to have outriggers fall away with a quick jab !!

Also look out for signs of welding.

Irish vans are particularly prone to rust and it's rare enough to find a really solid one that hasn't had a lot of work done. Nothing wrong with this as long as the work was done right !!

25sean

good advice, thanks..

im reading up on this site, this one and this one among others.. I see the underside is important alright..

plenty of information around about absolutely everything... will probably read up as much as possible and view any about the area... enjoyable project!!

The Bishop Basher

VW's are a labour of love alright but they pay you back ten fold

dowtchaboy

Swanner wrote: »

VW's are a labour of love alright but they pay you back ten fold

Yeah - there's a great brotherhood out there for 'Dubs (V-Dubs of course!).
Fellas who know where there's a VW of the right age parked up in a field someplace, a guy who knows how to shoehorn a Golf Turbodiesel into a T25 chassis, etc. And in the UK there's a total VW bling and VW camper extreme scene.

25sean

thats good news dowtchaboy... look to start viewing a few soon enough.. looking at diesel, post 82/3.. how does the 1.6 go as a matter of interest? is it underpowered? maybe a TD 1.6 is a better starting size engine?

thanks

Aidan_M_M

the 1600 is a mighty little workhorse , I had them in Caddys and Jettas , but gutless . Tbh , the turbo is a lot better , but afaik a 1.9 will fit where a 1.6 was , in the cars , so probably in the T's too?

paddyp

The diesel engine is the best part of the van - by a mile.
Besides the 1.6td theres 1.7d which is the industrial engine very good lasts forever but slow. You can add a turbo to these happily as they have oil spray. You can turbo the 1.6d too but its more fragile. All the info you need about transplating engines like the AAZ and 1z 1.9 is here:
http://wiki.club8090.co.uk/index.php/Main_Page

Rust and gearboxes are the biggest problem after which pretty much everything else is pants also remember that at that age practically every rubber part will be on the way out if not already replaced.

Rust an welding are 100% guaranteed unless its freshly imported from somewhere like africa or california so regardless of how clean is looks assume there is a large quantity of fibreglass, and easy sand on board until you can prove otherwise.

Buying and old vw camper is as much buying a lifestyle as buying a camper you need to decide whether battling rust and sourcing and replacing parts is something you'll enjoy.

Head over and join the type2 forum someone there will probably even know the van you're looking at.
http://www.type2ireland.org/forum/index.php

Macy0161

I'd second the recommendation for type2 ireland.

A lot with T25's appear to have replaced the original engine with one out of passats/ golfs and it doesn't appear to be that big a job. Or there's reconditioned engines on the likes of just kampers too.

Rust is the big thing - everything else is replacable/ fixable. As far as I'm aware, T25 parts are reasonably readily available from the likes of Just Kampers (VW Spares are an irish agent for them if you want to keep it local).

We ended up with a bay, but we were looking at them and the T25's. I was never a fan of the hightops, but my opinion has changed (the extra storage and the fact we've hardly gone under a barrier in the van!).

dowtchaboy

25sean wrote: »

thats good news dowtchaboy... look to start viewing a few soon enough.. looking at diesel, post 82/3.. how does the 1.6 go as a matter of interest? is it underpowered? maybe a TD 1.6 is a better starting size engine?

thanks

Ummm... working from memory here - but as I recall we put a 1.9TD from a Passat into the T25. It was not totally straightforward - the sump has to be brought across from the old engine (since the Passat would have had the engine vertical whereas the rear-engined T25 had the engine on its side relatively speaking). The mechanic who did it had to do a bit of innovation to make it fit - in fact we ended up with a small extra bump in the plate under the table! Oh - you also need to get a TD engine with non-electronic accelerator controls ie. manual if you don't want to have to get into more serious modifications. Sorry - I don't know much about engines so don't take all this as Gospel

As regards power - I had a VW with a complete 4 bed shower loo, Luton bed etc - (Karmann) and the 1.9 non TD engine in it was on its last legs anyway - pulling power was poor. When we got the TD into it - it was amazing - passing cars going up hills, rarely having to go down to 3rd gear for anything etc

RE rust - well I found VW had done an excellent job with underbody sealant - most of the rust was in the cab higher up. We did end up with serious water ingress but it was in the living space from ingress along roof seams and so on.

Macy0161

There's recent threads on the T25 engine change over on type2 Ireland I think. 1y is the engine code I think, and there are things you have to move over including the sump.

25sean

more questions!

looking at one with a gear box with some small issues. ive read that its a big/pricey job getting your hands on t25 gearboxes and havingthem fitted.. is this the case?

again, thanks

Macy0161

As mentioned, just kampers have them, if you want a ball park part price. No idea on the fitting costs, sorry.

paddyp

If you have a 1.6td to begin with I think you'll have nearly everything you need to a 1.9td transplant otherwise you'd be doing custom exhaust work or trying to source the manifold, turbo and exhaust pipes.

Regarding the gearbox if you remove the drain plug and there is more than a baby fingers width of swarf on the magnet its scrap that was the advice I was given by the one of the main rebuild guys in the uk - Aidan Talbot.

With hind sight I would have brought a later box in from africa about €600 + shipping rather than trying to source a secondhand one the later turbo one box in south africa had more appropriate gear ratios and stronger gears.

I don't know what the current state of affairs is re: gearbox but a couple of years ago the input shaft bearing was no longer available presumably they've been remade since.

A common cause for exploding gearboxes beside sticking a turbo engine with twice the hp and torue on it is inexperienced mechanics changing the clutch forget to change the spigot bearing in the flywheel, the input shaft slops about taking out the input shaft bearing and the swarf does the rest.

The gear linkage is enormously long too so when it wears it can be easy to crunch the gears occasionally.

The non turbo gearbox has silly high revs at 70mph the simple solution a lot of people do is put taller tyres on the back but really you'll want a turbo box in the long run or a rebuilt one with taller gears.

25sean

thanks for that paddy.. looking at the haynes, there's quite a bit you can (try to) do yourself...

just the way it is looking at vans.. every one has something your after, rust free, nice interior kit/ stronger engine.. but hard to get one with everything you want..

id be looking forward to having the van as a lifestyle, mentioned above, looking for parts, changing this and that and doing as much as possible myself..

had a look at the type2ireland.. great site.. back to the books.. ill keep you posted on anything I find.. thanks for advice etc