colin weston Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 I am looking for an Autosleeper Trident for my daughter. Her budget is up to £12K. I have been advised that naturally aspirated engines give poor performance and that the 2.5 litre TDI models are the ones to go for. We had a test drive in a 1999 2.5 TDI today, apparently the 102 bhp engine, but I was concerned about what appeared to be oil smoke from the exhaust when accelerating. The salesman said that was normal for a VW!!!!! Worn piston rings or a turbo problem? I would be grateful for any advice from those knowledgable about this van or turbo VW engines. I think we will be looking at vans from 1995 to 2000. What are the known weaknesses? Where does the rust start? Where can I get price info? Have any recent MMM mags published typical dealer prices recently? I will have to get a back copy as I no longer subscribe having been unable to find tme to read it! Thanks in anticipation, Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted June 24, 2012 Share Posted June 24, 2012 Hi Colin....Sorry,this probably isn't of much use but we've been looking at getting a VW T4 van(..not a camper,just to use as a runabout/workhorse)and several folk have mentioned that the non-turbo'd 2.4 are the one to go for... :-S (..no idea how much truth/validity is in that advice though...?) Probably best to ask on a T4 specific forum...... Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted July 4, 2012 Share Posted July 4, 2012 pepe63 - 2012-06-24 7:16 PM Hi Colin....Sorry,this probably isn't of much use but we've been looking at getting a VW T4 van(..not a camper,just to use as a runabout/workhorse)and several folk have mentioned that the non-turbo'd 2.4 are the one to go for... :-S (..no idea how much truth/validity is in that advice though...?) Probably best to ask on a T4 specific forum...... Chris In 2002 we test drove a six months old 2.4 non-turbo and it was so slow and unresponsive. We bought a 2.5 turbo deisel (I think it was 87 bhp - certainly much less that the 102) and we found it absolutely fine - we did nearly 77000 miles in it during the six and a half years we owned it. We thought the Trident was a great vehicle for our (then) requirements. It was also very economical and we found it coped well with all types of driving, including mountain climbs in the Alps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek Uzzell Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 There are several VW-related forums that should be able to advise regarding mechanical reliability and rusting. http://www.vwtransporterforum.com/ http://www.vwt4forum.co.uk/ http://www.vwforum.com/ On a like-for-like basis regarding engine-capacity, the 'on-road' performance of a normally-aspirated diesel will inevitably be significantly lower than that of a turbo-charged equivalent. I vaguely remember comments about common-or-garden maintenance of T4s and T5s being potentially complicated and expensive. I've no hands-on experience of Transporters. We owned a 1995 Golf Estate (with 1.9litre turbo-diesel motor) from new until 2009. It went pretty well, though the brakes were poor. After 14 years it was starting to rust around the wheel-arches, external plastic trim was fragmenting and some of the electrics were iffy. It had only covered 60k miles in that time and, just before we disposed of it, began to make what sounded like a very expensive noise at start-up. Probably knew it was heading for the scrapyard! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Overdrive Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Have owned a VW T4 2.5 non-turbo Holdsworth Villa in the past, amazing 5 cyl engine. Did two 3 week holiday trips to Italy, with no issues + 12 cases of wine on way back. No issues over Alps easier to drive in some respects because you do not have to wait for the turbo to pickup after the hairpins. Very economical if you have a light right foot, ideal size for use as only vehicle too. Same engine fitted to Audi at time. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 Derek Uzzell - 2012-07-05 9:25 AM . I vaguely remember comments about common-or-garden maintenance of T4s and T5s being potentially complicated and expensive. I've no hands-on experience of Transporters. /QUOTE] We did not find when owning a T4 Trident that maintenance was expensive. We did use a VW Van Centre then an independent VW specialist in the West Midlands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George Collings Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I ran an Autosleepers Clubman coachbuilt with the 2.4 Non Turbo engine for eight years. Travelled to Italy, Hungary,Spain with no problems. Took it from 25 to 93 thousand miles with only major expense a rebuilt set of injectors at 80,000 as it was starting to smoke. Its a pre electronics engine no computer It was almost certainly still on its original clutch and brake discs/pads. Front tyres lasted 25 k rears 40 ish. Cruising at 60 it did 27 mpg but 70 was flat on the board returning 20mpg. Top gear was a bit high for the overcab body but I let it just keep accelerating once on a level road and it was still going faster at an indicated 80 mph when I backed off in case a roof vent flew off. Acceleration and hillclimbing