Date: Tue, 25 Mar 2003 08:49:41 -0800
Reply-To: gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>
Subject: Re: hesitation from a stop and replacing afm
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
Marc,
mine is an 87 also and before I replaced the AFM
it too hesitated badly when I first started out and
had an unstable idle just like yours. I would do the
gasket and 02 sensor first. It is unlikely to do
anything for the hesitation but perhaps it will save
the cost of a cat converted. A leak in the exhaust
does affect the o2 sensor readings and may cause
damage to your cat converted. Check the voltage
output of the 02 sensor itself before you do anything
and check it again after you do the replacement. It
should be about 0.5 volts. Too much time above 0.5
volts means too rich and too much time below 0.5 volts
means too lean. Use lots of rust buster and be
prepared to pull the muffler off to do the job.
So once you have the o2 sensor working and the
exhaust leak fixed you may want to consider the AFM.
I too did all the other service you did. I would
look at the clamps that hold the air hoses on and the
hoses themselves as two of four of mine were cracked.
After replacing the airhoses and making tight the
clamps I found that my idles speed had shifted even
higher and required turning in the screw on the
throttle body but that nasty hesitation was still
there. I think that it is wise to do all these
things before replacing the AFM because the AFM is
quite pricey. Busdepot has them for $150.00 but I am
sure they are rebuilt and would not buy one unless the
vanagon list has some good feedback about them.
Theppartsbin has them new for over $400.00. I bought
one for $65.00 from ebay that says "made in France"
and appears to be either rebuilt or new? I would
avoid buying used unless you can take it back. My
best suggestion is that if you can find someone that
has a vanagon like yours 86 or newer that does not
have the problem that you consider trying one that you
know works well with another van. The AFM is easy to
remove and install. The long and short of it is the
ebay one I got did the trick. I know there is a guy
on ebay who sells out of Santa Cruz who sells a ton of
these on ebay so I suspect someone on the list has
bought one and perhaps they can give you some
feedback. They should be under $100.00. I would
consider busdepot but I would want to return it if it
did not fix the problem. Not sure how ron would go
for that. Email me if you want some pdf files I have
on AFM. gary
Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 16:13:17 -0500
From: Marc Perdue <marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET>
Subject: Re: hesitation from a stop and replacing afm
Gary,
What year van is this? I've had rather minor idle
issues with my '87
Westy that appear related to the weather. In the
winter, it idles up
and
down and sometimes winds up idling at 1200-1600 RPMs
after a 20-30
minute
drive. Now that it's warmed up, when I get in to
drive home at the end
of
the day, it hesitates badly when I first start out.
It doesn't stall,
but
having no little or no power when you need it is very
disconcerting to
say
the least.
Here's what I've done to mine: Replaced idle control
unit, thoroughly
cleaned and tested the idle stabilizer valve, new air
filter, plugs,
distributor cap, plug wires. I have a new O2 sensor,
but haven't
replaced
it because the gasket in my exhaust pipe just before
the O2 sensor
leaks
and I thought this may be giving the sensor faulty
readings. Replacing
that pipe with a stainless one and replacing the
gasket is next on the
list, then perhaps the O2 sensor.
Thanks for any words of wisdom,
Marc Perdue
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