T25 Trident 1991

For documenting and technical details of T25 restorations and major repairs
This section is for major restorations only.where to buy a panel or where to buy window rubbers belong in the bodywork seats and glass section.
Also please note,we need pictures of the restorations,without them posts are pretty useless.[\b]
Picture heavy and detailed threads , not for general banter or advertising
Traders welcome to post but not to advertise blatently
Threads will be cleaned of chit chat.

Moderators: User administrators, Moderators

User avatar
jamesakers
Registered user
Posts: 238
Joined: 20 Apr 2015, 14:26
80-90 Mem No: 14421
Location: Manchester

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by jamesakers »

I'm loving this thread Jonathan, it's really informative. I have a 1991 Trooper with all the same rust areas which will need addressing soon.

One question... Have you made any modifications to the sill (drainage holes?) and/or vent (resealed?) to stop it all happening again?
Sir Adventure - 1991 Autosleeper Trooper 1.9DG Petrol
https://vwt25.blog/

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

The kitchen unit went in fairly easily and is attached with 3 screws along the side and at the moment one into the floor. My concern was that since I changed the floor materials and thus depth, would the unit line up at the same level. I could do nothing to work it out as the thickness of the old carpet (which had lost its foam backing) was an unknown depth. The old wood had been 11mm. the new ply 9mm, an additional 7 mm for the insulation but assumed I lose about a mm or two screwing it down and the vinyl 2mm. The level was dead on which is more luck than judgement. The plastic tray that sits in the gas cylinder cupboard on the left had previously been screwed into the cabinet. Fitting and sliding in was not an option as the unit is cut to fit the ribs of the side panel. I added sealer and just dropped the unit down and maneuvered the tray in place.
Image
Image

For the moment have decided not to refit the wardrobe unit, which gives a little more space for sleeping. The only downside so far is that the new curtains do not cover the corner where it was. So more sowing for someone and an additional length of curtain rail to be added.

Image
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

jamesakers wrote:I'm loving this thread Jonathan, it's really informative. I have a 1991 Trooper with all the same rust areas which will need addressing soon.

One question... Have you made any modifications to the sill (drainage holes?) and/or vent (resealed?) to stop it all happening again?

Thanks for the kind feed back. You are asking the wrong person :D as I am new to the van and its foibles - I bought it with the rot already well advanced and from this forum and seeing others in the flesh rot on the side of the kitchen is universal. I suspect it is a culmination, over time, of condensation from the fridge and cooker (possibly), rain getting in through the vent on the side of the van if not properly sealed and windows leaking, tops leaking and in my case the wood chip and carpet just sat in water never drying out - others may have a better and more accurate scenario. In addition on mine I don't think the vent from the fridge was attached to the vent that leads to the outside so a double whammy there.
My inner sill was good and the outer sill was also ok at the bottom. Initially it is the floor that goes and that attacks the seam on the horizontal with the sill. Water just sits there. Also if windows are leaking the water probably runs down the side seams.

Modifications none really, I have resealed the outside vent (I will cover this in my next post), the windows have new rubbers and have been sealed. I checked during the heavy rain of the last week and there was no water inside the van in this area. I will continue to keep an eye on things whilst the fridge is out. Window and vent must be the biggies. As you often read in other threads people are always chasing down the leaks - I have water in my drivers well which I suspect is windscreen. I have also removed the panel carpet which went down to the floor and was wet and have left a gap between the floor and side panel to allow air to circulate and me to check for wet patches.

For my first trip last weekend I blocked the holes in the sill as I want to try and blow in some paint should we get a sunny day and then waxoyl/Dinitrol or similar. But I am less worried about the sills as they were not too gone and the two holes underneath allow water to drain out.

My unknown is whether the two holes for the floor vents contributed to the problem. The fridge vent is close to the front chassis cross member so is protected but I may modify. I have sealed 3 sides of the fridge vent underneath and am thinking about sealing it against the inner sill but drilling some holes to allow air in - had intended to make some air scoops but forgot. This is them looking up from underneath. The weakness is that the "corrugated floor leaves a gap and I may pump in some more tiger seal. For the fridge vent I cut some flanges glued to the floor inside and raised bits to match the cross section of the hole.
Image
Image
Last edited by JonathanR on 29 Jun 2016, 15:59, edited 1 time in total.
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Side vent
I drew a thin line around the outside of the vent when fitted, I then put on some masking tape about 2mm outside the line, removed the vent and ran a bead of black silicone sealant just inside the line. Screwed the vent back on and ran my finger along the seam. When the silicone set I removed the masking tape but not sure I used the right sealant as it was very stretchy ( might be for windows must remember to read instruction in future) so ran a sharp knife along the edge in places. Please with the end result. Will not seal the smaller vent until I fit the fridge as I will need access. However the inside is blanked off with tape.

