Dellmassive`s Camper Van Adventure

Loosing Coolant . . . . . !!!

did i mention, that after the Euro trip the low-coolant light com on. . .,

that's odd i thought, so i topped it up and carried on.

well imaging my surprise when a tank of diesel latter the same thing happened.

couldn't see a leak,
couldn't small a leak (coolant leak has a very distinctive sweet smell.

my instant gut feeling - EGR COOLER.

the van is still under ALL-IN warranty, so i started making my case & building evidence.


T6Forum - window sticker (reverse) in the sun


View attachment 290539


oooosh.

View attachment 290542






here you can see the drop in coolant from MAX to MIN over a tank of fuel,

id marked the tape with lines to see the drop.

three tanks, three drops, three marks - regular as clockwork.


View attachment 290543



++++++++++++++++++++++

T6 2017 90k – internal coolant leak, assumed EGR cooler?


Coolant will drop from FULL line to LOW line on every full tank of fuel,

Around 380-450 miles



No previous issues:

24/4/25 - Low coolant, checked -At min line,

24/4/25 - Topped up 500ml G12 coolant To top line.

24/4/25 – no visible external leak or smell of coolant from a leak, assumed internal leak

1/5/25 - Travel Europe trip,

10/5/25 – Low coolant warning, 460miles from last topup

10/5/25– no visible external leak or smell of coolant from a leak, assumed internal leak

10/5/25- topped up. . . . . 600ml G12+

18/5/25 – Low coolant warning, 390miles from last topup

18/5/25 - Topped up 500ml G12 coolant To top line.

5/6/25- low coolant

6/6/25 – van booked in with VW Chelmsford 92500ml

++++++++++++++++++++





got the van booked in for the above, a look what they gave us as a loaner , !!

Nice one VW Chelmsford.

View attachment 290533

it was only for the day - but Mrs Dellmassive loved it.



anyway . . .

surprise surprise, i get a call from the VW SA at Chelmsford,

he says thank your for the report we gave in a looks like we were correct - it needs a new EGR COOLER.

that's fine with me, as its a common thing on a T6,

and at 90K miles id say the EGR was well and truly due to be replaced.


hes doing the paperwork for the warranty claim and will get back to us.

a 1-2day job he said.




.

What's the problem then Dell . . . . . ?

we water being ingested into the engine is a big problem,

especially on a diesel,

water doesn't compress, or burn.

so unlike diesel, which is a liquid - that gets burnt in cylinder each stroke.

water wont burn, or compress. . . so it can hydraulic lock a cylinder/s. ( when there is enough volume )

best case it will blow out the head gasket.

worst case it will bend a conrod.

sure these are extreme results.

but water leaks just get worse with time, so the quicker you get on top of the problem - the better.





.

ill update this when the Bus is booked back in with them.


oh, they also said the rear breaks needed replacing - lol . . . Nah there fine mate, got loads left on them.


View attachment 290545
The Van went in for the new EGR cooler.

picked the van up a week later.


with a shiny new EGR valve/Cooler. FOC - ALL-IN warranty.



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i think tghey have reused the rear EGR pipe, by the looks of it?

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not sure if this is my original front pipe ?

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nice one ALL-IN. . . .


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...
 
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The Van went in for the new EGR cooler.

picked the van up a week later.


witha shiney new EGR valve/Cooler. FOC - ALL-IN warrenty.


View attachment 296454


i think tghey have reused the rear EGR pipe, by the looks of it?

View attachment 296455

not sure if this is my original front pipe ?

View attachment 296456



nice one ALL-IN. . . .


View attachment 296457



...
HOLD ON - NOT SO FAST - DSG OIL LEAK?


couple of drives later. . . . i can smell the distinctive smell of gearbox oil - WTH.


oil drips on the floor. . .


1752943845708.png

bottom of tghe GB wet. . .

1752943875028.png


clear oil on the bottom of the GB.


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looking up-top.

there oil wet oil next to the DSG OIL COOLER.

1752943949213.png1752943964578.png


..........


looks like Deja-Vu . . . i think they have removed the DSG oil cooler to get to the EGR cooler.


and now the DSG cooler is leaking? - on the BRAND NEW DSG GEARBOX.


I've called ALL-IN ASSIST and requested a VW Tech for the callout.


im booked for 7-9am tomorrow morning.


so watch this space. !!!!!!!!!!
 
Last edited:
Thank goodness for that all in warranty. How long does the warranty last?
You buy it in two year chunks,

Upto 6yrs old or 100k miles at Inception.

Well worth it.

