Date:         Sat, 23 Nov 2002 13:15:05 -0800
Reply-To:     Tracy Bonin <icculus22420@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Tracy Bonin <icculus22420@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      85' low idle, loss of power/compression, surging please help
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Hi, well yesterday afternoon a problem has developed. I was driving home (weather conditions in CT were rainy, cold ) and noticed that my bus was idling low ( really low ). Normal idle for it is usually at the 2000 mark. Which I know is high, but since it was driving fine, I didn't think to worry too much. In the rain and cold weather it has always had a temperment to idle irradically and even stall because of the fluctuating idle.( one warm it wouldn't do it as much ) This doesn't happen is warm dry weather. Yesterday it was idling at the 1000 mark, and then it would keep dropping till it would almost stall. I realize that idle stabilizers are ususally the culprit, but there are some other symptoms that I am not too sure about.

1. I was feeling a loss of power, it was losing power on hills, and in general. On a hill that normally I can be in 2nd, and then go into 3rd towards the middle / top it was losing so much power that when I put it into 3rd it began doing the "jumping" thing that says that your in the wrong gear, and I had to go into 2nd again, which it has never done before. Also on relativily flat land at a stop sign I went to go, and after releasing the clutch, pressing the pedal it wouldn't go.( It did the jumping thing though ) Which was really weird, normally it catches right away. I kept pressing the gas to see if it needed a boost or something, and ended up pressing the clutch and basically starting all over again.

2. Then I noticed on the highway ( I was on my way to the Other Ones show last night ) that it would surge. First it would take forever to speed up ( loss of power comes in ) , and then while I was going it would feel like it was "surging" . Like the loss of power I was expierencing would kick back in and it would go as normal. (for a few seconds )  Then of course it would be weak again. This kept happening every few seconds or so. The surging wasn't enormously noticeable. Of course I noticed it because I drive it all the time, but I dunno if my friends noticed.

My last tune up was in May, but only the spark plugs, fuel filter, air filter were done. I thought that maybe it was a failing spark plug, but who knows.

So I checked the archives to see if there were any articles about this, I found some with the problems individually, but none with them all together.

If someone could please help me that would be greatly appreciated. I cannot really afford to bring it to my mechanic right now.

thanx,

Tracy

85' GL "Ripple"