Image
Image
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

So van back together we headed North on Friday for my brothers birthday celebrations ..
10 miles down the road in bad traffic we got a rattling noise from the front of the van - made us jump. I decided it was the radiator fan kicking in and hitting something or a loose bolt. Decision point to turn back or not. Noise stopped, we moved on (probably not to be recommended as a strategy - I did not even get out) and then M25 on a Friday afternoon - rattle came back so I just whacked on the heater full bore and opened the windows to stop the fan cutting in when we were stationary on the M25. That sorted that. Stopped off at a small camping and caravaning club site near Kenilworth - no facilities other than a tap and on flight path I suspect to Coventry Airport. It was nice to be back on the road.
Image
Party over we headed south via Shrewsbury stopping at a new site at Church Pulverbatch. Just as we arrived the engine lost power, managed to cough my way into the field but not knowing whether we would get going again. Fuel blockage, debris in carb or damp I suspect. To be investigated .... the thrill or not of moving from bodywork to mechanical.

Saw a few T25s on our journey, one for sale in Bolton looked very nice but double the price we paid and then just round the corner from where we stayed was T4 autosleeper with the same pink velvet curtains - was almost nostalgic seeing them as ours have been binned.

It was a de - snagging trip and the most annoying snag was that most of the curtain poppers broke so if anyone has any advice on where to get poppers with a slightly longer middle to go through triple material curtains (inner/outer and blackout) please let me know. Or know of a better way of crimping the two parts of the popper together.
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

I removed the spare wheel - cover provides quite a nice back rest when looking forward and inspecting all the rust. No visible problems with the fan or motor. Thoughts are a bit of rust clipping the fan or some winter debris. Probably had not cut in for almost a year. Will wait to see whether it happens again if the weather warms up.

I then checked out the back end. Was reading some threads on here last night about loss of power, lots involved stripping carburetor but many comments about eliminating the obvious and not making assumptions. I had assumed fuel but electrical also a possibility. So I started with the simple checks first plug cap was a little loose - removed plug, brown colour so all looked OK and put it back with an extra push on the cap. Almost stopped there but decided to check all the plugs and the third one looked like this
Image
Image

What is interesting is that from the day I got the van I always stalled it on first starting and had to over rev a little. Had assumed the choke/idle speed would need adjustment. New plugs - what a difference - surprised we covered 1400 miles with it broken. In my defense for not looking into the problem immediately was that it was only on first starting that I noticed any power problems and it was not until last Monday when we completely lost power.

Topped up the engine oil - I'm clearly loosing it somewhere, suspect drive shaft seals rather than burning it.
Unfortunately noticed a rattle - using a piece of wood and my ear I reckon it is coming from the water pump so will replace that before it seizes.
So the list of jobs begins to grow.
Tried to check the gearbox oil. The first challenge was to find the fill plug, my next challenge is undoing it.
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

I've moved :D
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Have been beating myself up for the last few weeks for my stupidity in running on 3 cylinders.
Recently went to a reunion in Cambridge, no major problems although 2 hours in slow moving traffic on M25 Friday evening and cooling fan rattle still noticeable.
Image

Van was used for my daughters birthday last weekend and she has just headed off Oxford way so van may be spotted around Newbury. Got one wave heading back from Guildford Station this morning. Another white high top.
Did not want to do anything major (water pump) that might have incapacitated the van if I got it wrong so spent the last few weeks refurbishing the fridge and refitting the Propex heater.

Fridge ... Electrolux RM 212 3 Way Fridge

Coming out
Image
Fours screw hold it in place 2 either side one in each cupboard. Door initially removed by bending the bottom bracket down - did not reverse the process when refitting as I did not want to snap it. The top bracket unscrews access through removal of white cover on right. Front panel held on by two screws and one dial has a small screw. The other pulled off.

