Date:         Sun, 4 Jan 2004 17:18:20 -0800
Reply-To:     Steven Dodson - Epoch Product Design <steven@EPOCHDESIGN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Steven Dodson - Epoch Product Design <steven@EPOCHDESIGN.COM>
Subject:      Weird Cold Engine Behavior - Preemptive Strike
In-Reply-To:  <200401041540.1aDf2zw53Nl5tN0@urbanus.mspring.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

On rare occasion, when starting off in my 87 Syncro GL, the engine will
hesitate and seem gutless. The idle seems normal but no power whatsoever. If
I let the engine warm up a bit this doesn't happen. When it does, I take it
out of gear and attempt to rev it up a little.
I does rev a bit but if I put it in gear and try to go it will not. The
problem usually lasts 20 secs to a minute.
I have noticed that there is a little surge in the idle just prior to the
engine coming back to life. I have seen no correlation to temp of day.
Sometimes it happens when engine is cold, other times it has happened after
a brief stop. There have been times when it has run fine, like getting out
of a parking lot but then acts up at the first intersection. Once the event
is over, it won't happen again for the duration of the trip.

It doesn't happen enough to be a problem but I'd like to fix it before it
becomes one.

Anyone have this happen to them? Any idea where to start looking?

Thanks in advance! Happy New Year!

-Steven Dodson
Kneeland, CA
"Inga" the 87 Syncro