It comes with.
2 mot
2 service
Warranty
Breakdown cover by VW assist.
 
You buy it in two year chunks,

Upto 6yrs old or 100k miles at Inception.

Well worth it.

It comes with.
2 mot
2 service
Warranty
Breakdown cover by VW assist.
I take it you can't extend the warranty after 100,000 miles?
 
HOLD ON - NOT SO FAST - DSG OIL LEAK?


couple of drives later. . . . i can smell the distinctive smell of gearbox oil - WTH.


oil drips on the floor. . .

View attachment 296458

bottom of tghe GB wet. . .

View attachment 296459


clear oil on the bottom of the GB.


View attachment 296460

looking up-top.

there oil wet oil next to the DSG OIL COOLER.

View attachment 296461View attachment 296462


..........


looks like Deja-Vu . . . i think they have removed the DSG oil cooler to get to the EGR cooler.


and now the DSG cooler is leaking? - on the BRAND NEW DSG GEARBOX.


I've called ALL-IN ASSIST and requested a VW Tech for the callout.


im booked for 7-9am tomorrow morning.


so watch this space. !!!!!!!!!!


well, so its defiantly DSG oil.


1753004839244.png

1753004866218.png


so the suggestion was:

to check the bolts are tight, - 20nm + 45deg - all ok

check the EGR cooler work history to confirm new seals were fitted to the DSG cooler - they were

clean up the oil and check for additional leaking.

so after a clean up and 30min road test, getting the DSG up to temp, 90C odd/

1753004992566.png

and a good clean-up with this stuff.


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all looks dry - for now.


the assumption is that the VW Garage Tech done a sloppy job and didn't clean up the spilt DSG oil and coolant when they removed the DSG cooler to fit the EGR.


and that this is residual oil from that job.

a report has been filed with the garage to get me me booked back in. ( plan-B)


and plan-A is to drive and check the area for further leaks. . . if it stays dry we are all good.


so looks like it may just be sloppy workmanship . . .

that lead to oil on my drive, oil on the gearbox and under the van.


a credit to the VW Tech Terry, who jacked up the van and used a whole can of brake clean removing all the oil.


well done lad !!!


fingers crossed that Plan_A is the fix.


.
 
INSIDE INFO ABOUT UNDERBOOST DTC CODE.

DTC. - Turbo under boost.

Charge intercooler clogged.

Serviceable item at 100k. Advice changing pipes.

check this out . . . . .

VW T6 Charge cooler - a clogged on off his van he changed out this week.

There is NO TPI for it but a IK VWCV Webinar for it.

1753005611812.png

take a look at the outlet side of the cooler . .

1753005690959.png

no look at the inlet side . . . .

1753005710218.png


its almost fully blocked.

he said its getting more common. . . . .

fluttery idle,
down on power,
under boost codes,

hes saying that all vans around the 100K mark should check the intercooler for clogging and have it replaced £100-£200 part.


hes gave me an old one to pull apart.


@VanDamMan not saying this is your issue, but something to keep in mind.


EDIT:

managed to smash open the Charge Cooler today.


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this is the outlet side. . . clean as a whistle.

1753125343348.webp



and this is the input side - towards the rear of the van.


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OMG - just look at those chunks - the layer is about 6mm thick.

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Jeeze !!!!!!!!!!!
.
 
Last edited:
100/50 Victron MPPT upgrade. . .


fridge out - again.

out with the 100/20


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and in with the new 100/50 . . .

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needed a 50A feed back to the LB, so I've piggy backed onto the SUB fusebox supply.


and ordered a couple of mini busbars to tidy up the connections.



1753006612878.png


............


but for now we have the 100/50, only problem is the battery is full, so unable to test yet.


I've switched off charging from the MPPT & DC-DC to try and drop that battery some SOC - and then hope for some sun.
 
Last edited:
INSIDE INFO ABOUT UNDERBOOST DTC CODE.

DTC. - Turbo under boost.

Charge intercooler clogged.

Serviceable item at 100k. Advice changing pipes.

check this out . . . . .

VW T6 Charge cooler - a clogged on off his van he changed out this week.

There is NO TPI for it but a IK VWCV Webinar for it.

View attachment 296507

take a look at the outlet side of the cooler . .

View attachment 296508

no look at the inlet side . . . .

View attachment 296509


its almost fully blocked.

he said its getting more common. . . . .

fluttery idle,
down on power,
under boost codes,

hes saying that all vans around the 100K mark should check the intercooler for clogging and have it replaced £100-£200 part.


hes gave me an old one to pull apart.