was to put it mildly slow. Plent yof time to look at the mountain sceanery. Traction on slippery ground or hairpins was superb cannot ever recall getting wheelspin. Suspension is by van standards very soft, a bit rolly for some but very comfortable. I had a Boxer based van on test and itwas rock hard and I was glad to hand it back and get back into my comfy VW. My friend has a high top T4 with the 102 bhp and driving gently regularly gets 40mpg. I have the same engine in my Coachbuilt A/S Medallion and at 3500kg it regularly turns in 27mpg at 62 ish cruising and 23 at 70mph. The later 2.5 version does have a computer. I checked out getting the kit to access mine viamy laptop but someone who ran a fleet said not to bother they are trouble free. Now eight years and 40,000 miles later it been fine. Reputedly the 5 cylinder engines are very reliable even at high mileages. Originally used in the big Audis in a higher state of tune developing 140 bhp. Cam belt change is like any fwd vehicle expensive. Around £500. The danger spot for rust is the lower half of the windscreen surround. Trouble here is bad news as the screen is bonded in and would need tocome out for any welding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallii Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 I used to own a VW california 2.5 turbo version. It was the 150 PS version and it was like smoke. I have owned VW campers and cars over the years and in general they are reliable and rust free. The only problems I had were caused by non VW parts fitted by previous owners. Parts and main dealer service are expensive but if you can find a local independant who knows VWs it is a lot cheaper and they will know where to get O.E. parts at nearly half the dealer price! The 5 cylinder engine in it's various forms is a good smooth and reliable engine, VW gearboxes are good and the bodywork is usually waxed and well undersealed so they rust only slowly. I would suggest that it would be worth paying a local VW independant a few pounds to look over any prospective purchase. Smoke from the exhaust could mean lots of things, black smoke is usually injectors, pump or other fuel related problems, blue smoke is oil from somewhere. it could be turbo, bore wear, wrong oil in engine, valve guide wear and so on. Unless it has done mega mileage (more than 150K) I wouldn't expect bore wear or valve guides wear. Turbos are delicate beasts and if the engine is turned off without allowing the turbo to slow down the bearings will fail due to lack of oil at high revs. So it might be a mistreated turbo. More likely is that it has stood for a while and the rings are slightly gummed, a good run of some 100s of miles could sort it out. At the very least the oil would need changing to the correct VW grade, this is very important and grease monkies often just put in what they have in stock, as I said, wrong oil can make it smoke. Hope it helps. Oh! and get a long warranty on it, any reluctance to give say, 12 months warranty usually means that they (the sellers) know something you don't! H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest JudgeMental Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 At that age I would look privately, better chance of a loved vehicle..... just make a new MOT a condition of buying it. I personally would rather spend the money on an MOT and walk away if to many issues crop up. we had a 1967 T3 Westphalia 2.1 injection ( USA import) had it for 7 years and got most of our money back...only needed an exhaust in all that time. The build quality is bomb proof http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Westfalia-T4-Campervan-/280904565436?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item41673782bc#ht_500wt_1049 http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VOLKSWAGEN-WESTFALIA-T4-CAMPERVAN-1994-LHD-LOW-MILES-/130716786888?pt=UK_Campers_Caravans_Motorhomes&hash=item1e6f53e0c8#ht_1701wt_1035 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josie gibblebucket Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Not a Trident,but would this suffice? http://www.caravanfinder.co.uk/motorhome/Private/3F8D86EBB32C4019802578D900572887/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PCC Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 Don't ignore the petrol engine. Mine gives about 27mpg, but they tend to be a bit cheaper to start with. They go quite well and are allowed in the London (and presumably other) low emission zone without charge. I understand that there were some worthwhile improvements introduced in the facelifted T4 models produced from 1996. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 PCC - 2012-07-07 11:21 AM Don't ignore the petrol engine. Mine gives about 27mpg Our 2.5 TDi Trident to which I referred earlier always gave mid to top 30s mpg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mel wood Posted July 7, 2012 Share Posted July 7, 2012 PCC - 2012-07-07 11:21 AM Don't ignore the petrol engine. Mine gives about 27mpg Our 2.5 TDi Trident to which I referred earlier always gave mid to top 30s mpg - that could be an important factor in overall running costs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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