1.7 Diesel Engine

[The Hairy Camper]

Hi everyone, I'm new to the forum so i hope this is in the correct place?

I recently bought an 84 Autosleeper, with a 1.7 Diesel Engine. Brilliant Van, but it is terrible up hills lol.
Are all Van's at this age terrible up hills? I've been told that most petrol T25's are pretty shocking up hills, but does the same go for the Diesels?

I had her cruising at 65-70 for a 300+ mile journey home, with no issues (please tell me if i shouldn't do that!!). It's my first Van so i have nothing to compare it to.

Cheers,
The Hairy Camper.

[The Hairy Camper]

Can anyone recommend any good VW Camper garages in Cheshire too?

Cheers.

[R0B]

http://www.gasure.co.uk/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Ads1987]

I have one that's just been fully rebuilt, its better than it was before but yeah very slow uphills. There's a sweet spot on the revs you need to stay above, you'll notice the change in engine note and you'll just keep slowing down. The key is look much further ahead than in a normal car and keep momentum

[Ads1987]

I have one that's just been fully rebuilt, its better than it was before but yeah very slow uphills. There's a sweet spot on the revs you need to stay above, you'll notice the change in engine note and you'll just keep slowing down. The key is look much further ahead than in a normal car and keep momentum

[The Hairy Camper]

I recently bought a T25/T3 Autosleeper.

Came with a 1.7 Diesel Engine, I thought they would have more power compared to petrol, but it was still quite shocking up hills.

Can these be modified in anyway to get more more power?

I was thinking of swapping it out for a 1.9D in the future, but would it be worth it?

[ajsimmo]

The KY 1.7 is underwhelming slight improvement over the earlier CS 1.6. However, if you swap it for a good 1Y/AEF 1.9 the difference is quite apparent, and well worth it. A straightforward swap too.

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[The Hairy Camper]

Thanks for your reply.

I've had a friend who has worked on VW vans in the past offer to look at it for me. He's suggested that i upgrade to a 1.9 Turbo Diesel in the near future. I was keen to keep it original, but not sure if i can resist the upgrade lol.

Anyone know if these go up hills (noticeably!) better with the 15-20bhp increase?

Cheers.

[The Hairy Camper]

Thanks for your reply.

I've had a friend offer to upgrade the engine to a 1.9 in the future. I wanted to keep it as original as possible, but also want a practical vehicle lol.

Is the 15-20bhp increase noticeably better with a 1.9 engine? E.g. up hills.

Cheers.

[jules18375]

I've got a 1990 1.6TD and it's hilariously bad up hills. Thing is, it just makes me laugh. I'm enjoying having to plan on how to drive up a hill. Not sure everyone else behind me is though...

I didn't get the van to get anywhere in a hurry. I would like to take it to the pyrenees one day and I'm not sure how it would cope of grinding up a 15% hill for 30 mins - but that's what tea breaks are for.

[The Hairy Camper]

I got stuck doing 15mph up a hill in cornwall in mine haha. I was surprised as it is pretty good on motorways/flat.

I was hoping to travel around europe in the future, i'm not sure how confident i would be with the current 1.7 (Non Turbo) engine?

I may just get the engine serviced and tuned for the first year? Then if i decide to keep the van, upgrade to an AAZ before travelling abroad?

[quattrodave]

I've got a 1990 1.6TD and it's hilariously bad up hills. Thing is, it just makes me laugh. I'm enjoying having to plan on how to drive up a hill. Not sure everyone else behind me is though...

I didn't get the van to get anywhere in a hurry. I would like to take it to the pyrenees one day and I'm not sure how it would cope of grinding up a 15% hill for 30 mins - but that's what tea breaks are for.

I reckon you need your pump timing and cam shims checked, mine pulls like a train for a 1.6td. It's nowhere near as bad as people make out up hills and it isn't a new recon either.

[The Hairy Camper]

I reckon you need your pump timing and cam shims checked, mine pulls like a train for a 1.6td. It's nowhere near as bad as people make out up hills and it isn't a new recon either.

Is there much performance difference in 1.7 (Non Turbo) and the 1.6TD? What's the bhp on a 1.6TD??

Also, what speed do you get up steep hills? Can you shift out of first?

Cheers.

[mrhutch]

ignore BHP, it's torque you need in a T3

Take the VW TDi's - they make all the usable torque before 2700 rpm... thats why the guys and girls who fit these engines need their gearboxes modified to suit the engine..

So, the older IDI 1.6/1.7/1.9 engines, they are a different fuelling technology and they respond differently over the rev range, the torque is produced at a higher rev range and lasts for longer.. especially if they are turbocharged.

The 1.6 IDI is really bad, but can be used well but requires more driver awareness and concentration with some level of perception of the vehicle, expectation, the road ahead and the journey to come.
The 1.7 (as Andrew already said) is a slight but noticeable improvement
the 1.6TD is a lovely lump but again has it's problems, hot spinny thing at the back, away from airflow, coupled with the inherent thermal runaway problem of turbo dumping hot oil into the sump, oil pump picking it up and pumping it into the head/block.. If you run an IDI TD engine without a front mounted oil cooler then you are asking for problems.
1.9TD (AAZ) see above.. there is a reason these engines command a premium, I wouldn't trust one to take me to Europe and back if it wasn't installed with an oil cooler and other modifications..

the IDI 1.9D is (IMHO) the best compromise... you are not going to win any speed contests, and you will be changing gear a lot but it will go on for years. Accept that 65 on the motorway is the sweet spot (with a 3H 5 speed box - or equivalent) and you should get somewhere near 30+ MPG

the GTi petrol conversion is really the best if you really want somewhere near modern performance - it's what the late T3's should have shipped with, easy to install, reliable, cheap, quiet but again you do need to be mechanically minded and accept that you are changing fuels.

I run a 1Y (1.9D from a seat ibitza with 80K on the clock).. We threw it in over a weekend... It was never meant to stay but I'm ashamed to say that it is. It just works.

The biggest hill near me is "Fromes Hill" - this is in a westy - so with a good runup I am doing 23mph in the crawler lane and have to drop to 3rd

if I misjudge it or get stuck behind a hay lorry then it's 20mph in 2nd

ps.. if you're changing from N/A to Turbo then there are more bits you need to find/fabricate.

HTH and obviously these are only my opinions..

[ajsimmo]

Great write up, Hutch. I'd say the 1Y is the engine the late T3 should have shipped with. The wife's just goes, pulls a caravan over the A66 with no bother, does 70 easily, a simple swap (no turbo nonsense to worry about), ultra reliable and economical. It's a world away from a 1.6CS or 1.7 KY.

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