Date: Thu, 14 Mar 2002 21:21:05 -0600
Reply-To: John Rodgers <jhrodgers@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Rodgers <jhrodgers@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject: Re: 88 GL Newbie Needs Direction
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Matt Sutton wrote:
> Hello,
> I'm a new Vanagon GL owner. It's an 88, with original 2.1 L ,
> manual transmission, and 100k miles.
Yo, Matt! Welcome to THE list!!
You will enjoy this crowd! We've got some serious gearheads in this bunch, and
collectively there ain't much that you won't find out about vanagon ownership.
Good bunch of folk, and on Fridays they really let it all sometimes.
I'm an 88 GL Driver myself, and have had my share of 88 GL hassles.
Dynamic oil warning system buzzers and lights, blow-out of the coolant level
sensor, broken oil pressure switches, coolant woes, holes in pistons, tranny
overhauls, speedo repairs, replacement, etc, etc, etc. But I would not have
another vehicle in its place. For my purposes the Vanagon is perfectly
configured. There is not another vehicle out there today that can match it, much
less be superior to it.
In response to some of your concerns....
Oil pressure light - Look in the vanagon.com web site and checkout some of the
list parts vendors. Order yourself some Mahle oil filters. I get mine from Ken
Wilford of this list. Also be sure that you get some drain plug washers and keep
a supply on hand. They are cheap, cheap, and replacing the old with a new one
everytime you chainge your oil is cheap insurance against some knucklehead
trying to stop an oil seap by overtightening the the plug. Don't know what oil
you are using, but unless you are in really cold weather, a good brand of a
20W50 detergent oil is called for. Doing these two things may very well solve
the oil light problem. Perhaps not, but likely.
Definitely attend to the temp gage problem. It is a safety item for a
tempermental engine. You can't afford to be without it.
Speedometer is repairable.
Idles at 2K when cold and very low when warm? Do a setup on the engine and
re-set the idle to be sure it is correct. Only if it is correct can you then do
some of the other tuning activities.
Warm the engine, then shut it off. On tope oof the engine is a rubber tube with
a cylinder called the Idle Stabilizer Valve (ISV for short) at one end. At the
end of the cylinder is an electrical connection. Disconnect it. Start the
engine, check the idle. The idle adjustment screw is a very large slotted screw
head that you will readily see just to the right of the tube I mentioned. Adjust
it right or left to set the idle at 900-950 rpm. Once done, shut the engine off
and reconnect the ISV connector. With the engine cold, the ISV should cause the
engine to idle 1000 to 1200 rpm. Once warm, it should drop back to the idle
speed you set up. There is also a black box behind the right rear brak light
that also comes into play in relation to idle speeds, but you don't need to
worry about that one until you have checked out other things.
The Temp II sensor provides input to the ECU of the vehicle and affects idle
speed and enrichment functions of the fuel injection system. If it malfunctions,
all kinds of hard starting, rough idle, strange engine speeds, etc. can ensue.
It's good to know how it fits the scheme of things. It is a frequently reported
source of problems.
Hope this little bit.
Good luck, and again,
"Welcome"
John Rodgers
88 GL Driver.
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