My 84 vanagon and I are usually very good friends, but recently it has turned into PsychoCar. Weather: 10-20 degrees, snow, slush, crud, low humidity Downhill: drives just fine Uphill: Loses power. It feels like a bungie cord is attached to my rear bumber. I put in the clutch, RPMs come right up, let out the clutch and move forward a moment, then B-o-i-nngg Mr Bungie slows me to a stop. And I'm not talking about big hills. The slightest upward incline makes it do this. The rear wheel wells are packed with snow and ice, and I'm hoping that it's something simple like clearing that out, but I suspect something more sinister. Theory: Since I got the car 80k ago (that's miles, not repair dollars), there has been a constant whine whether the van is idling or cruising. I think that is my fuel pump cavitating. When my car loses power, that whine changes in sound, sort of like it's sucking like mad but not getting any. Gas, I mean. So I think there is a fuel something going on. It has a new filter and 2 bottles of antifreeze in the tank. So the best I can do is..... fuel pump? But why does uphill make the difference? Steve 84 Vanagon PsychoCar Lansing Mich _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com |
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