The only California on Vancouver Island / Moving on from a '93 Westy

[Doug Curran]

We came to a point where our '93 T4 Westfalia - a strong favourite of West Coast Canadian campers, had at 27 years, become a candidate for our change. But as the T5 and later VW vans were never imported to North America after 2001, the choices are few. Recently Transport Canada changed the import criteria to allow vehicles 15 years of ago (by month and year) to be imported, thus setting in gear a search for a worthwhile candidate of reasonable mileage and condition, given a 15 year age. A search of online services and a suitable export agent has yielded a 2005, one-owner, 190,000 kms. candidate with full "cheque book" service record. We are thrilled at the prospect of a November delivery, while at the same time knowing that this is in effect a bit of an "orphan", with perhaps only one other in Quebec. With luck we will begin to see a growing awareness and appetite for these upgraded and modernized campers. The popularity of these vehicles in England and Europe is encouraging, although the parts supply lines are somewhat daunting and will need tending.

 

[ThomasHJ]

Congratulations Doug. Not only do you live in one of world's most beautiful places, but you get to campervan over there! Have fun with it! And don't worry, the T4 was great but we haven't missed it since the T5 arrived. You'll love it.

 

[Doug Curran]

Congratulations Doug. Not only do you live in one of world's most beautiful places, but you get to campervan over there! Have fun with it! And don't worry, the T4 was great but we haven't missed it since the T5 arrived. You'll love it.

Thank you Thomas, The one point of the T5 that I do have a bit of trepidation around is the longevity of the AXE engine. I generally have good fortune with my vehicles but I have read a number of reports about cam wear, soot accumulation, etc. The old T4 AAF engine normally runs 400,000+ kms. so long as one does oil changes and timing belts. I have to admit that the sleeveless cylinder bores (plasma coated) represent a problem for rebuilding and will require careful resleeving - all done so VW could eliminate ~1 kg of weight. I am interested to hear the experiences of others in this respect and a mileage target similar to the older iron block engines.

 

[BeagleMum]

We came to a point where our '93 T4 Westfalia - a strong favourite of West Coast Canadian campers, had at 27 years, become a candidate for our change. But as the T5 and later VW vans were never imported to North America after 2001, the choices are few. Recently Transport Canada changed the import criteria to allow vehicles 15 years of ago (by month and year) to be imported, thus setting in gear a search for a worthwhile candidate of reasonable mileage and condition, given a 15 year age. A search of online services and a suitable export agent has yielded a 2005, one-owner, 190,000 kms. candidate with full "cheque book" service record. We are thrilled at the prospect of a November delivery, while at the same time knowing that this is in effect a bit of an "orphan", with perhaps only one other in Quebec. With luck we will begin to see a growing awareness and appetite for these upgraded and modernized campers. The popularity of these vehicles in England and Europe is encouraging, although the parts supply lines are somewhat daunting and will need tending.

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That’s brilliant you must be really chuffed. Having visited Canada & Vancouver Island a few times we would love to be there with a Cali, you live in an awesome place.

 

[Doug Curran]

Camped at Naka Creek, north of Campbell river. Take care of the logging trucks on the way in and out! They're 8' wide and stop for no one, rounding blind curves at speed. Humpback whales, orcas and dolphin pods and 45 lb. ling cod abound along the Johnstone strait.

 

[sidepod]

Don’t try to compare T5 engines with T4 engines in terms of longevity. Apples and Oranges.

 

[Doug Curran]

Hi Sidepod, At some point an engine, is an engine, is an engine. One of the key aspect of any mass production engine is its reliability/length of reasonable service expectancy. I have a fairly confident sense of the lifespan of my old AAF cast iron block engine, but there are some recognized weaknesses in the AXD/AXE engine, to wit;
"QCS can fix common faults with the VW Transporter T5 2.5 AXD/AXE engine, including:-oil starvation -turbo failure -bore wear." (QCS Engines website.) I wasn't looking to compare power output, cylinder head design, mechanical vs. eletronic injection, but simply longevity. Why/how could that be comparing "apples to oranges"? Or, in other words; "Regale me with the recounting of your 400,000 kms. 'never-cracked-open' AXE". Doug

 

[sidepod]

Simply that the 4 comes from a different era than the 5 ie it was designed to be repaired as opposed to thrown away when damaged.

 

[Doug Curran]

Sidepod, Now I see that it is you comparing 'apples to oranges' with slightly more clarity than your previous reply. Clarity is necessary and useful to gaining better understanding of the poential viability/longevity found with the AXE compared to the AAF. Your original post could easily br read as implying that my original question was not justified. I was simply looking for informed opinion based on experience.