My last three combis have been South African T3 with the 5 cylinder engine, and they never broke down! However I now have a 72 Westfalia with a type 4 2 litre, which I will probably bring with me to Europe next year to do some touring on my sabbatical. Maybe there is already a thread that I am missing, but has anyone done a survey of the most common causes of breakdowns, as I would like to sort out the weak links before I set off, not during. Ta muchly.
I am sure both those are significant factors, especially in a vehicle a minimum of 34 years old, but I couldn't help but notice the top thread on this forum is titled The ones who never made it back and there are 9 pages of it
You might want to reconsider your user name but anyway my personal most common form of breakdown is running out of petrol. Done it 3 times in the last 20 years!
Should have specified most common breakdown due to the vehicle, not the owner. Trying to keep up with today's motorway speeds or not paying attention to your fuel level are hardly the car's fault. I'd say the most common fault is poor electrics. starting with bad quality or neglected breaker points to previous owner insulation tape hacks in the wiring. - in fact i'd say this goes for all old cars, not just vw buses. Type 4 engines tend to have perished air hoses that connect the two carburretors and the brake servo, causes erratic idling, and very moody engine running - can be terminal to the valve seats and head cracking due to lean mixture and overheating. Perished fuel hoses. Bay windows have this stupid fuel vapor system connected with pieces of rubber fuel hoses in places that are hard to get to with the engine in. With today's bad quality rubber, a couple of years neglect on this part could cost you an engine fire. Engine oil leaking- most common places are the main flywheel seal, rocker cover gaskets, and oil cooler seals. type 1 engines have a bigger tendency to leak on the pushrod tubes, but is usually not vitally important until a hole rots through the tube. (check for rust) Cooling tin's - in 40 years all sorts of idiots worked on these cars, it's likely at least one in line thought some part of VW's perfect cooling symbiosis was unnecessary. Starting from the foam insulation seal to small pieces of tin that look like something from your meccano toy set. Little by little engines were robbed of cool air; This leads to overheating until you end up on the side of the road sitting in a puddle of oil poking your eyes out to wake up from this nightmare. gearbox, brakes, suspension and bearings are quite tough on these buses, unless something is obviously wrong due to human neglect and abuse, it's not likely to fail suddenly. Good luck.
"Knowledge is power" - make sure you understand the basics of the engine. Do a full service yourself, what you learn then from doing the timing, changing points etc is invaluable when you have to troubleshoot a problem. Fit contactless ignition to replace contact breakers as these or the condensor often cause problems. Check all the engine hoses and make sure nothing is perished. As a rule I carry a a litre of oil, some brake fluid, spare coil, ignition lead, spark plug, distributor (already set up with points) fan belt, gas and clutch cables, some fuel and breather hose, plus nuts and bolts, fuses, a multimeter and spare wiring. If it is well serviced and not otherwise messed around with you should have nothing to worry about!
Perhaps I have been unlucky but 4 fuel pumps in 3 years ( 12 volt) my mechanic Mr B. Ollocks hand a hand it that so buy a good one and fit it
And recovery service membership. Recent AA survey re breakdowns( assume all vehicles) came in at 1st , fuel, or lack off ,(not to them a breakdown) followed by flat tyre ,no spare carried (not to them a breakdown) then lock out (keys in vehicle)
Breakdowns follow from not using your bus for long periods. Too many people post up that their bus breaks down on the first trip of the year... Assuming charging up a flat battery will fix it. Not checking the oil every 100 miles when you have just bought the bus. One of the critical bits has fallen out - like gearbox linkage parts. Contact breaker points closing up. Electronic breaker points replacements blowing up (possibly flashover from coil secondary caused by arcing over dirty old ignition coil surface) Spark plugs coming out.
The amount of times I have seen a bus jacked up and the owners have had a puncture and not been able to get the wheel nut off.. When Run to the sun was on I was working for green flag ,I fixed every-ones car/bus with no special equipment...[and they were loads]...
Neglect...I don't think there is anything in particular about the T2 that makes it prone to breakdown...routine maintenance is essential. BUT...lots of posts on here about dodgy starter motors and blocked breather hoses causing hot start problems. I'd start with re doing all your breather hoses associated with the fuel supply, fitting a hot start relay, and a new earth strap from G/box to chassis, while you're down there....everything else is routine stuff...valve clearances, oil, fuel filter, points
Interesting posts on this thread. We are fortunate that in 3 years of ownership we have only had one issue which was last year when we couldn't engage gear coming out of Cornwall. Clutch was on its way to the scrap yard, a bit of tweeking the cable tension ( and a scorched hand from a hot heat exchanger) got us moving and another 3 trips. Clutch changed last winter, this year we have had 1600 trouble free miles. I think the trick is to get to know the van, know how it is when it drives well so that you can tell when it's not going well. I am still running points, have rewired the engine bay and other than just servicing, that's all. Also, as I check the brakes frequently, I know the wheels are going to come off. Don't regard myself as an expert just keep a good eye on things. Always have breakdown cover though just in case!
Thanks to all that replied, a lot of useful tips. I drove brit motorbikes for 30 years so I am used to using hammers to keep things running!
I have a cure for that. (and no, it's not a completely non-functioning fuel gauge!) My '73 fuel gauge is completely un-dampened, so it's constantly twitching, every time we go round bends, accelerate, brake, etc. so I know it's working.
