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ENGINE: We've owned our camper van since June 2000. The T3 (or T25 in the UK, or Vanagon in the US), is almost a modern vehicle. In ours the original engine was a 1588 turbo diesel which was fast approaching the end of its traditionally short life of only about 100,000 miles, (if you're lucky - some are and manage to double that figure). Perhaps its life is so short because it has to be inclined in order to fit into the engine compartment, (thereby increasing engine wear?), but the fact is that the van weighs 1.7t empty, (with the fitted furniture), and about 2.4t. when loaded up for a long holiday. All that amounts to a lot of hard work for a 1588cc engine! (The maximum gross weight is 2.6t). We had the original engine replaced with a "reconditioned" one, (until the invoice was made out and it read, "replacement"). It was supplied and fitted by a firm in Accrington, Lancs, UK. And I really don't mind telling you which firm that was). That engine lasted out the 12mth warranty plus one month until about 4am, late August 2001, between Exeter and Leeds, (on our way back from the most disorganised and possibly corrupt blues festival in Britain), the engine started to die a horrible, consumptive death. But I got home, of course). Anyway, the good thing about opinions is that they can't really be wrong, can they. What I think is that a diesel engine, although ours is relatively ancient in design, is in principle far more mechanically sound than a petrol. Now we've a new turbocharger and a superb VEGE remanufactured 1588cc diesel engine, (from Holland via Derbyshire). (I asked them and Vege is correctly pronounced Vay-gay).
TURBOCHARGER: I am now convinced of the importance of allowing
This is to avoid the turbo having to work, (hard), without enough oil. A worn / damaged turbocharger can destroy a tired engine very quickly. 180304 from "Tex Ritter": "All mechanics, HGV ones for sure, are trained to remember that:
From Mark on 070105: "Now on lots of new HGV's there are
turbo timers which can be adjusted to between 1 and 15 mins, I believe. You turn the key, the motor runs until the turbo timer runs
out then automatically shuts off the motor, allowing the turbo to wind down to
an acceptable speed. Having said that, I believe that there is a new breed of
turbos with ceramic bearings which don't need oil lubricant and are unaffected
in the same ways as the older ones."
GEARBOX: After some sort of dispute, I've been asked by the firm which supplied my final and very good gearbox, to remove details of the individual who did the work, so let's say that........... In August 05 XXXX quite quickly rebuilt for us a gearbox which is utterly superb. It was fitted (with a short shifter kit) by Simon Baxter at Brickwerks, Huddersfield. The five speed gearboxes are quite likely to be troublesome, but they do at least keep the revs down by about 500 in 5th. Our original gearbox was slipping out of 2nd on over-run so when the "replacement engine" was replaced we had a (so-called) reconditioned gearbox fitted as well. Makes sense, doesn't it?
I have learnt, at last, that there might be no such thing as a properly reconditioned 5 speed gearbox for this model. Rebuilt is better, I'm told.
Most of our very major mechanical work was done by Mel Pearce and Mike Rigby of Fleetwood, Lancs., UK. They are NOT responsible for supplying poor quality parts. Want to know who was? Just ask! The obsessive-compulsive nature of VW campervan ownership has caused us to spend on it rather more than a sane person would on a less addictive mode of transport, (see Costs).
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