@VanDamMan not saying this is your issue, but something to keep in mind.
I wish I knew that. Could have avaoided me blowing up my turbo.
 
INSIDE INFO ABOUT UNDERBOOST DTC CODE.

DTC. - Turbo under boost.

Charge intercooler clogged.

Serviceable item at 100k. Advice changing pipes.

check this out . . . . .

VW T6 Charge cooler - a clogged on off his van he changed out this week.

There is NO TPI for it but a IK VWCV Webinar for it.

View attachment 296507

take a look at the outlet side of the cooler . .

View attachment 296508

no look at the inlet side . . . .

View attachment 296509


its almost fully blocked.

he said its getting more common. . . . .

fluttery idle,
down on power,
under boost codes,

hes saying that all vans around the 100K mark should check the intercooler for clogging and have it replaced £100-£200 part.


hes gave me an old one to pull apart.


@VanDamMan not saying this is your issue, but something to keep in mind.
thanks ….fingers crossed it’s ok at moment but mine was over boost….but it’s good to be proactive :)
 
INSIDE INFO ABOUT UNDERBOOST DTC CODE.

DTC. - Turbo under boost.

Charge intercooler clogged.

Serviceable item at 100k. Advice changing pipes.

check this out . . . . .

VW T6 Charge cooler - a clogged on off his van he changed out this week.

There is NO TPI for it but a IK VWCV Webinar for it.

View attachment 296507

take a look at the outlet side of the cooler . .

View attachment 296508

no look at the inlet side . . . .

View attachment 296509


its almost fully blocked.

he said its getting more common. . . . .

fluttery idle,
down on power,
under boost codes,

hes saying that all vans around the 100K mark should check the intercooler for clogging and have it replaced £100-£200 part.


hes gave me an old one to pull apart.


@VanDamMan not saying this is your issue, but something to keep in mind.


EDIT:

managed to smash open the Charge Cooler today.


View attachment 296664


this is the outlet side. . . clean as a whistle.

View attachment 296665



and this is the input side - towards the rear of the van.


View attachment 296666View attachment 296667



OMG - just look at those chunks - the layer is about 6mm thick.

View attachment 296668


View attachment 296669

Jeeze !!!!!!!!!!!
.
so that gave me the willeys big time. . .

NOTE: above poste edited and additional pics added.

so i juat had to check mine.


so we cracked off the rear intercooler pipe.


1753125567002.png

and . . .


.

.

.



thank you to the turbo gods.

its clean.

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like proper clean !!!


1753125639883.png


.


FYI we are at 95K miles on this engine, and i would expect much worse.


so very happy to see it super clean.



1753125698986.png




nothing wrong with this van.



and yes i totaly copied the VW Tech Terry with this Awesome new EndoScope.

what a cracking bit of kit. . . . . !!


you want one too?



here it is:








1753125807204.png


++++++++++++


so where is all the cack coming from?


if its blow by. . . . then it must be coming from the cylinders, via the exhaust, and via the EGR into the inlet stream?


but whats supprising is how granular the debris is, . . . its not like the sticky tofey EGR coke you get,

its like little chips/ / /


mad !!
 
moving on . . .

we masked out the new panels outline.

View attachment 291622

and got the wrap out. . .

we went for this stuff as advised by the resident Vinyl expert @Grim Reaper who recommended this stuff.

not cheap, but versus a roof repaint it was worth it.

it come as 152cm by whatever - we opted for 2m.


View attachment 291624


View attachment 291623


well - i have to say i have a new found respect for anyone that does vinyl wrapping.

this stuff is like plastering - it looks easy to do, but dont let the videos fool you.

its a pain in the bum . . . it took two of us ages and a few choice words.

we ended up with creases, bubbles, stretches - you name it.

luckily 90% of this will be hidden under the new panel anyway, disaster avoided.

View attachment 291636

the plan was to put vinyl down anywhere any sticky stuff went.. . . .

so that's what we did, I'm planning on using VHB Velcro to stick the panel to the roof.

this will allow:

A - easier removal in future as it has a 5yr warranty
B - allow for better thermal expansion of the panel, ie it can breath with the heat
C - less damaging to the van
D - let the panel run cooler as it has air around it.



out with the Velcro then. - i had the 50mm stuff that i use all the time,

i got a 10m role, and used what's left of the 5m role.

hook side on the roof,

loop side towards the panel.

them we are planning on a Tigerseal bead across the front lip and possibly don the sides,

and definitely leaving the back side fully open.


View attachment 291638

View attachment 291639

we used coke cans to hold the panel up off the roof while it was lined up.....

this stuff is SUPER sticky !!!! trust me.





