Service and Maintenance

Regular maintenance of your Volkswagen is important, not all engine bays look as good as the one in the picture above, and they don't have to, but an engine does need to be set up correctly to get the best out of it.

An air-cooled engine needs it's oil changing every 3,000 miles, it needs it's tappets, ignition points and timing to be checked and adjusted at regular intervals, the fan-belt is very important as this turns the fan which provides the air to be forced over the engine and oil cooler.

Your Volkswagen will now be at least 25 years old, every year it will need to undergo a MOT test, this year though it will be slightly different from last year, certain changes mean that your car/van could fail whereas last year it passed the test.

The ball-joints on the front suspension now need to have their dust covers in good condition, ie no splits in the rubber boots , this will affect vehicles from around 1966 onwards, and seems to affect lowered cars in particular. Steering joints also need to be in good condition.

Tow-bars, or rather the electrics that are connected to the towing system will also be part of the test.

Other changes concerning the MOT and your vehicle are the fuel pipes, these need to be in good condition, no splits/leaks etc.

The driver's seat now needs to slide forward and back, even though you may be the only driver and never adjust it, it still needs to conform.

Speedster on the ramp in the service department.