I have ordered a new throttle cable for the rhd 2l type 4 auto box and my son already has new pedal and pivot parts. The evidence from my checks on Saturday point to very slack throttle cable and loose pivot not pulling the auto box lever far enough so not pulling the crooked rod enough so the carbs are not opening far enough. Re fuelling, looking at the state of the fairly new fuel filter I would say the tank is full of rust which won't help the carbs. The old tank and fuel lines need coming out and replacing with the new stuff we have ready. Next weekend I will visit again and check fuel delivery and lift the carb tops and see what's inside re crud and see if the carb bowls are empty when the engine stops. I will also do the compressions. Any thoughts about selling the old T25 project?
Does anyone know how to adjust the accelerator cable? Is it at the pedal pivot end or at the auto box lever?
If it's like a late bay, the only adjustment is at the pedal end, the gearbox end is a sort of ball and socket.
That makes sense, I have a new cable and the pedal end is plain wire and the gearbox end is a small spring cup socket, presumably the gearbox lever has a fixed ball to clip into the cable socket. Access at the pedal end looks challenging from underneath.
Mine is a bodge at the pedal end ... a nut and bolt with a hole through it. If your sons set up is as it should be, I'd appreciate it photo next time you're under. I found pedal end to be easiest to get to.
Well I visited my son today to work on the 'new' T25. A lot has happened since last visit. My son has been very busy on the van. Fuel tank and all pipes and balancing tanks removed. New fuel tank and pipework ready to go in shortly. Underbody treated with brush on Dinitrol, amazing finish. Its really good stuff. I looked at the throttle pedal assembly and cable setup. Firstly the old pedal is worn out and the pedal push rod was cable tied in and loose. Bodge. Cable was very slack with plenty of room for adjustment and reclamping into the hole and bolt fitting, although it looks a pig to do it with little access underneath. Pedal was fouling the carpet and rubber mat so the pedal couldn't go all the way down and the mat and carpet were covering the hole in the floor so some trimming will sort that out. So, we have a new pedal and the existing parts look fairly new. So we have the parts. The old push rod fits snug into the new pedal but I don't see how to clamp the other end of the push rod into the pivot piece, there is the hole for it in the pivot, but how is it secured in place so it doesn't fall out? Lastly, where does the pedal return spring go, is it on the inside of the van or underneath at the pivot? The existing throttle cable run to the autobox lever looks fine with all clamps , bracket and ball end as they should be. But clearly the cable wasn't pulling the arm far enough which is easy to do by hand so free and not jammed. My son mentioned another issue with 'hard' brake pedal which it was assumed to be a vacuum fault. However with the front wheels off it was clear that the passenger side calliper was locked solid. So another job. We removed the calliper and sure enough, although the disk and pads were nearly new, the calliper wasn't replaced at the time and the seals had rotted and the pistons rusted solid. So new callipers for next weekend of fun and games. The brake fluid will be replaced as the old stuff is dark brown. Obviously a seized calliper would have contributed to the hard brake pedal and slow running up that hill. Meanwhile my grandson is enjoying his vw golf mk2 which we restored during the pandemic, grandson has been on 2 vw event runs already and he is loving the experience and the new freedom. Just need to get my son's T25 back on the road as soon as.
Today we fitted the new plastic pedal with new bolts and nuts, access under the van to screw in the nuts was challenging. We had to fit the old pedal push rod which wasn't the correct part but it did fit. The old push rod has a groove ring where the rod goes into the smaller pivot hole, presumably the groove is for a retaining clip to stop it sliding out the pivot. The setup is very basic. While under there I adjusted the accelerator cable by slackening off the clamp bolt, pushing the cable end further up and retightening the clamp bolt. Another neck aching job in a tight space. I'm getting too old for this. I tried to order a new push rod but none of the usual suppliers had any in stock. AH Schofield has one but wanted £38 plus delivery for it. What a rip off when the part is usually about £5. So we made do with the old one. We trimmed the cab carpet and underlay around the pedal to allow full travel unhindered. The lever at the autobox and carbs rod now moves much further than it did. My son has almost fitted the new fuel tank and pipe work, the front wing balance tanks are a proving a nightmare. The new ate type caliper had arrived promptly from Brickwerks and I fitted it today and that seems to work ok, but we will need to rebleed the brakes all round So hopefully soon we will have Bertie 2 back on the road.
