Date: Sat, 22 Dec 2001 12:31:18 -0500
Reply-To: Joe L <mejoe@EMAIL.TOAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joe L <mejoe@EMAIL.TOAST.NET>
Subject: Sing: All I want for Christmas is my Westy back!!
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
After running fine for the longest time my 83.5 (Water Cooled) Westy is
suddenly sick. The troubles came on quickly and without any warning signs I
could detect. One day fine, the next BLOOOOEY!! I was going on a short trip
and was just pulling away from the house and accelerating through the gears
when, without warning, the engine bogged down and quit. Thankfully it quit
at the end of my block so no tow was needed but I did have to push it back
to the front of my house because it simply refused to start.
The next day I went out to try to see what was wrong. It started right off.
With the transmission in neutral I worked the gas pedal to see if I could
detect anything unusual in the way the engine sounded or ran. For about a
minute or so from the "dead cold start" it ran fine and "rev'ed" without
complaint, then came the troubles. There was some new "bogging down" or
"stumbling" at the very beginning of the throttle travel just above idle.
This "bogging down" did not occur every time but often enough to let me know
that it was not a "fluke" and that "something", "somewhere" was wrong with
my baby. There was also an occasional muffled back-fire that came, not from
the tailpipe, but from the area of the air cleaner. With the engine running
I took a quick look in the engine compartment to see if there was anything
obviously wrong like a disconnected vacuum line. It was just a quick
once-over but I saw nothing.
At this point the engine had been running for about 15 minutes and, except
for the above mentioned "stumbling" was running fine. I decided to take it
out for a short drive to check symptoms with the engine under load. Pulling
out from the curb, as soon as I put it in second the engine "bogged down"
and quit. While coasting to the side of the road I tried a restart. It
started, ran rough for a couple of seconds and again quit. I tried a few
restarts but during these the engine refused to start at all.
I sat on the side of the road for maybe 5 minutes working up the ambition
to push it back to the house. Just before climbing out to begin the push I
tried one last time to start it, this time it did. I drove it to the end of
the block, turned around and headed for the driveway while I still could. My
baby was obvously struggling but she made it.
Pulling back into the driveway I put it in neutral and worked the throttle
as before. That same "stumbling" slightly above idle speed showed up along
with occasional muffled "backfire" that seemingly came from the area of the
air filter. She has been in the driveway ever since.
Since then I have replaced the fuel filter, plug wires, rotor, cap, temp
sensor II (the one in the thermostat housing) reset the idle speed and
timeing. I also replaced every "thin" vacuum lines I could see (Any
"obscure" vac lines hidden deep that amatures usually miss?); all without
decernable effect. I have noticed that from a dead cold start (first of the
day) she will seemingly run fine and will "rev" without complaint but a
couple of minutes into the warm-up and the troubles arrive.
Rather than continuing to throw parts (and money) at her I appeal to the
collective wisdom of the list for help.
Any hints/help/advice is MUCH appreciated. It's a drag having sick
"kids" at Christmas.