Are there any known problems with it apart from water pumps failing?

Just having a look and wondering what engine to choose

Dunt get on very well with the auto box so if you do get one don’t go auto box

The advice from my mechanic was to look at the 1.9 over the 2.5 as if anything went wrong with the 2.5 they cost a lot more to fix.

shit drive shaft

probably not part of the engine.

Is this the one in the T4 or 5?

I’m no mechanic but what I’ve heard from people who are…

The T4 is as solid an engine as you’ll find so long as it’s had its belts done etc.

Early T5 2.5s where less good. More complexity and were less realisable.

We have a (bought cheaply off a friend) T4 camper that’s done 225k and is still spot on.

I have one that I bought nearly new. It has now 155k on the clock. Never had any trouble. Changed the struts last month at a cost of £300 as they were grinding when steering. I also told them to change the cambelt but apparently it hasn’t got one, something to do with cogs. Dunno what that means but it saved me ££££ by not having to change it!

I’m pretty sure that its’ the 2.5 that suffers camshaft and cam follower problems.

I’ve been reading some horror stories about the cam failing

Looks like a design fault from VW

I’m a bit stumped as to what engine to go for

If I buy one, I certainly can’t afford a £1500 bill for something like that failing

Is the 1.9 engine any better?

Have the 2.5 130bhp… Just shy of 200,000km. Original everything. As long as it has been regularly serviced you’ll be OK.

Oil change every 8-10,000km. Have to have a certain oil…. Not just any old stuff.

Lots of torque and grunt. Had 191kmh out of it yesterday…. 😀 8)

you haven’t heard the horror stories about the DMF then? 😉

I’ve got the 1.9tdi, it is gutless but I’m after mpg so I don’t really need it to go any faster. I’m pretty sure these DMF and drive shaft etc problems are mainly down to how it’s been driven by previous owners so it’s a lottery really. No different to any other van or car I suppose.

T4 2.5 tdi is far better than the 1.9 don’t know which one you are referring to T4 or T5?

I’m on my second van with the 1.9 in it. I’ve previously had a Caddy and now a T5, both absolutely faultless. I’ve had to have a clutch and DMF in the T5 but that’s something that could be an issue on any van with any diesel engine pretty much.
I’ve had the T5 remapped so it’s up from 102bhp to something like 139bhp and it’s far better to drive as a result.

Another thing to think about is the tax cost, my 1.9 is about £220 a year and I know that some of the 2.5’s are about £480.

Water pump and cam seem to be the two main specific issues with the 2.5 TDI. Regular oil changes with the correct spec oil should prevent the cam wear. Forget the long life service intervals, it’s not worth the risk of accelerated wear.

It’s a nice engine to drive, lots of grunt and low down torque compared to the 1.9. Which is why the drive shafts can suffer if not driven sympathetically.

Though as mentioned if anything goes wrong the 2.5 is more expensive than the 1.9. I heard mention that the 2.5 TDI had the shortest production run of an VAG engine.

When I put my foot down overtaking uphill and the van pulls like a train I’m glad I have the 2.5 TDI. But my sensible head wonders if a 1.9 would be a safer / potentially cheaper option.

Yup, driveshaft suffers if caned away from the lights often.

DMF suffers if the clutch is left depressed when waiting at lights/stationary. Think this is the case for most DMFs.

I’ve had 170,00 miles out of my 2.5 T5. The turbo blew at about 80,000 miles (If my memory serves me correctly) the water pump went at about the same time. I’ve just had to replace the power steering pump which VW told me would need replacing on my service at about 50,000. Got an extra 120,000 miles out of it by just topping it up.
It is very tempting to just have it flat out everywhere which probably has something to do with the driveshaft issue.
I’d get another over a 1.9 from my own experience.

Camshaft and water pump both went on mine. Bought at 80k, and I’ve added 100k. Cam and pump weren’t as costly as feared and no more than 2 cam belt changes (which as above aren’t needed as they don’t have them.
The water pump was a warranty recall job IIRC, so may have been changed already. The camshaft failures are almost certainly far less common than the internet would have you believe. It was the shortest run engine ever used by VW, so they obviously weren’t happy.

We had one issue with our in the 18 months / 40k miles we had it (only sold it as we no longer live in the country 🙁 )

Very frustrating issue where if you drove like a hooligan the DPF would have a hissy fit and put the engine in limp home mode. Fortunately for us a £30 fix for a new sensor…

Now saving for the next T5 when we return back to the UK!

T5 2.5tdi tiptronic auto on 110k here, originally 130bhp now remapped to 170bhp, been using posh diesel and regular oil/filter changes and it seems to go good touch wood. Accelerates quickly pulling well up hills too, much better than previous 1.9. Remapping made a real difference, smoother, faster and a few more mpg – still can’t get my head around this last bit about why mpg is better with more power but it is, I worked it out, was 25mpg now 30mpg which is okay for a big lump and how I drive but been told it’s because the engine isn’t working as hard now or something like that.

Chain cam engine I believe. I guess same with any engine, if it’s been looked after with history to show it, should be fine. I have had other costs like front suspension bushes replacement, exhaust & manifold gaskets though.

Mysterymove

That’s a familiar issue with us. An ambitious gear change and the engine turns from pulling like a train into a frightened hamster. Do you have any info on precisely what you had done as, while it only happens very occasionally (and obviously only when the wife is driving), it is really disconcerting! I’d happily swap £30 for a fix.

I had two T4s with the 2.5, the first of which I ran to 240k miles, and sold on; the second of which I sold at 165k.

In neither did I have any trouble with the cam or water pump. In fact the only trouble that I had with both (other than general wear and tear), was electrical.

Incidentally, I was advised by a Caravelle/Transporter dealer to avoid the 1.9 on the basis that it wasn’t gutsy enough to pull the T4 effectively, and that the 2.5 was more efficient.

I’ve had a lot of transporters over the year and dabble in selling a few so have a wide experience base to make the following comments.
Engine for engine the 2.5 is less reliable and costs more to repair when it goes wrong than the 1.9. There are more known problems with the engine. The other issue is that 1.9tdi engines are everywhere so parts are common and any monkey can fix them. The 2.5 is much rarer so not as easy to get parts and repair.
They are nice to drive and make a lovely noise but aren’t for me.
Dr bakes – does your issue happen when accelerating up hill or under high load? If so I’d bet on sticky turbo vanes. Buy a cheap obd code reader and check codes next time it happens. You’ll likely get an failed to meet boost or overboost fault. If yours is a 2.5 next thing to do is remove fuel filter and empty. If it’s got oil in then the injector seals need doing. This leads to oil getting in to the turbo when burnt and clogging it up. If you can strip off you can use carb cleaner or similar to try and clean.

Steveh – from memory, and it’s not happened all that often, it has usually occured when shifting down from 5th into 4th on a hill to find a bit of extra grunt but still at relatively high revs.

The engine safe (limp) mode then kicks in causing the van to reduce to a crawl. It’s easily solved by ‘turning off and back on again’ but is a real pain in the arse, particularly on the motorway.

Yes that sounds exactly what I’d expect for what I mentioned above.