Backside ...
Image
Image
The "tubes are held on with 3 screws. Without giving much thought I disconnected all the pipes and wires and pulled it out of the back of the fridge where the foam sits. OK in theory but the plastic cover inside the fridge fouled the vanes on the aluminium heat transfer thingy and bent them all :oops:
Image
The plastic cover inside the fridge pops off and would have given me more clearance. The good news is that the vanes all straighten up very easily. The vanes separate into two halves (3 screws) but connect to the controls via a thin pipe so a bit fiddly.
Image
Naked
Image
Its bits
Image
Image
Image
Back from shot blasting - fairly light and I warned them about the ammonia inside the tubes and to run for it if they saw an escape of gas - that was the extend of my health and safety risk assessment.
Image
I have to admit to using left over rattle cans so painted with black engine enamel and the bottom bracket with silver exhaust manifold paint.
The foam fill splits in two and was re-taped together and the whole thing slipped back in. Did some research to find out what this putty like substance was (used to fill around the pipes) and concluded it was plumbers putty so used that. It was still flexible after 25 years. Probably a better product out there.
Image
Image
Image
Image
I would have liked to replace the gas feed pipe down to the burner as it was a bit rusty but could not source one so painted and will replace at another time.
Reconnected everything, had used some water PTFE tape and was politely informed that it should not be used on gas pipe so was given this
Image
Although can debate whether tape should be used in the first place.
and finally was left with this ...
Image
Don't you just love it when that happens ..
In that the old base that the fridge feet sit on was wood I decided to replace with aluminium.
Image
And did the same with the propex heater
Image
I refitted the "asbestos" heat board that sits below the bottom of the burner - a larger one sits above in the units - I wondered about the board above the fridge being painted black and decided it probably had been painted with heat resistant paint so redid this
Image
Refitting the gas supply pipe is fiddly. I did not jury rig and test before installation - not sure what worked and what didn't before dismantling. It is working of mains hook up, I think the battery is working but no ignition for gas so will have to investigate. Also a distinct lack of lights when switches turned on so may have wrongly connected the wires.
Door was refurbished and refitted ... will post a picture when the van comes back.
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Well a long time since posting on this thread and still a long list of jobs but with sunny weather I decided to tackle near side rear window ...

Image

To reveal this

Image

Surgery

Image

New metal (remains of old offside panel)

Image

Welded in place but still room for improvement

Image

Tacked from other side. Ground down and some etch paint to protect overnight. Then two coats of epoxy primer from Rust busters.

Image

Then 3 coats of colour. Perhaps should have done more but ran out of paint. I have rust along gutter seam so ran the grit blaster along the seam and repainted at the same time.

Image

Best laid plans hit a brick wall with Howard the window fitter laid low with bad back. So had another attempt at doing it myself with help from swmbo. One bit of damage to rubber but success in that it's in place. Bead still to be fitted as am waiting for delivery of Arbomast auto grade sealant.

Image

Now what shall I do next .....
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

I have to replace rear oil seal as I'm leaking a lot of oil. Tried removing the rear heat shield but bolts just turned in situ. So have been working on the rusted bumper nuts and finally with a blow torch freed up the last bolt. With bumper off have slightly better access to the top of heat shield nuts. But tow bar in the way. Now working out how to get the main bolts out the chassis.

In the meantime I have some more rot to cut out and repair

Image

Also does anyone know how this plastic skirt is clipped in. It sits above bumper. Assume they prise out but don't want to snap the fixings if hard to replace.

Image


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Well arbomast arrived
Image

I then ran a thin line of the mastic both in the window channel and the panel channel and fitted new bead.
Image

I felt the mastic was not as "runny" as the stuff Howard used (same product) last year when we did the other side,and because of this I felt the bead did not push the rubber hard against the glass. May have been old stock (eBay).

Well just beat the downpour last week and it looked watertight.

So went to reunion in Holmsley campsite in the New Forest at the weekend. Saw lots of T25s out and about. One even stopped to check I had not broken down when stopped on the side of the road collecting our signs

Image


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Well probably now overconfident at my window fitting skills am going to tackle the sliding door whilst sun still shines. It does not look as thought the rust will be as bad as the previous two windows but some rust at the top of the window. It will also allow me to deal with rust on the top of the door and the panel below the window which was recently bombarded by sparks from angle grinder and is also thin in places.
Image

Image


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Meanwhile......
I have received this in post today.
Image

Have now to decide whether to replace whole panel or use it to patch. Advantage of replacing whole panel is that it will allow me to treat seams. But is technically more difficult for my welding skills and will take longer to cut out, fit and prep. The patch option will be quick and dirty.

At just over £10 if I ignore postage am tempted to patch and can always redo later. But will take bumper off and cogitate.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Lessons learnt ....
Meant to post earlier.
In cutting and grinding the window panel and then welding I did not protect the body work or inside adequately and when I had finished I found that I had a splatter effect from the grinder along the side of the vans paint work and a few holes in the carpet trim when I popped on the weld and a small lump of hot weld wire spat into the van. Annoying and lesson learnt. You can just about see the glint of the wire in each hole in the carpet. ☹️

Image
Image



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

JonathanR
Registered user
Posts: 210
Joined: 13 Jul 2015, 09:51
80-90 Mem No: 0

Re: T25 Trident 1991

Post by JonathanR »

Window popped out easily. Some rust. One bit at top has eaten away the edge but rather than cut in a new bit of metal I thought I would edge weld.

Image
Image

Used a little more protection than last window, although not cutting just flap sanding
Image

To edge weld I had a little test on scrap to get the settings right then used some flattened copper pipe as backing plate. Not the greatest welds but reasonably happy.

Image




Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
1991 Auto Sleeper Trident High Top
Water Cooled 1.9 Petrol

Post Reply