Date: Tue, 26 Jun 2001 09:11:23 -0400
Reply-To: Kenneth D Lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kenneth D Lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: 85 cuts out/dies when hot - HELP! stranded in Pueblo, CO
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
William;
The TEMPII sensor is always suspect!! Remember that, write it
down, get it tattooed on your forearm! They are cheap and easy to
replace. If replacement doesn't fix this problem then you have a spare
when it does fail, and fail it will.
Good Luck and Drive Safely
Ken Lewis
86 Crewcab,60 356
http://Neksiwel.20m.com/
On Sun, 24 Jun 2001 19:28:58 -0700 William Grace
<williambhgrace@HOTMAIL.COM> writes:
I'm stuck in Pueblo, CO with my 85 Westy and my incredibly good spirited
and encouraging partner, Kerri. I would appreciate any ideas before I
visit the VW dealer in the morning.
Background: I just bought the Westy in Tennessee, and am driving it back
to Seattle. It ran great from Tennessee to Pueblo, and upon arriving in
Pueblo today, and driving in stop and go traffic for about 15 minutes in
97 degree heat, the symptoms started.
Symptom: The 85 Westy's (with manual trans) engine cuts out, hesitates,
runs irregularly, and finally dies altogether when it gets hot. This
progression takes about 30 seconds. While the symptoms are happening, I
can kind of "feather" the throttle, and keep it running for a little
longer - especially if I can get it up over 2000 RPM. Immediately after
it dies, it cranks fine, but won't re-start. After letting it sit for
about 15 minutes, it will start and run normally for about 5 minutes,
then the symptoms start over again. I've repeated this process 5 times
now, and it acts the same each time. The coolant temp gage reads normal
(about mid-scale) all through this, but I'd guess the temp in the engine
compartment was the highest it's been since I picked up the van.
Here's what I've done so far, and none of this has changed the symptoms
at all: When I looked at the engine after it died the first time, the
hose from the crankcase breather to the air intake boot (about 1 inch
diameter hose) was sucked flat in the middle. It had lost all it's
stiffness - heat? and was floppy. I replaced it with a nice stiff hose
of just the right size from Auto Zone. Free too - it was a scrap.
Thanks Auto Zone. It didn't do any good, though, still had the exact
same symptoms. After that, I replaced the air filter, cap and rotor,
plugs, plug wires, all of the little fabric coated vacuum lines, and fuel
filter. The rotor was really bad looking - the center contact was broken
off from the metal strip leading to the spinning rim piece. Must have
been sparking across the little gap. And two of the plugs were loose.
Anyway, that's all interesting, but none of it helped. I brought all
those parts with me "just in case", and it's Sunday afternoon, so might
as well put 'em in, huh? I also tried to replace the O2 sensor, but
couldn't get the old one unscrewed. It is full of gas & oil level's
fine.
Here's what I haven't done: Any real troubleshooting to isolate whether
it is a fuel delivery problem or a spark problem. I guess I'm going to
leave that for the dealer in the morning, but any thoughts on these
symptoms would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
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