Hi, I'm new...

[sashak2000]

Hi All,

Just to say that I've joined your forum after my wife and I inherited my father in laws 2019 VW California Ocean T6 after his unfortunate passing earlier this year. We live just West of London in Bucks.

He loved his van and lived in it, travelling up and down the UK, mainly staying on the West Coast of Scotland and Ireland. Obviously very sad, and it's taken a while to be able to be, but we are now excited to give his baby a second lease of life - We were lucky to borrow it from him for 2 weeks back in 2023 and travelled up the West coast of Ireland with the kids which made some of our best memories. What an adventure.

It's sat dormant for a almost 5 months as we weren't able to drive it and although I have intermittently had it plugged into the mains during that time it does have a few gremlins that need sorting before we can get it back on the road- one being the Power steering seems to have completely failed somehow even though it's not been used. And secondly the rear awning bracket has failed and will need replacing.

A bit of work, but once done hoping to get it back up and adventuring. It would make him (and us) very happy.

Thanks

 

[calikev]

wow thats a beauty. enjoy making more memories.

 

[Polomint]

Enjoy your adventuring.

 

[larrylamb]

Welcome to the forum. Sorry for your loss, I'm sure your father in law would be very happy his Cali has stayed in the family.
I can virtually guarantee all your queries and issues will have been dealt with and talked about on this great forum. Top tip , use the search function to find threads and hopefully answers to your questions.
Becoming a VIP member means you can access the Downloads section and send / receive private messages. Also access to the ads section and discounts.
Good luck sorting the van ready for new adventures.

 

[Hawthorn37]

You’ve got a lovely van there ! I know if we left this mortal coil, we’d love for our family to take pleasure from our Cali. There just might be a tug of war between our 2 kids though

Once you get the gremlins sorted and do a proper trip, you’ll love the freedom, and no doubt raise a glass to your dear old dad !!

 

[Perfectos]

Power steering failure , check the Auxiliary belt , located on the drivers side of the engine (uk) it has a cover over the top , but can be viewed from under the van

 

[CaliGem]

Hi All,

Just to say that I've joined your forum after my wife and I inherited my father in laws 2019 VW California Ocean T6 after his unfortunate passing earlier this year. We live just West of London in Bucks.

He loved his van and lived in it, travelling up and down the UK, mainly staying on the West Coast of Scotland and Ireland. Obviously very sad, and it's taken a while to be able to be, but we are now excited to give his baby a second lease of life - We were lucky to borrow it from him for 2 weeks back in 2023 and travelled up the West coast of Ireland with the kids which made some of our best memories. What an adventure.

It's sat dormant for a almost 5 months as we weren't able to drive it and although I have intermittently had it plugged into the mains during that time it does have a few gremlins that need sorting before we can get it back on the road- one being the Power steering seems to have completely failed somehow even though it's not been used. And secondly the rear awning bracket has failed and will need replacing.

A bit of work, but once done hoping to get it back up and adventuring. It would make him (and us) very happy.

Thanks

View attachment 153084

Gorgeous van. Sorry for you loss. He will be proud to see you continue his adventures

 

[sashak2000]

Power steering failure , check the Auxiliary belt , located on the drivers side of the engine (uk) it has a cover over the top , but can be viewed from under the van

Thanks for the welcome and the spot-on advice!

I was looking back through the van's main dealer health check from January, and the technician had actually flagged a squeaking auxiliary drive tensioner bearing and recommended replacing the belt and tensioner.

Knowing now that these have electromechanical steering rather than hydraulic fluid, a slipping belt causing a voltage drop to the power steering module makes total sense.

I'm waiting on an ANCEL VD700 scanner to arrive so I can check Address 44 and confirm the fault codes first. I'm reasonably handy, but as it's a tight job under the arch, I might end up getting a local specialist to swap the tensioner and belt— do you think it's something that I could do myself? VW quoted about £260 for it on the health check.

Appreciate you pointing me in the right direction and any extra advice would be welcomed.

 

[Perfectos]

Serpentine belt and Tensioner is an easy DIY job. A local mechanic would have no problem at all.