VW Transporter, am i mad?

[indy4x]

Been toying with the idea of replacing my 09 plate Jeep Grand Cherokee with a van

Why, it's not really big enough for my needs, ever since I sold my Disco 3 I've regretted it, few years on and while a Disco 4 would be my ideal vehicle I don't fancy playing Russian Roulette with the crank

Having looked at various options it looks like my next motor will be a van, not a big van but something Vivaro/Transporter size

I do need to tow a trailer and most vans around this size have fairly feeble towing capacities

So, I've narrowed it down to a T32 4motion.

I've excluded the Biturbo as they have a reputation for unreliability and I don't want the complexity of the DSG so it's manual only

4Motion, as if it does have a loaded trailer hanging off the tow bar then it should help with traction, plus, I do go places where AWD would be a definite advantage

This is not a fashion thing as I don't subscribe to the Van Life scene that seems to go with the Transporter

Is there another van of comparable size that could tow 2500kg?

 

[Dozzer]

I have a 2.5TDi 4motion, T30 and to be blunt. apart from the power, i preferred my T4 Syncro.
The build quality and electrics are not what VW once was, and i have had 9 golfs (Still have Mk4 GTDI) of various models and 4 vans,
it has done 175k had it for over 10 years but needed a lot of TLC to get it there. it has the full comfort pack on it with air con, and electric windows. and most of that has been OK.
Don lift them, i put the Seikel Lift kit on, its was only 35-40mm but it ate CV joints. was around 50K for the front inner ones to wear, they now even put a warning on their website after a few of us complained.
its OK for towing, can tow 2.8T but when i have towed trailer with digger or dumper on back you want some weight in the back of the van as well, or it gets interesting!!

If i was looking again i would go for a V6 Sprinter 4x4, they have better diff lock options, better ground clearance, build quality is about the same.

Or if you want smaller they do a 4x4 transit, just avoid the 2.2 panther engine as its junk, open deck on the cylinders and does head gaskets.

 

[Erie Fred]

Have you thought much about relocation ?
Like westward to "F-150 land".....

Door is still open.

 

[Tinbasherdan]

wouldn’t touch VAG with a stick. Scene tax is rife with them. Over priced tat. Sisters got a t5, needed a new engine not so long back due to some ridiculous issue with the oil system essentially writing it off

 

[m_c]

Isn't the first rule of owning a Transporter, that you don't mention how much time they spend in a garage?

Joking aside, they are most definitely not as reliable as some people will make out.
What age of van are you looking at?

I personally wouldn't touch a newer 2.0, as they have a habit of the fuel system destroying itself.
They also have a thing for eating turbos, although not quite as bad as the same engine in a Crafter.
EGR coolers block, as well as leaking coolant into the EGR system (if they start losing coolant, with no external leaks, then chances are, it's the EGR cooler, although occasionally it can be the charge air cooler).
If you get one that comes with a silicon bag in the expansion bottle (it'll have "mit silicon" molded into the side of the bottle), I'd advise extracting it with a pair of long pliers before it bursts blocking coolant galleries and jamming the electric water pumps.
Alternator clutch pulleys seize (most brands do this!), which results in the tensioner failing, and if you're lucky, the belt will fail outwards, but I've seen a few where it's shredded and been inhaled by the timing belt. Only positive is, if the ECU senses the timing out by more than a tooth, it'll shut down the engine, so damage is usually minimal.
And then there's the chaffed/corroded wiring issues, usually around the gear box area, although there are other points that'll occasionally fail.

The older 2.5tdi was a fairly solid engine, along with the old 1.9, but those are fairly old vehicles now.

On the more positive side, 4motion clutches weren't that much worse than a basic FWD to change, once you figured out where the recessed bolts were that hold on the transfer box. Although I do remember one where the bolt was seized and rounded, which made the job somewhat challenging (IIRC, the guys doing it ended up dropping the whole subframe to get the box out, and back in without separating it).

