VW T5 Transporter Info?

Gerrit Loubser · Thu Feb 17, 2011 1:43 pm

Since the "All Other Brands" section has a bit of a VWOCSA flavour

and since I know some of the members here are also VW aficionados, I thought this would be a good place to post my request:

My lovely wife has expressed the desire to own a VW bus. We used to own a T3 with the 2.3 Audi derived motor and toured all over the Western Cape (where we were based back then). She has never forgotten that vehicle and especially the ultimate luxury that it afforded: SPACE in incomparable quantities.

In order to realise her dream, the Paj would eventually sadly have to go, but not in the short term. The Paj is my wife's daily driver, you see, and truth be told, since the acquisition of our Patrol the Paj has not really been used for anything more hectic than dirt road driving).

Now I am not that knowledgeable regarding these vehicles, their durability, their strong and weak points and so on, so I was wondering whether there is a forum where I could go to educate myself.

Any comments from the members here on the relative merits of the various models of the bus and the different engines in them, would also be welcomed.

4ePikanini · Thu Feb 17, 2011 2:33 pm

don't know much about the vans but the 2.5 diesel engine is a true gem!

I have seen some nice 2.5 TDi caravelles with 4motion and BFG tyres!

Gerrit Loubser · Thu Feb 17, 2011 7:31 pm

Thanks Marius.

Do those 2.5 TDis last?

Is there a VW forum that I can join to educate myself?

4ePikanini · Sun Feb 20, 2011 11:18 am

the 2.5 is a fantastic engine as it doesn't use any belts or chains (same as V10) so as long as you don't overheat it or run without oil it should last nearly forever.

They aren't overstressed as the use it in the racing dakar touareg with nearly double the output.

see attached file
possible forums to join

http://forums.vwvortex.com/forum.php
http://www.clubtouareg.com/forums

2.5_TDI.pdf: (1.29 MiB) Downloaded 556 times

Gerrit Loubser · Sun Feb 20, 2011 5:15 pm

Marius, thanks a million for the information. that pdf on the R5 motor was very interesting.

4ePikanini wrote:the 2.5 is a fantastic engine as it doesn't use any belts or chains (same as V10) so as long as you don't overheat it or run without oil it should last nearly forever.

Having the valve gear (and all the ancillaries) gear driven is a great bonus in my book. So you recon the R5 is half a Treg V10 Tdi, hey

.

What about those unit injectors that make up the pumpe-duese system? How long do they last? They seem like an expensive bit of kit to replace; effectively each one is like a little injector pump...

4ePikanini · Sun Feb 20, 2011 6:31 pm

The PD system is very reliable - I belong to the passat forum in the USA and there are lots of diesels there using the PD system doing more than a half million miles!

Just use shell helix (the one that's needed) not delo 400 oil and do oil changes as prescribed. Also follow the diesel filter changes.

VW stated that the v10 (using PD) was designed to last a million km's and the R5 is half a v10 so yes I think that R5 is one of the best diesels ever made - dare I say even better than the 4m41...

The gear driven systems are a huge pull for me. I was actually searching for an R5 before my eye caught my current gen3. (R5's aren't cheap as owner's don't want to sell them - breakages are rare, even on forums where most people only come to complain mostly)

The key is to find one that has been looked after - I prefer pampered high mileage cars to low mileage beat up cars.

Gerrit Loubser · Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:28 pm

Thanks again, Marius. One more question: What about the turbo-chargers? Do they last? I seem to recall hearing some stories about issues with the durability of turbos on the 1.9 TDi motors and on the V10 TDi from the Treg, or do I have the wrong end of the stick?

tonton · Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:40 pm

Gerrit Loubser wrote:Thanks again, Marius. One more question: What about the turbo-chargers? Do they last? I seem to recall hearing some stories about issues with the durability of turbos on the 1.9 TDi motors and on the V10 TDi from the Treg, or do I have the wrong end of the stick?

Gerrit,

My 2C worth: I have witnessed many turbos on small diesel VW's (Polo's Jettas and on Audi's) popping, and will NEVER buy one of those diesels, but I have not heared of one on a bigger car (5 cillinders and up) going...

Anton

4ePikanini · Sun Feb 20, 2011 8:51 pm

the early 1.9Tdi's had turbo problems and was sorted under recall.
the early v10's also had turbo problems but was also sorted under recall.

haven't heard of R5 turbo issues yet.

As long as you understand turbo diesels and adhere to the cool down period the turbo should last the life of the engine.

There is a common misconception that turbos don't last. Turbo's in public transport busses last over a million kilometers on a regular basis - I firmly believe this is possible because they rarely ever get switched off and these days they can change the oil and filter without shutting down.

Incorrect driving techniques and bad service/oil records are the biggest killer of turbos and the failed turbo will usually be paired with a hurt engine as well.

KaiV · Mon Feb 21, 2011 12:29 pm

Buy another Patrol

All I know about the VW is that the services are horrifically expensive as are their spares. Also, rumors I've been hearing is that the gearboxes are not the best...

A mate has the 2.5 Tdi. With trailer full of diving gear, and 6 people in the car at 120 (+) Km/hr to Dbn and back under 10/100.

I like them