Purchased A Mobile Turd.

[K Simmonds]

Cheers Rikki.

Right, a bit of an update on the van situation...

The insurance company valued the Caddy at £1700 in it's pre burnt condition, which considering it was on 185K miles and a little tatty I think was actually a very generous offer which I accepted without quibbling... Money in the bank the same day, result!

The £2350 on the policy was the maximum value if it was in mint condition, I did think that seemed like a lot of money for a 20 year old van that I paid £650 in cash for.

So a grand profit for all the stress and hassle is fine with me.

My burnt arm has healed up really well, still got a scab but considering how bad it looked it's nothing. My finger tips are still a bit fried but again much better and no longer an issue typing etc.

However, the real bonus from the whole situation is my father has decided to let me have his old 2.5TDI T5 work van, which he's had from new and has maintained really well. It's low mileage (sub 100K) a little tatty and has a couple of annoying issues to sort out but I already know what one of them is and have a very good idea how to sort out the other.

It need's a new central locking control unit to sort out the one problem which I've already diagnosed with VCDS and I'm 99% sure the other issue is a vacuum leak in the engine bay which causes it to drop into limp mode at random.

It run's perfectly 99% of the time and the fault is too random for it to be mechanical, I'm sure it's going to to something to do the with the vacuum control unit down behind the engine which controls various things including boost. We use to fix the problem quite often at work and it's normally just a split/cracked vacuum pipe or connector.

He was going to sell it cheap next month anyway but as I've had such awful luck recently he's very kindly letting me take ownership of it which I'm delighted about.

I don't have it quite yet as he's still looking for a smaller replacement but I should have it by the end of May which is fine with me.

[Ian_C]

Bloody hell Kit, what a nightmare! Fortunately you were fully insured getting it home. I'm sure many of us on here would confess to buying a vehicle privately (that was showing as taxed tested and insured) and simply driving it home (posting the V5 to the DVLA, rather than doing it the new way online)

Hope the burns are healing, and I guess the silver lining is the owned-from-new T5 that you know has been looked after mechanically. Hopefully this is your luck changing!

[Jaswan]

Hey Kit,

As mentioned, every cloud....

Glad you are on the mend and also that this ordeal hasn't taken the shine off of your enthusiasm.

Do take it easy though!

Jase.

[K Simmonds]

Cheers Guys.

I have to confess that I always use to pick up cars and drive them home then arrange insurance and tax ect, hell I've even driven a MK2 GTI back from pretty much the same place with a badly slipping clutch and no tax or MOT just a trade insurance policy. That was in the days before ANPR cameras were everywhere and fitted to all police cars so I decided not to risk it this time as there's multiple cameras on the route home, very glad I did as I'd now be down £650 and facing six points and at least a £500 fine for no insurance.

I'm going to invest in two large powder fire extinguishers for the workshop and a smaller one to go in whatever car I'm driving as I never wish to be stood helplessly watching a vehicle burn ever again, it's a really unpleasant feeling!

I'm incredibly lucky the Dynorod van pulled over within a couple of minutes otherwise it would have been a huge fire right under overhanging pine trees, I was more concerned about the tress than the van. It took the fire-brigade a good 20 minutes to arrive by which time it would have been an absolute disaster.

[K Simmonds]

Right, I'm back on the Forum as well as technically mobile again at last, I've not had a good past month with family health problems so have barely been on here. Sorry to anyone who's been waiting for a reply to PM's.

Though I'm only using my T5 for essential journeys currently as I'm not super happy driving with my gammy elbow on industrial strength pain killers and I still need to sort the limp mode issue out.

It's weird as it barely does it at all if I'm driving as I use the gearbox to keep the turbo working. Whereas my father had a tendency to drive at least one gear too high all the time as he's quite deaf, very often I'd have to point out he's in fifth as opposed to third. I've noticed it drops out most frequently when just coming onto boost and being laboured heavily but it has done it to me one or twice completely at random under boost full boost.

I still have to inspect all the pipe work behind the engine as well as check for boost leaks on the various hoses. However, after a bit of reading on VW forums I've got a feeling it's the turbo hotside sticking. For the past five years my Dad only used it on very short journeys mainly a mile and back each morning to get the paper, which is asking for serious carbon build up.

So I may have to fit an exchange unit if I can't free it up, it's not very easy but I can check what's happening by getting underneath, disconnecting the VNT actuator arm and check both are in good order with smooth full range of motion.

Anyway, I certainly ain't looking a gift horse in the mouth! I have a pit so while it's not an easy job it's not heavy work like a clutch change, just fiddly and involves working blind. Regardless it's getting a proper IM off decoke and EGR delete, I know a guy in Hereford who can do a basic remap to keep the ECU happy.

I also have the final consultation prior to my surgery coming up in under a month so hopefully that's going to be sorted sooner rather than later and I can resume working again next year, the recovery time is considerable but it has to be done. Am seriously thinking about offering a mobile mechanic service specifically for pre 2000 VAG cars, as people are struggling to find garages competent to work on 30+ year old cars without being fleeced. I have a couple of good customers already and I just need to to sort out a very solid workbench with a vice in the back, most of my tools, MIG and small compressor are on wheels so can be loaded and strapped down in no time.

One thing at a time though!

Here's a few photos, it's a bit more bashed about than it looks in the pics, plus it's stinking dirty, but hey its a 19 year old ex building trade van so that come with the territory so to speak. However, the only serious corrosion is on the drivers side wing which is purely cosmetic, the underside looks great, even the exhaust looks solid.

Just had an MOT and an oil change and now on around 100K with FSH, the water pump was done nine years ago around 70K so all being well that's one really horrible job I've not got to think about.




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