Date:         Sun, 17 Jun 2001 22:22:36 -0700
Reply-To:     Bob McMain <RdRunr@ZIANET.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bob McMain <RdRunr@ZIANET.COM>
Subject:      Van sputters at takeoff
Comments: To: Joel Walker <jwalker17@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hi.  Getting ready for summer traveling, I decided to have a VW shop tune-up
my '87 Westy with AT & AC.  They replaced the rotor, cap & air filter and
set timing and idle to specs.  It seemed to run fine at first after the
tune-up.  However, a few days latter I began to have an intermittent lack of
power (engine sputters weakly) at takeoff from a standing start.  It happens
only intermittently and is like a lack of fuel or something similar for a
few seconds.  The engine will sputter and barely move for several seconds,
only gradually gaining rpms and moving forward.  Once it's up to speed, it
seems to run OK.  Then when I stop at a traffic light I may or may not have
the same problem several times in a row.  The first day this happened the
sputtering would last for maybe 15 seconds, did it many times and was very
dangerous to drive in traffic.  The second day this happened (today) the
problem was the same, but less severe and only occurred a few times vs many
times on the first day when doing the same amount of stop and go driving.

I've had the van back to the shop and of course they let it sit for a day
before checking it out.  Then they could not duplicate the problem from the
shop.  The only thing they could speculate might be wrong was a possible
problem with the fuel pump.  There is a low whine from the fuel pump at
times after the van has been driven for a while (sounds like a small, low
noise fan running).  I had not heard this noise prior to the new problems.
The shop says this is usually idicative of a fuel pump going out.

I've only had the van for about 5,000 miles and don't know when the fuel
filter was last replaced.  The previous owner did install the VW recommended
little wiring harness at the AFM.

Rather than throw parts at the van, does anyone have any ideas for possible
causes of this problem?

Bob
87 Westy "RDRUNR1"