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T4 Westfalia California Exclusive

459K views 2K replies 104 participants last post by  trojac99 
#1 ·
Hi everyone

Any of you got one of these? If so, would you like to exchange information/experiences? I love mine to bits (had it over 7 years now), but have some niggles.

Would be great to compare notes with other members!

Happy travelling
John T:
 
#2 ·
Hi John,
I've got a 94 T4 Westy but I'm not sure if its an executive. Only had it 18 months so I'm still finding things out about it. What problems have you had ?
So far I've only had a fuse go for the interior lights go and a rear brake / side light blown plus a steering gaitor needed replacing for the MOT but other than that its been great A:
 
#3 ·
Hi Uzi

Many thanks for your response. Mine's a '96. If it's an Exclusive it's got a sticker on the front nearside of the bonnet. They're LWB and I think mine was one of the first made. In nearly 8 years it's been mechanically perfect (apart from breaking a cambelt, but I've learned my lesson there!) The problem is with the 'caravan' electrics. Would you mind if I PM'd you? - don't want to bore other members with what is probabley unique to these models.

I'm going to try and post some pictures later.

Thanks again
John T:
 
#8 ·
Hi John, I have a Westy Exclusive and I love it too, although I've not even had mine a year yet. Mines a 1995 with the 1.9td. I've been in to the wiring and made a few mods to the camper electrics amongst other things. Can't promise to solve your problems but feel free to share.

Neil
 
#10 ·
John,
I've got one of these T: it's a 1999 2.5L petrol and I've owned it about a year and done 30,000km in it. Loved it all the way round europe. Noto too much has gone wrong, save a couple of fuses with the water pump, and some small mechanicals.
I'm not a very technical man, but willing to try and answer any questions if I can help.
Mark
 
#11 ·
I have just purchased a '95 Westfalia pop-up with the 1.9td ABL engine and 5 speed manual box and I am delighted.
This was imported from Germany to North Vancouver BC Canada in July of this year.
It has some nice features like the diesel fired heater, ac, dc refrigerator, 16 inch Lorinser alloys.
The camper is painted that lovely green and looks quite good.
Unfortunately no documents or manuals or maintenance schedules were supplied.

I am thinking about changing the injection pump to an AAZ style with the LDA feature. Has anyone tried this?
Does anyone have an AZZ engine in there van? It looks like there is not much clearance between the pump lda diaphragm and the radiator fan.

Is there anywhere I might find the maintenance schedule for the camper with the ABL engine?
I would like to obtain an owners manual as well.

I will post some photos when I learn how.

I am pleased to find such an enthusiastic group of T4 owners.

Terry
 
#12 ·
Hi People,
I've had a V reg T4 California Exclusive 2.5L in Tornado Red for two years and she's a beaut! Recently however the inline water pump for the toilet and sink etc has gone - there's a whirring noise but no water. The toilet is a Thetford C3 model which apparently uses the inline pump. Does anybody know where the inline pump is located in the Exclusive so that I can replace it? I imagine it's a Whale replacement.
Thanks for your help.
Hoops.
 
#14 ·
Hi, the pump is a submersible type inside the main water tank; pull out the recessed hatch in the wall behind the toilet seat, unscrew the large tank lid and the pump hangs inside on the end of the the pipe and electric supply. I suggest disconnecting the electric connector for the water level probe first and withdraw the tank lid carefully (it hangs down about 12 inches from the lid).

Sounds like the water level might be below the pump height or perhaps the intake on the bottom of the pump is blocked. Still if you can get it out you can test it.

By the way the pump in mine is a Comet VIP10 which is rated at 3.3 GPM (US) which works out at about 12.5 litres/minute flow rate, and 2.4A. If you do need to replace yours and you can't find this there will no doubt be a standard Whale replacement as you say which will do the job just right.

Hi People,
I've had a V reg T4 California Exclusive 2.5L in Tornado Red for two years and she's a beaut! Recently however the inline water pump for the toilet and sink etc has gone - there's a whirring noise but no water. The toilet is a Thetford C3 model which apparently uses the inline pump. Does anybody know where the inline pump is located in the Exclusive so that I can replace it? I imagine it's a Whale replacement.
Thanks for your help
Hoops.
 
#21 ·
Im late to this thread but I've got one too!

My 2.5 tdi 102 mapped to 130bhp does between 29 and 34 mpg. Could probably 5 mpg get more if I ever sat at 55 and cruised for long distance but I tend to drive around 68 on motorways. Ive pulled most interior things apart so happy to help if you have any questions.
 
#27 ·
The heater is turned on or off by pressing the button with the heat symbol at the same time as the on-off button which is the one with O I on it. Same idea for the fridge. Also hold the heat or fridge button down and use the up and down buttons to alter the temp.

A user on the brickyard has done a good thing and posted an English translation of the California Coach manual online which covers the same Westy control unit, so should be of use.

Download westymanual.pdf from the page below:
http://freespace.virgin.net/dean.cross/
http://www.brick-yard.co.uk/forum/westfalia-california-manual-download-here_topic41771.html
 
#28 ·
that would be me thenT:, all though I cant take credit for the manual somebody gave it to me I just hosted it, I'm surprised its still out there in cyberspace as I havent been a virgin customer for years. But fill your boots if its of use to you download itT:
 
#31 ·
The voltage indicator on the panel tells you how many volts you have. On hook up and when engine running you should expect 14v. Without hookup you can get 13v if your battery is good. You will also see a wedge shapes indicator of vertical bars |||||| style indicators so when battery is full its |||||| when low there wont be many bars showing. Its pretty obvious assuming your panel works properly. Rule of thumb... don't camp in your van on batteries only for more than 2 days and better to hook up or run engine or go for drive in between. 3 days is fine in mid summer when you hardly need any power other than the fridge maybe.

good luck
 
#32 ·
Three days with the fridge on is about what I get too. Jola one thing to be aware of is the cab electrics, eg. cig socket, front interior lamp and radio are all on the engine battery as standard. It is worth rewiring this to run off the leisure battery so you've no worry about starting, not that they'd use all that much. Everything in the back of the van is on the leisure battery, strip lamps, aux heater, fridge, water pump, and anything else you may have.
 
#34 ·
Go On line and search LEISURE BATTERY. Its a big market.

Uou get what you pay for and on my exclusive its a very big GEL battery probably expect £300.00 + for equivalent. But its all about amps per hour so the more you have (a good figure is 140 amp hrs) the more you pay and the longer that compressor fridge can run without hookup.
 
#36 ·
Update on mpg... been doing round town driving and a bit of 60mph. I Did 62 miles to see what was what as i wanted to be sure my cambelt change was sound.... 46mpgH: I even spilt fuel on the floor as I thought I should be putting more in. For a heavy van Im quite impressed with that.
 
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