t4 transporter qestions

whats the good and bad things about T4 transporters and what things do u look out for when buying one

No bad all good along as you get a 2.5 tdi

The t4 is a stormer in 2.5 guise, higher mileage ones have issues with leaking boost pipes and the egr clogging up everything related to it.
They nearly all have a noisey idler rattle, easily cured but they can be dear, a good bargaining point.

My opinionis to always get a long wheel base you will really appreciate the extra room. worth the money.
Higher mileage ones knock out drop links, driveshafts and top ball joints all things to inspect carefully as they can be expensive to replace.

Definately get the 2.5 but nobody has mentioned that you should also ensure it's the 102bhp variant as it's a completely different beast to the 88bhp.


"They nearly all have a noisey idler rattle, easily cured but they can be dear, a good bargaining point."

Guy could you explain this a bit further???
Mine makes a fairly prominent irregular tap at idle which completely dies out by 2k revs, does it sound like it's suffering from the sound you mention???
What is it making the noise?
How is it cured?
Is there any risk in simply ignoring it?
(Mine has done 230k by the way)

If I remember correctly its the vacuum pump idler pulley, they wear out and on tick over they clang or tick loudly, I seem to remember theyre about £60 and a straight swap over.

Leaving it to carry on wont hurt your bus but best get it done as it causes it to stretch the belt and you dont want it snapping.

And I forgot to mention its the 102 not the 88 special that you must buy.

Cheers for the reply Guy, I had been meaning to look into this for a while so yesterday I got on the case and came up with exactly the same answer.
It's the vacuum pump as you say. The test is to quickly pump the brakes while the engine is idling and the noise should cease briefly. I did that when I got home last night and hey presto the racket stopped for a while. The pump is actually driven via a pushrod from the camshaft and it's this rod which wears down after all those miles. The fix is to replace the rod which costs about £25 apparently. I guess there would be absolutely no ill effect of leaving it other than the constant annoyance whilst sitting at traffic lights listening to the racket.

Cheers for prompting me into taking action I've been meaning to trace it since march!!!

my 1.9td is ok it does what i want it too although there is a 20vt lump sittin in the garage doing nothing