The Crappy Hamper Thread

[mercrocker]

As I rather tactlessly mentioned on the What Did You Do Thread in the midst of paulplom's Transit meltdown (sorry mate) I have decided to take the plunge and have a rebuilt engine in the camper.

For the past three or four years it has been giving me cause for concern - noises like piston-slap, a rattling tappet or three and signs of coolant seepage. It is also noticeably down on what power it had to begin with - especially when it comes to hills. I probably haven't helped dragging a caravan round with it.

Like the caravan itself, that's all behind it now and like me it will have a life of leisure - no more early morning commutes or inappropriate useage just because it happened to have a towbar.

I had to send a photo of the engine to the rebuilder so that he could assess the correct age as they do differ slightly year-on-year and he has said, unprompted and after I'd ordered the engine, that he reckoned the left cylinder head has been overheating. Van's done 160,000 about half of that on this engine which is already a recon. so it looks like I should get the same out of a new one, probably take me at least eleven years of full mileage useage on the insurance by which time we will be 73 and 83 and have matching i10s or something horrific.

It is basically going to cost all the money I had put by for possible vehicle repairs over the coming 2 years so if anything else goes tits-up it will have to wait. If the Focus shits itself Mrs Rocker will need to find her bus pass, too. With this summer looking like being a clusterfuck as far as campsites and touring is concerned I'm gonna get this done now rather than have it bite me on the ass next year.

Booked in for May so let's see......

[paulplom]

Is it not cheaper to source a 2nd hand engine. You could build the original at your leisure then or do you have a case of cba? I suffer from that occasionaly.

I've seen Ed China on. He says four bolts and it just falls out.

[mercrocker]

Ed China can come and do it then.....

Nah, you're right I do have CBA. The other thing is that although these are relatively simple engines to take out and put back the coolant system is vital to longevity and as much attention and experience as I can afford needs to be paid to that otherwise the risk is simply blowing another engine.

Secondhand units are likely to suffer the same common traits as mine, too.

There is an avenue of engine conversions that I have explored - inline Golf or Subaru - but then you've got a mongrel and parts supply gets complicated.

These engines suffer from one inherent and frankly stupid idea which is that the head studs sit in the coolant flow. On an engine with any age (or one that has not had correct coolant changed at the correct periods) it virtually guarantees fuck-ery when it comes to head replacements (of which of course there are two). I've always felt that VW pushed the envelope of development of their flat four as far as possible with these units and they are nowhere near as robustly simple as the earlier air-cooled ones.

I'm buying a complete turnkey operation which in English means I turn up, turn the key and there will hopefully be no shenanigans like timing, carburation or fuel/coolant issues or "adjustments" needed. The van will have covered a good test mileage in their hands and at their risk as far as the new unit is concerned. They won't even sign a job off unless the existing cooling system is completely up to spec. either.

[The Reverend Bluejeans]

Fuck me, a waterboxer??

[Hooli]

Sounds like the best year to do it tbh, I'm sure our activities will be curtailed for most of the year as they drag bat flu out as long as they can. So this year should/could be cheaper as we're not allowed to do much.

[Guest]

I remember helping a mate work on his, according to Mr Haynes certain things could be removed without removing the engine. He lied. It was fairly easy to get the engine out, on the street, and it did all go back together properly.
It was shortly after all this they realised that it spent most of it's time being used as a car, trundling around uneconomically with its automatic gearbox and carrying the kitchen sink, they went back to an estate car and bought a decent trailer tent.

[SiC]

Like the caravan itself, that's all behind it now

Much better that, than infront of it...

#HooliHumour

[barefoot]

There's someone on AS, barefoot?, who is on the staff of a VW bus magazine. He'll know far more than me.

I was the editor of VW Camper & commercial until it went down the pan quite recently. Whether I know more than anyone is an interesting point!

Have a picture of my bus which I've been camping in for the last quarter of a century; 'the bay of lasting joy'.

DSCN0731 copy 2.JPG (275.06 KiB) Viewed 2579 times

It's a '79 bay with a 1600 T1 engine and suspension which has been slightly, and though I say it myself, very stylishly pineappled at the front.

[Eddie Honda]

Is that photo before or after the carport incident?

(Or am I thinking of a regular here)

[barefoot]

A regular on the other & that's after extensive car-port based repairs!