View attachment 291640View attachment 291641

with a bead of tigerseal along the front, and a couple of bricks to weigh down the corners over night we was done.

View attachment 291642


kit used:

Tube Gun - Amazon.co.uk
VHB Velcro - https://amzn.to/3HWi9gH
Tigerseal - Amazon.co.uk
masking tape - Amazon.co.uk

.
Hey Dell, nice job on the massive solar.

I'm on a similar project now, 2 x 240 WP on the pop top of our T6.1.
Old panel is off, no paint damage just leftover kit and primer that I will cover with the new panel. It is a flat roof, no ridges.
So here's what I would like to ask:
- Did you just put a bead off kit along the front edge to seal it and hold in place? I see others do it with an all z-profile.
- Why the masking tape while fitting? Was it for easy alignment because of the strong velcro?
- I'm hoping to route the cables onder the panel using thick velcro, also to create an air gap. Sounds reasonable?
- Do you happen to have a picture of the front edge?
Thanks, much appreciated!

PXL_20250811_084215905.webp
 
Hey Dell, nice job on the massive solar.

I'm on a similar project now, 2 x 240 WP on the pop top of our T6.1.
Old panel is off, no paint damage just leftover kit and primer that I will cover with the new panel. It is a flat roof, no ridges.
So here's what I would like to ask:
- Did you just put a bead off kit along the front edge to seal it and hold in place? I see others do it with an all z-profile.
- Why the masking tape while fitting? Was it for easy alignment because of the strong velcro?
- I'm hoping to route the cables onder the panel using thick velcro, also to create an air gap. Sounds reasonable?
- Do you happen to have a picture of the front edge?
Thanks, much appreciated!

View attachment 299029


- Did you just put a bead off kit along the front edge to seal it and hold in place? I see others do it with an all z-profile. - yes Tigerseal acreoss the front, then down the left & right sides.

- Why the masking tape while fitting? Was it for easy alignment because of the strong velcro? - yes, and to mask the area where the vinyl needed to be

- I'm hoping to route the cables onder the panel using thick velcro, also to create an air gap. Sounds reasonable? - thats what i done

- Do you happen to have a picture of the front edge? - ill get some.





.


1755442849988.webp1755442862124.webp1755442873733.webp1755442885530.webp
 
we done a cheeky weekender with some of the gang. . .



1755442976205.webp1755442990171.webp1755442998376.webp1755443010415.webp



and decided i loved these new PopTop LEDS.


1755443045274.webp1755443057034.webp1755443069738.webp1755443081104.webp



so decided to get myself some. . . . . . .


me mate @BigDell helped me fit them.



1755443136799.webp1755443170837.webp


no pics of us fitting them. . . but we had them on for T6F Sumer camp


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like this . . .


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.



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i think they look great.



.
 
Did i mention CamperJam 25.

yep, that was a thing !!!


.

1755443804209.png1755443818054.png1755443833760.png

a cracking setup.


1755443855090.png1755443869396.png

power wise we was doing good.


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we had a few beers.

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met some legends. . .

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watched some bands.

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and had more beer.

1755444034269.webp1755444060130.webp1755444083792.webp



got to the end of the weekend with 4% SOC !!!




.
 
Adding a second 230ah ROAMER 230SBG4

@RoamerBatteries

.

it finally arrived. - this one is going under the passenger seat. . .

1755444289278.webp

a quick charge up with the 100A charger. . . . so the two batterys can be joined.

always make sure BOTH batterys are 100% full before joining together.

1755444342383.webp


a quick 77A charge lol.

1755444375385.webp

this is the original one,

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and this is the second one,

1755444421165.webp


combined we get 460ah of battery bank.

1755444443719.webp1755444495197.webp
.


the twin battery bank worked a treat,

1755444524424.webp1755444550420.webp

.

we had a slight problem with the data link cable fitting under the seat base swivels, so Roamer had a replacement cable sent straight out.

which once fitted gave us the correct clearance.

1755444676109.webp1755444689287.webp



nice..


1755444701529.webp



.

Now we have enough power to truly be off grid with the microwave, air fryer etc etc

.
 
No Messing - Straight on to T6F Sumer Camp.

.

as soon as we was back - we was off again.

1755444843285.png1755444857560.png


double van setup this time.


1755444878795.png

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it was great. . . .

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done some guns. . . .

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and . .

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Aperol Spritz was a thing apparently.

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met some famous rock stars. . . .


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.

and. . . . .

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.
E scooters were totaly a thing.


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.

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.

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.
 
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