Big thanks for this. You're a great, helpful community. The garage is a specialist and they do know these aircooled engines inside out... in fact, this guy rebuilt our engine which runs great (when it does!). The problem is always the same, spares... these vehicles are not so common here, and the garage does a terrible job sourcing these from Europe, you know, old school man who never got used to the internet, doesn't speak English, etc. But I was clear to the guy: if you are struggling with any spares, tell me and I'll see what I can do. I really don't understand why he hasn't contacted me at all during all this time.
Are you running on carb(s) now? Or some modern day OEM EFI? I'd happily spend money to adopt whatever is the most simple and reliable but I've heard scary stories about these 2 litre engines having really bad fuel consumption when on carbs. I'm not sure I can afford that because every year we do travel a lot in the van.
Hi alez, I hadn’t realised you were not in the uk. Every problem I had with the van was FI related. I’ve been a main dealer mechanic for 35 years so not scared of FI systems but in this case the best option for me was carbs. I didn’t cut costs though and bought twin Dellorto DRLAs. No regrets as the van is now nicer to drive and slightly better MPG. It’s also a lot simpler and if needed easier to fix.
The situation with the garage is difficult enough that this time it's best to fit whatever they had decided to fit, and that's a refurb spare, keeping the original arrangement. But, given your post, I think I'm going to switch to carbs as soon as I have any further problem with this. Can you please give me some details such as the carbs part number or model? Did you share the details in a forum thread, perhaps? The original EFI gives me around 20.5 mpg, cruising rather slowly, say steady 60 mph or so. I remember people running this engine on carbs saying they get around 17 mpg... but I don't really know the details of their arrangement (carb model, the speed they cruise at, etc.) Is your ignition electronic? Are they all or some use points? Thanks
Hi alez, probably a good idea to keep the FI for now if it just needs an air flow meter. It might give years of good service after that. Personal experience is standard 2ltr , standard FI exhaust, Petronix ignition. Full DRLA kit from Eurocarb. They have a good reputation and are VW friendly. I spoke to them on the phone and they made my carbs to suit my needs. Still get about 20mpg.
Gents, My mechanic has fitted David's spare and he says it doesn't work at all (i.e. engine won't start), but David says he's certain it's good (AND he's offered to test it if sent back). I may be wrong, but my personal feeling is that my mechanic is either not skilled, not honest, or both (note: I really do not talk behind people's backs, but I wrote that to make it clear that my problem has nothing to do with David, who I think is honest and helpful). Yet, I can't verify any of this for myself, and bottom line is: if he won't fit the spare claiming it doesn't work, I lose. Anyway, situation details aside, the thing is, David says the spare needs "adjustment" to run. I have two specific questions: 1) Does the adjustment required involve opening the casing? Is it done from the inside? 2) Do you think lack of any adjustment can possibly cause the engine not to start at all? Or would it be a case of ir running rough, etc. Once again, thanks for your help.
All, It's been a nightmare with the repair garage (the van has spent 3 months there!) but the van is back on the road and I thought I'd close this one out with an update. After they had reported to me being stuck as allegedly my spare was faulty (odd) and so it was the one they had procured (odd), I had got in contact with a different garage, not telling the other garage to prevent them from using my intentions as an excuse for stopping working on the van. Before I got to arrange transport, I got a phone from the garage manager saying that the van had been repaired without using ANY spare (super odd). I got there, drove the van which seemed fine, and the guy said he hadn't had the time to figure out what the bill was, and I could drive away and test drive it until he gives me a call (super odd). I asked him whether he wanted me to call. He clearly indicated otherwise: he would call. Well, he hasn't called at all (super odd). I never got to figure out why everything has gone so strange. Maybe the guy felt like he got me so *******ed off that he had lost a customer and he feared I may spread the word (it's a small world, there are aircooled meetups in the area, local forums, etc.) I really have no idea what he may have in mind. I'm puzzled about all this. In fact, just now I'm not even sure the origin of the problem was on this air flow meter or he made that up. Answering myself, I'm told these have an adjustment screw (trimmer). Anyway, my plan for the future is to convert to carbs (as per vinnyboy's valuable advice) next time the van breaks down due to injection, so I think the spare I bought from David is no use to me, but since we haven't agreed on a plan for him to have it back, I'm just keeping it. Who knows, it may come handy if the new garage favours keeping the current arrangement. Again, big thanks to you all for the encouragement and advice, from an owner so in love with his van no matter what! All the best and stay safe, Alex
Good news Alex. These vans can be a bit stressful at times but are generally quite simple and reliable. With a bit of patience and working out who to take advice from all should be good. There are lots of knowledgeable people on here. Happy motoring.
The thing is 1) I now have a spare air flow meter, 2) right now the van is doing 22 miles per gallon, which is amazing (its highest ever), 3) I've read that carb conversions can increase the chances of engine bay fire as, unlike EFI, they leak fuel sometimes. I'd sacrifice anything for reliability. I really want reliability for this van because it represents my holidays. If it breaks, my holidays are over, and that's what happened last time when I had travelled really far and I was like 30 min away from our destination. Thanks!!
Take care with your FI, the USA guys on the Samba point out that the injection system round the fifth cold-start injector can leak 2.5 bar pressure petrol fairly spectactularly compared with the fuel in a 0.25 bar carburetted engine. Good luck , these buses can be reliable .
As soon as it does the engines gonna stop running , everyone seems to have become drama queens over a bit of spilt fuel
I would agree . The fuel leak I had while the bus was sitting still and being worked on caught fire, the two occasions of fuel hoses coming off and pouring petrol on the road just left a long line of fuel on the ground. ( in one case about 3 miles)
I’ve had smoke pouring out of my mini on the motorway and no fire , I didn’t notice at the smoke was behind me , the minis carb is directly above the exhaust and the fuel lines crosses the exhaust so any leaks drop straight on the exhaust, had plenty of leaks and not fires, a friend of my however had a fire looking for a fuel leak when the fuel dripped onto the bulb of his inspection light
Ha ha! Re. FI vs. carbs, sorry that, as a newcomer, I was unaware of the existence of what clearly is a can of worms Re. fuel leaks, long ago I lost a Fiesta because of this. I never got to know the origin of the leak (a hose or something else) but there was a fuel trail on the ground right behind my stalled car on fire...