PS my son has now decided to sell the old T25 complete with engine and gearbox as a whole. The van has brakes and steering and most of the parts that were removed from the interior, it will make a good cheap project for someone. Any thoughts about a sensible asking price anyone? It has to go soon.
Progress on the 'new' T25. My son has fitted the entire fuel system, fuelled it up and the engine starts. Idle speed had to be adjusted after I took the slack out of the throttle cable under the pedal. Our plan for next weekend is to bleed the brakes all round, now the new calliper is installed and take it for a test drive to see if the autobox works as it should. I found thesamba vanagon forum very helpful regarding autobox issues and cable/rod adjustments. It seems the throttle cable has to be tight enough so when the pedal is fully down, the autobox kickdown arm is pulled up to maximum which triggers the kickdown. And at full pedal, the carbs butterflies should be fully or nearly wide open. Before adjustment, our throttle cable was very slack so no kickdown occurred and the carbs didn't open enough to give any power. There is still a little slack in the throttle cable which I am expecting to have to tighten more, the Bentley apparently says 1mm of slack which is not a lot.
Well another day on the T25. With help from my grandson, we managed to bleed the brakes all round. However on a very short test drive (without me) my son says the brake servo assistance isn't working. Any thoughts? Oh and the engine cuts out. My son is losing patience and interest even though we are making progress. The van was bought as a project so I think we have to assume lots of issues to sort out and we are gradually getting through them, its not an instant fix is it. We are getting there. As I see it, my son has sorted out the bodywork, paint, interior, fuel system and more but there are mechanical issues to sort out, it takes time. We have new vacuum hose and non return valve so could fit those and test again. We also have the old stuff from the old van. Now onto the auto box and its ATF fluid. Its bad, brown, cloudy and smells awful. I have ordered new Dexron 2 and we already have the filter and pan gasket so we can do that job, which in my opinion is urgent. I have the Castrol 80w90 hypoid gear oil for the diff which I doubt has been looked at for a while. The engine starts ok but we need to sort out the idling as with the engine hot and chokes open wide, its showing about 1700rpm and it tends to cut out as before. There doesn't appear to be a sweet spot its all or nothing. Any ideas on that one too please. Its got the 2 solex pdsit carbs.
Brown smelly ATF is not great. What does it smell like? Is it a burnt smell? Still worth the effort changing the fluid & filter, nothing to lose.
Then walk away. He should just sell it with the other one and buy something that works, he clearly can't be bothered to learn and go through things in an orderly fashion. Getting a type-4 engine to idle and not stall isn't rocket science. I bet he spends zero time looking for answers on the internet or you wouldn't be holding his hand. Got to be cruel to be kind sometimes.
Hello @Zed, I can see your point of view, but my son has domestic issues with his hoarding partner (maybe you can understand) which are taking a big emotional toll on him and until this matter is resolved, the new van has helped him to keep some sanity and take his mind off the sad situation he is living in. Patience and a bit more time should see us sorting out remaining issues on the van and my grandson is learning a lot doing the project and it gives me time with my grandson also.
You’re jumping from one thing to another without fixing anything and it seems to me your son is driving a bus with known serious faults in the hope that it will cure itself. There may well be a problem with the gearbox but changing the fluid won’t get the engine to start and run well. Fix one thing at a time, start with the engine. Check the compression, check the hydraulic tappets pre-load, check the timing, check the carbs – there are plenty of threads with advice on how to set up the Solex carbs. Once the engine starts and runs move onto the gearbox. And above all fix the brakes before any further test drives.
@77 Westy I agree with your points. We had the old van which we worked on over at least 10 years and I am pretty familiar with the aircooled T25 and my old Bay of course which I had for about 7 years. The new T25 is different as it has an autobox which I am learning about fast and with Youtube and Bentley I am understanding how they work. I didn't have any input in buying another T25 although I did suggest a modern T4 or T5 may be a better choice as garages tend to know about them and could service them. Anyway we have the new T25 now and it has mechanical issues. I see 3 issues at present. Brakes, Autobox, Engine idling and running very rich. The logistics are difficult, my son works during the week, my grandson is revising for A level exams, I am age 76 and feeling tired, my son is 30 miles away where the T25 is parked. So working on the van is a slow process. We spent 2 years restoring my son's Golf MK2 and a similar time to do my grandson's MK2 and they are now great cars so we know proper restorations take time. Understandably my son wants to drive his new van but realistically it needs more time to do the work on our very part time basis, but my son seems to have lost patience with the project, in contrast to myself and grandson want to see it through.
