Mk 7 buying What to look out for?

[Chug]

I've gotta find a van for my daughter to convert to a camper, but because I don't know much about mk7's except they seem to rust as well as previous versions, I thought I'd ask you guys for anything that I should be wary of,
ie Are there any engines to steer clear of?
or injection pumps to avoid?
or anything known to cause problems?
and are they Euro4 or 5 or what year if they change?

I think from reading up that fwd versions have slightly better headroom and I guess it has to be at least medium roof, but if a bargain rear wheeler turns up I guess it has to be high roof? or can you stand up in medium roof version if you're under 6ft tall?

And has anyone got a link to the dimensions of the different sized vans......lwb, mwb, med roof , high roof? I've seen one posted before but cannot find it now.

I have been asked to help her convert it which probably means I'm gonna be converting it while she helps hold things and makes tea
I have no worries about the conversion as I've done three self build campers over the years for myself, but I am really amazed at how much everything camper related seems to have doubled in price, probably due to every Tom, Dick and Harry who always wanted a camper but never had the time or money finally doing it during furlough/lockdown.

And the new dvla rule about exterior graphics is feckin ridiculous

[knobby1]

I've gotta find a van for my daughter to convert to a camper, but because I don't know much about mk7's except they seem to rust as well as previous versions, I thought I'd ask you guys for anything that I should be wary of,
ie Are there any engines to steer clear of?
or injection pumps to avoid?
or anything known to cause problems?
and are they Euro4 or 5 or what year if they change?

I think from reading up that fwd versions have slightly better headroom and I guess it has to be at least medium roof, but if a bargain rear wheeler turns up I guess it has to be high roof? or can you stand up in medium roof version if you're under 6ft tall?

And has anyone got a link to the dimensions of the different sized vans......lwb, mwb, med roof , high roof? I've seen one posted before but cannot find it now.

I have been asked to help her convert it which probably means I'm gonna be converting it while she helps hold things and makes tea
I have no worries about the conversion as I've done three self build campers over the years for myself, but I am really amazed at how much everything camper related seems to have doubled in price, probably due to every Tom, Dick and Harry who always wanted a camper but never had the time or money finally doing it during furlough/lockdown.

And the new dvla rule about exterior graphics is feckin ridiculous

IMHO...Go the Euro-4....Build date from April 17th of 2006 to September 26th of 2011. The RWD 2.4 140ps is the engine to get...plenty strong and reliable. If you can find the very rare 3.2 200ps 5 cylinder...go for that.

The Euro-5's, (September 27th of 2011 to the end of 2014), seem to be less reliable for some reason and tend to have lots of issues with the DPF etc....

I'm 6 foot tall and can stand up in my high roof LWB RWD with an inch or so to spare, the FWD's have around 4 inches more headroom than the RWD's due to a different floor height as they don't need to accomodate the RWD gearbox/tailshaft/diff etc...The FWD medium roof may be suitable in this case if you're under 6 foot tall.

Lord Knobrot

[Chug]

Cheers Knobster,
are the lower ps euro4 vans all ok or any to beware?
Do they all have the same injection system?

I guess I need to find out the actual headroom height for medium roof vans(fwd and rwd)? or just get a high roof, hopefully someone will post the headroom height or a link to the dimensions.

[Altransit]

The basic engines are all the same Chug, 2.2 in the FWD, and 2.4 in the RWD. The higher PS ones have different turbos and oil cooled pistons (so I believe) but there's no engine that is any more or less reliable than another.

Higher PS engines generally have a 6 speed gearbox and a lower ratio diff (longer legs!)

Leaking injector seals are quite common on the Euro4, but are easily identified, and rectified, by a spanner man.

I'm a shade over 6ft, and can't quite stand straight in my FWD Medium roof if that's any help

[Chug]

Cheers Al, 2.2 in fwd and 2.4 in rwd explains why I saw different engines now

My daughter is a few inches under 6ft so should be alright with fwd medium roof methinks but we will still need to check the rwd medium roof height. or if anybody knows it please jump in.

I've read about injector seals and reaming out the seats or you'll be doing it again, but anything mechanical is no worry to me.

[ned]

Ah if this is to be a camper build then I’d go fwd as they’ll have a better payload, that prop, diff n stuff weigh a bit

[Altransit]

RWD floor is about 4" higher I believe, so 5'8" is about your max height in a medium roof.

RWD is also more awkward to get in and out of the back ('cos it's higher) and there's a step in the access to the side door. The higher weight rated vans (300, 330, 350) will also be higher on the back due, to the stronger springs. Obviously the 260/280 may not have enough carrying capacity for your camper fittings

[Chug]

Found some specs here but it says medium and high roof have the same height?
https://www.transitcenter.uk/transit-mk ... cation.php

Not bothered about height getting in and out as I will fit a pop out step anyway.

EDIT: scratch that I was looking at load height which is dictated by the door height

[Altransit]

Found some specs here but it says medium and high roof have the same height?
https://www.transitcenter.uk/transit-mk ... cation.php

Not bothered about height getting in and out as I will fit a pop out step anyway.

EDIT: scratch that I was looking at load height which is dictated by the door height

Another anomoly is that the SLD on a med roof MWB is taller than a med roof SWB. Roof height is the same though

[Chug]

So there is a MWB version too? I have only seen swb and lwb so far, are they rarer as that would probably suit her better as the SWB is too small and the LWB too long

[Altransit]

So there is a MWB version too?

Indeed there is, but they're not thick on the ground though. At a glance, they look like a SWB, but the gutters are mounted higher up the roof to accommodate the taller SLD.
400mm longer load bed, I believe

[Knobby2515]

Wen I started looking at getting Transit I just used my instincts and common sense. I did not know about this forum at the time.

I wanted as lower mileage as possible, some service history and best body condition as possible.
I knew I wanted Twin slide doors, air con, front fog lamps minimum spec.

So when I found what has become my motor and went to view I just used common sense and instincts.
I gave it a good look over, asked questions to try and catch off guard the seller and a road test.

I looked up the rough miles to gallon on the Internet of a MWB, LWB and different height roofs.

So I ended up with a 2012 euro 5, 2.2 RWD 6 speed, MWB semi high roof, twin slide doors, air con, heated screen, DRL, rain sensor, front fogs and 80,000 miles. MOT history backs this up.



Sent from my SM-A805F using Tapatalk

[Cider Andy]

https://www.anchorvans.co.uk/specificat ... d/transit/

The link above shows most dimensions of the Mk7 range. There are actually four lengths (SWB, MWB, LWB and XLWB, sometimes referred to as Jumbo). All variants were available in rear wheel drive and all variants bar the XLWB were available in front wheel drive. When I bought my base van I looked for (and eventually found) a LWB high roof FWD because:

a) as others have said, the floor is about 4" lower than a RWD, therefore more headroom, and;
b) The GVW is 3000kg so it can be driven at car speed limits.

[Chug]

Cheers Andy, I can't believe how many of the ads for transits don't state whether it's fwd or rwd

[Altransit]

Cheers Andy, I can't believe how many of the ads for transits don't state whether it's fwd or rwd

Easily identified on a Euro4 by the different capacity engines, but more difficult on the Euro5 because they both use a 2.2 engine