 

[Erie Fred]

How about a .....wait for it...."Chevy Van" ?.......
Apologies to Sammy Johns

 

[Ton-up]

Ive had a 2.0ltr T5.1 kombi for the last 12 years. Ive now done 236,000 miles. What the oil problems others are talking about is when the dpf fails to regen and puts diesel into the engine.
I took the egr off and gutted the dpf after having problems around the 100000 mile mark. I would rather not have, but after 3 egrs, I got ****** off.
I have had a clutch/dmf at 125,000 so probably due another soon, and some issues with a steering rack last year.
Overall its been very good, no worse than any other vehicle ive owned. I like the 2.0ltr, I would recommend them.

 

[Danez]

wouldn’t touch VAG with a stick. Scene tax is rife with them. Over priced tat. Sisters got a t5, needed a new engine not so long back due to some ridiculous issue with the oil system essentially writing it off

not to mention the money he'll have to spend on a tacky matt orange and grey wrap!

 

[Pete.]

We have long used VW Transporters at work. Tried Vivaros a few years back, they were cheaper to buy bit the fuel consumption easily negates that and the spares cost more. Went back to VW.

 

[Domdom]

The VW transporter is not as reliable as you might be led to believe. They are great as company vehicles when someone else is picking up the bills, but owning privately is like playing Russian Roulette with 5 loaded chambers.

If you had a D3, the D4 is no less reliable. The crankshaft issue is not huge when you consider the same engine has been in Jaguar XF, Range Rover etc. Millions of them fitted and a few thousands have failed. The ones which fail tend to be the post 2013 ones where they moved to tabless shells, so the pre 2013 ones are less likely to fail because of this. From the failures, you would also see a pattern of lack of maintenance. Following JLR variable (about 15 to 20k) service intervals is madness. The paper oil filter elements collapse and starve the bottom end of oil. Who is their right mind would run ANY vehicle to service intervals like that? Having a huge sump capacity to keep the oil quality is one thing, but the filter is still doing all the work and needs changing way before those intervals. Looking at D4's available over here in Spain, they all have well over 300k KMs on them, BUT....over here, oil changes are like religion. Nobody leaves oil in for longer than 10k KMs (6000 miles) and it shows. Secondhand cars over here are still fine with up to 500k KMs on them. the interiors and bodywork are well worn but mechanically they are fine.

Of the 2, I would go D4 every time. My BIL had a VW which he made into a camper. It was just an ETAD vehicle (every trip another drama) and would have mechanical issues every time he went camping. The engines are strong, but the rest of the mechanicals can be improved, as shown by the sheer amount of aftermarket upgrades available. Even the engines have (well documented) issues though, stuff like oil pump drive keys on the 2.0tdi and so on. The 1.9pd engine is unbreakable, but can still eat a camshaft from time to time. There isn't enough space on the shaft for 12 lobes really so they wear. Lots of oil changes help.

If it had to be a van, I would have a Sprinter. Yes, they rust, and no, they aren't perfect. But they are about the best of a bad bunch in my experience. I used to borrow one from a mate which was his garage van some days, his brother used it for delivering Amazon parcels other days, so it was heavily used and had over 700k miles on it. Original engine with a couple of turbochargers changed, clutches etc. But it kept going and was strong. The fact that so many couriers use them should tell you a lot.

 

[TEO]

I've. A T5.1 2.0ltr 140hp shuttle, ex airport transfer, 335,000 miles, slightly tatty now but that suits me as I don't want to be mincing around having to be precious about the thing.
I've had it for 50,000 and yes I'm doing maintenance - the whole egr & dpf issues I sorted over the summer, other than that it's stuff wearing out at high mileage...... To be expected.
It's a T30, pulls ok with a load but I've never had more than a ton on the back & that was probably a bit too much.
I bought it because it was the right price with an FSH, avoided the VW scene tax because of the mileage.
I think if I were looking for a good towing vehicle I'd be looking at Transits or 4x4s
I'm hoping I won't need to shop for vans again

 

[indy4x]

Thanks for all the replies, much appreciated

In no particular order

It'll either be a T5.1 or 6

It will not be the biturbo as that's the one that has the egr cooler issue where it dumps coolant into the engine amongst other things

