T4 Cali - insulation and soundproofing - did Westfalia do it?

[Pat]

I bought a 98 Cali in Hamburg. It had been with a single owner since the day it left the factory, then a dealer had it for about 6 months/ a year before I got it. I suspect in refurbishing it and respraying some panels, that he removed lots of stuff, some of which never made it back. The two mattresses, the diesel heater, the driver's swivel seat that now swivels the wrong way....
However I'm still happy with it.
But - in reading reviews of recent Calis I note praise of a higher level of soundproofing and insulation (relative to other van conversions). As it happens I took off the sliding door panel to fix the lock - and there is nothing - no wooly insulation, no stick-on sound proofing - so does anyone know did Westphalia not do this, or has this stuff been removed?

I had intended to redo the sound insulation on the engine anyway - now it seems I'll be doing the whole van. The van puts a smile on my face as it is - a quieter drive would be even better.

The dealer was Afghan - and when I got it the clocks in the van were all 5/6 hours ahead - so I suspect it might have had a trip to Afghanistan! Who knows what I'll find when I remove the furniture and panels!

 

[WelshGas]

I bought a 98 Cali in Hamburg. It had been with a single owner since the day it left the factory, then a dealer had it for about 6 months/ a year before I got it. I suspect in refurbishing it and respraying some panels, that he removed lots of stuff, some of which never made it back. The two mattresses, the diesel heater, the driver's swivel seat that now swivels the wrong way....
However I'm still happy with it.
But - in reading reviews of recent Calis I note praise of a higher level of soundproofing and insulation (relative to other van conversions). As it happens I took off the sliding door panel to fix the lock - and there is nothing - no wooly insulation, no stick-on sound proofing - so does anyone know did Westphalia not do this, or has this stuff been removed?

I had intended to redo the sound insulation on the engine anyway - now it seems I'll be doing the whole van. The van puts a smile on my face as it is - a quieter drive would be even better.

The dealer was Afghan - and when I got it the clocks in the van were all 5/6 hours ahead - so I suspect it might have had a trip to Afghanistan! Who knows what I'll find when I remove the furniture and panels!

The VW California as made and sold by VW does not have any insulation at all, only sound proofing pads on the inside of the body panels. It depends on the Diesel Parking Heater to keep the interior warm.

 

[2into1]

My T4 exclusive high top did have some limited insulation but I can’t really remember enough details to be of help. Some other T4 owners will be along to help.

 

[Pat]

The VW California as made and sold by VW does not have any insulation at all, only sound proofing pads on the inside of the body panels. It depends on the Diesel Parking Heater to keep the interior warm.

Thanks. Seems a surprising omission - a few hundred € would pay dividends I'd have thought.
I took a closer look at the sliding door and yes there are 3 pathetic strips of something with a honeycomb pattern, about 15cm x 50cm, which I guess are the pads you mention. Obviously, these are placed where they will do the most good in dampening the vibrations of the panel, but I'm sure more and newer is better, and it would be nice to block out road noise from wheel arches etc. too.

Re heating - it appears there is an auxiliary heating controller I haven't got to the bottom of yet added as an aftermarket module on the dashboard. From google translating german sites I'm surmising that it's a fiddle on the cooling system winter heater that normally (in Germany) preheats the engine on cold mornings. There's an empty space and unconnected wires where the proper Eberspacher €1000+ heater should/could be, and the overhead control panel doesn't produce anything.

 

[2into1]

There's an empty space and unconnected wires where the proper Eberspacher €1000+ heater should/could be, and the overhead control panel doesn't produce anything.

Are you saying the empty space is on the dashboard? I'd be looking under the van for the eberspacher. It's a unit roughly 15" long, and 5" square section, and has a 3/4" diameter exhaust sticking out of the side of it, with a squished end, about 1/2 way down the van.
See if that's there, then worry about how it's controlled.

There's lots of debate about the merits of insulation (for heat / cold) and lots to worry about - about is causing rot through damp.

Search 'Greg virgo' on YouTube for some useful discu9on the various materials.

 

[Pat]

Are you saying the empty space is on the dashboard? I'd be looking under the van for the eberspacher. It's a unit roughly 15" long, and 5" square section, and has a 3/4" diameter exhaust sticking out of the side of it, with a squished end, about 1/2 way down the van.
See if that's there, then worry about how it's controlled.

There's lots of debate about the merits of insulation (for heat / cold) and lots to worry about - about is causing rot through damp.

Search 'Greg virgo' on YouTube for some useful discu9on the various materials.

No I know the "normal" EBERSPACHER isn't there. There's a spot underneath the van behind the drivers seat where it should go but the wires are there, tucked away, and the bit leading into the van for the hot air, but the unit itself is not. There is a controller for such a unit as part of the overhead electronics that controls the fridge etc.

What there is is a small Eberspacher control unit attached to the dashboard that as far as I can make out is to control the diesel heater for the engine coolant - this seems to be, and I am working from google translate here, a feature which prewarms the engine when the outside temp drops below 5 degrees. Normally this is not controlled by the user, but then a kit was created which allows this to be set on a timer and a water pump added. I now see some discussion of this auxiliary heater on this forum and on Brickyard - says the heater unit is under the bonnet, exhaust near a wheel.

Auxiliary heater T4

I have a VW California 2002 T4 In the engine compartment I find an EBERSPACHER heater complete with...

www.brick-yard.co.uk

Thanks for the Greg Virgo link - I'll go look at him, and a few others. Yes, I wondered if filling the space could cause a problem with trapping condensation - maybe i'll proceed cautiously.