VW T3 tuning on Discovery

Volkswagen busses, including T3s are tuned even on Discovery Channel!

Yesterday I saw two episodes of "Wheeler Dealers" on Discovery Channel. In those episodes the guys tuned Volkswagen T3.

It was a typical cargo van with 1.6 turbocharged diesel engine. Since the show is made in UK, the car has steering wheel on it's right side. They wanted to make a beautiful camper van out of it. It was bought for £1,100, in poor shape. The muffler had many holes, one bumper was missing, the side door was not working properly, stuff like that.

They started with the engine. They replaced the V-belt, glow plugs (the engine didn't start the each time, muffler and oil. Total cost: £160.
The door was fixed. They installed a window (one that can be opened, not like the window in my camper :( ) bought on a scrap-heap for £50.
They wanted the car to look very nice so thought about getting paint done. But instead of painting some weird shapes and patterns with the paint, they bought large vinyl STICKER! Beautiful sticker with some bubble pattern, for £1,000...

The most important thing was to replace the insides of the van. The old upholstery was changed -- they removed old one made of fiberboard and replaced it with plywood. I think they also should put some styrofoam to minimize the heat losses (important while camping in autumn or spring). They installed a folding bed (made from DIY set), the floor was covered with artificial grass. Set of camper furniture pieces (folding table, cupboards with sink and stove). The front suspension was lowered (the springs were replaced with shorter ones), the wheels got polished caps.

Totally the conversion cost was near £4,000. :)

Too bad I didn't have the chance to record those two episodes. :(

No, it wasn't too cold

Yesterday I took the battery from my camper to my apartment. I live on 5th floor, and have no elevator, so this was not pleasant thing to do. I plugged the battery to the charger.

Today I took the battery back to the Volkswagen and tried to start the engine. The temperature was +16°C (61F). I tried a couple times. The engine didn't start. I thought that perhaps the solenoid valve on the fuel pump is broken. In such a case the fuel pump doesn't feed the fuel to the engine, which simply won't start. But I checked and saw that both the valve and the wire that is supposed to power it were operational.

I had two very good possible causes and checked them both. None of them was the cause of my starting troubles.

What now? I'm not sure. I might call Tomek in the evening, perhaps he can help me. He usualy can.

If there was trouble starting the engine in cool temperature, it would mean, that the engine needs general repair. It would mean, that the compression in the engine is very weak. It would also explain why the fuel consumption is very high...

Was it too cold for my old diesel?

I wanted to drive my camper to work today, because I'm going to need it in the evening. The temperature outside was +4°C (39 F, shown on a thermometer outside my window). So I thought that the engine will start with no trouble. I heard a lot about how old diesels wouldn't work in winter, because their compression is too low for the diesel fuel to ignite when injected. But I though that if the temperature was above freezing point, the engine will work.

But it tricked me. It didn't start. The glow plugs were lit (well... at least the glowplug indicator light was litten. The started did run, but the engine didn't start. During first trial I heard one or two explosions in the engine, but later on nothing happened. So I drove to work by bus.