Many years ago, my boss had a T4 pickup with the 1.9tdi engine, it was basic but bomb proof, did loads of miles towing trailers and lugging car parts around the UK and yes I really fancy a synchro but they also stupid money and the wife hates the look of them. He then bought a new T5 when the were released, had a spec frame fitted and then discovered you couldn't put anything bigger than a Mini on it as it was over loaded, we fitted a 2nd rear axle to give it more capacity

Scene tax, like that term, was looking at front seat options last night as would want to do away with the front passenger bench seat and replace with a single, prices were

Sprinters are too big

Yep, LR service intervals are optimistic, when I had my D3 it had oil and filter changes every 6 to 7k. Filters crushing were usually caused by incorrect installation. 3 of my mates have D4s, all early ones and have been ok, so far, inlet manifolds have cracked on a couple of them and turbos needed replacing too but no snapped cranks, still want one but not swayed yet

 

[Bullet2012]

Buy a D4 with a snapped crank and rebuild with a forged crank kit. Then you will have the perfect vehicle that will never fail.
Well apart from all the other known issues like, air suspension faults, premature bush wear, auto nox issues, torque converter failures, turbo failuresto name a few.

Buy FORGED CRANKSHAFT & ENGINE REBUILD PARTS 3.0 D 306DT DIESEL ENGINE TDV6 LAND ROVER & JAGUAR (CKS-RR-3.0-APX(FORGED)) - Apex Auto Parts

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[Onthespotwelding]

@indy4x as this is a welding forum try a Ford transit?

Older ones like mine mk7 are better. Find a decent one and look after the underside, you will be fine.

 

[m_c]

It will not be the biturbo as that's the one that has the egr cooler issue where it dumps coolant into the engine amongst other things

EGR cooler issues are most definitely not restricted to biturbos.
I've condemned a few on single turbos, but thankfully always managed to bump the replacement job to someone else (they weirdly liked those kinds of jobs ).

 

[TEO]

I'm not sure what the fuss is all about re: egr coolers, yes they get clogged up but they're not too difficult to remove & clean nor too expensive to replace

 

[mr haynes]

Pinzgauer?
4x4 and VW engine.....

 

[Roger440]

Ive got a 2012 T5. It is by far and away, the most unreliable vehicle ive ever owned. OK, it not let me down at the side of the road, stranded. As as a consumer of parts, its unmatched.

VW are very much trading on past reputation.

 

[Domdom]

Buy a D4 with a snapped crank and rebuild with a forged crank kit. Then you will have the perfect vehicle that will never fail.

Buy FORGED CRANKSHAFT & ENGINE REBUILD PARTS 3.0 D 306DT DIESEL ENGINE TDV6 LAND ROVER & JAGUAR (CKS-RR-3.0-APX(FORGED)) - Apex Auto Parts

FORGED CRANKSHAFT & ENGINE REBUILD PARTS 3.0 D 306DT DIESEL ENGINE TDV6 LAND ROVER & JAGUAR (CKS-RR-3.0-APX(FORGED)) is of the utmost quality ensuring you are able to maintain your vehicle at optimum levels for a prolonged period of time.

www.apexautoparts.co.uk

That is no guarantee it would never fail again. The oil filter is the weakest point and if it was blocked up it would starve the crank of oil. That is a major cause of crank failures on factory engines. Yes, the forged crank is a good option, but it needs to be done with tabbed shells and regular oil filter changes. Based on what I know and have seen, the cranks do not snap for no reason, it is usually a spun shell, and those are caused by oil starvation. Even with no tabs, shells don't tend to spin for no good reason, and even with tabs, lack of oil will still cause the rod to weld itself to the crank. If you recall, the D3 engine (the 2.7) used to fail in this manner until LR upgraded the oil pump as part of the cam belt kit.

I have sometimes wondered why nobody makes an oil filter upgrade kit. That would probably prevent a very large percentage of failures. Something which takes the oil out to an external and much larger canister filter.

 

[Morrisman]

Mate of mine owns a VW van, forget the model, but he reckons the new VED rates are going through the roof in April, over £700 a year he reckons.