Hi all, We are looking for a bay at the moment and have found a nice looking camper but it is an auto.Are the auto boxes any good?.Any advice welcome. Chers Ian
I've never had one, but they should be fine. Believe VW used Borg Warner boxes, as fitted to many 70s vehicles.
Thanks snotty. If i test drive this camper is there anything i should look for with the auto(apart making sure it changes gear ;D)
hi there, we've an auto and PIE (on here) is a mine of knowledge, bless him he's helped us a million times
i'm auto as well, it makes for a stress free drive, no searching for gears and you can just go along easy, it's a 3 speed box so it does suffer from slightly worse fuel economy as it is fairly "long" between 2 and 3 if you want to get a wiggle on.....for the welsh hills recently i left it in 2 and it saved the box changing 2/3/2/3/2/3 all the time other than that it's ok and sits easy at 70 plus without screaming.
I love my auto bay, is it a late or early box, you can tell by looking at the accelerator linkage, an early comes into the engine bay as a cable in the centre a late comes in on the off side as a metal linkage from the box.
Another plus point for an autobox, if you fancy one, is that having a torque converter actually helps to get your heavy van moving from a standstill (although the box will sap some power from the engine). And...no more hillstart hassle!
put it on a hill, stop and then drive up it ,it should not roll back /stall or the engine should not race....look at the fluid any burnt smells or browny colour if its not bright red then the friction plates are worn..Also underneath look for leaks/splatter especially where the torque converter attaches to the box.... I would buy another auto like a shot... O0
I've got an early 1700 with Auto box and love it. just make sure the auto fluid is topped up before test driving as it makes a lot of difference. I'm surprised at how good the gearbox is really and wouldn't swap it for a manual!
