I get asked for links to other people’s sites from time-to-time, but usually have to say a polite no, mainly because I don’t actually have a dedicated links page

and never really wanted one, and often these ad-hoc links don’t warrant a post in their own right. However, I’ve decided to make an exception for a site that I was contacted about. Kombi blog is - or will soon be - hosting some trip reports but for the time being I’m more interested in the how-to guides that the site owner is putting up. It’s one thing to refer to a service manual with grainy black and white photos, but a good walk-through with large colour photos is always so much easier. Unfortunately the site is built with frames (ugh!) which makes it difficult to provide direct links to these how-to guides, but just look at the menu options on the left for ‘Renovations’.

Because I’m the caring, sharing type, I documented the process for servicing my Eberspacher D1LC cab heater when it started playing up a little while back. I did have to get some diagnosis on it first (the electronic unit that tells you what faults have occurred is not at all cheap, so serarch around for a heating engineer or climate control company near you who can do this for you) but even if things are seemingly running just fine, it wouldn’t hurt to give the heater a service. You’ll need some spare parts (some gaskets, a glow plug and screen). Once again, check with a local Eberspacher parts supplier for these - and refer them to this article if they’re not sure what parts you need.

Read the how-to guide: How to service an Eberspacher heater »

… VW Mechanics in Swindon, Air-cooled servicing in Swindon - is that what you are looking for?

This is one of those public service announcement type posts. Hopefully you’re searching for one of the above and got here. Good. Now, don’t go booking your old vdub in for any work without first consulting a fellow Swindon Vdubber. We’ve had too many horror stories (a good example right here) and it’s really in your interest to speak to some people who know, first.

If you want to find out who’s good and who to avoid (see who’s made it on to our shit list), drop me a line here - I’ll be sure to pass your question on. Don’t waste money by picking out one of the rogue traders - get a recommendation first!

I just took a look at Vanshack’s website and noticed a new message on the home page:

Consider this an open apology to all type 4 owners who might want to use their services - it was my bus that made them stop servicing type 4 engines!

What a week it’s been in the life of our van. Last week I took the van in for a service/tune-up to try to stop her stalling whenever I was approaching a set of lights and putting my foot on the clutch. It was getting to be a real pain, frankly, and I knew that she could run better. After a couple of days’ tinkering, the boys at Vanshack told me she was ready to collect. So, Manda and I made our way from Swindon to Eynsham (very near to Oxford). We had a bit of waiting around as the windscreen had yet to be replaced (I’d asked for a new rubber seal to be put on the bay window while it was in for a bit of work), but eventually we made our way back down the A420 to Swindon. Within 11 miles I was having problems, watching the speed drop from 60 to 45 mph and getting a general sluggish feeling. Changing down to 3rd gear did little to remedy the problem. The van was backfiring and, predictably, when I came to a stop, she stalled. Sounding rough? Oh yes! We did an about turn and struggled back to Vanshack.

The guys there couldn’t quite believe that there was a problem, but once back at the shack, both Kim and Paul had their heads back in the engine bay and realised that the van truly wasn’t playing ball. I decided to leave the van overnight for them to take another look at on the Saturday.

Later on Saturday I called to check on progress. The van was running good again, and it was believed that the problem with the ’starvation’ was down to the fuel pump not keeping up with all the other changes of late (new spark plugs, HT leads, changed air system in the back to replace the Aussie DIY job, cleaned carbstiming/points etc). So, a new fuel pump was added to that list of changed parts. We set off once again for Oxford, and back again to Swindon. She appeared to running better but as I approached the roundabouts near Swindon, I had that familiar feeling of ’she’s gonna stall’ … and she did. By the time I got back outside the house, she was running rough all over again. What is it with my van?

The next day we took her for a run up to Bristol, then back to Swindon and on to Avebury. On the open road, she seemed to run just fine, but after a long journey she just sounded horrible - worn out, spluttery. I knew that I’d have to take the van back aain, and so she found herself back at Vanshack on Monday evening. "Keep her all week," I told the boys. I didn’t want to rush anything, but on the other hand I was starting to wonder how much this would end up costing me.

Thursday came and I thought I’d check on progress. The van had undergone more tweaking - some minor missing parts were replaced, including a dashpot, fuel lines were changed, a fuel filter was added back in because the carburretors that were cleaned just over a week ago were riddled with gunk again. In the last two weeks I’d spent over £500 on the van (nearly £600 including the new rubber seals for the windscreen, rear window and a side one), so I really wanted this to be the last of it for a while!

The drive back from Oxford to Swindon this time felt much better. Slowing down at roundabouts, it didn’t feel like a stall was imminent - she was hanging in there! However, after the long run on the open road, when I did start to hit more traffic lights and roundabouts again, the van did stall once and threatened to stall another time (but I caught it in time). I felt and heard one backfire too. I wanted to pretend it didn’t happen.

So, tomorrow I intend to make my way down to Christchurch for Ethel’s first VW event. I’m keeping my fingers crossed that things will work out just fine and she’ll behave herself, but my experience of running a Type 4 engine in the UK has not been good at all. And just what could cause the carbs to clog up so quickly? Fuel additive? Could be - I’ve cut that out of Ethel’s diet now!

What would you do in my situation? I’ve spent a lot to get the van back here, and have spent what I think is a lot for tweaking with an engine to getting it running ‘just about OK’. I don’t need a supercharged engine, I just want a trouble-free runner … or is that asking too much for an old Volksie?