Check the timing, plugs first thing. Next check the compression. This should give you a good overall view of your engine condition. After that you just got to calculate that you have some wear on your engine. I'd speculate that anything over 75-90 K miles would have you at half life of your engine. (Start Saving for the new one.) Stan Wilder
----- Original Message ----- From: "Joy Hecht" <jhecht@ALUM.MIT.EDU> To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Sent: Wednesday, June 16, 2004 4:13 PM Subject: losing power, switching to digest (unrelated subjects)
> Hi all, > > I'm finding Matilda (my 1989 Westy) is losing power and not running as > smoothly as I'm used to. On the highway she can maintain maybe 55 in 4th > gear at 3000 rpm on flat ground, instead of 70 before. Less going uphill, > more going downhill. I can't really get her above around 3000 rpm. If I > give her more gas she goes slower and runs more roughly. If I let up on the > gas she seems to have more power and runs smoother. I find I'm pumping > (gently) on the gas to keep getting her power up. In third she's pretty > feeble too. Sometimes it feels like she's gently hesitating and then > jumping ahead, though it's a bit subtle. > > She's not overheating at all. No signs of leaks. I haven't checked oil and > coolant since just now driving a hundred or so miles and observing the > problems (which I'd noticed a bit of a week ago, too), as she's still hot. > > Is this a sign that my engine is dying? That one cylinder might be > misfiring (the hesitating and jumping)? > > What does this sound like to you experienced folks? > > I'm leaving the country tomorrow (for Egypt) and coming back August 8, so > Matilda is going to be sitting in my friend's driveway till then. I wish I > had realized this was happening a lot earlier, so I might have been able to > leave her with someone who could fix her while I'm away, if this is serious! > But that's not feasible, alas. I suppose if this is the beginning of > needing a new engine, I have time to read all the archives about the options > and where to get them! > > And since I can't deal with 100 emails a day from Cairo, I'd like to switch > to digest so I can see the replies to this query. Could someone please > email me off-line to tell me how to do that? > > Thank you! > > > > Joy > > p.s. To everyone who sent suggestions on leaving Matilda for the summer, > thank you for that as well! > > > > **************************************************************** > Joy Hecht > and Matilda, 1989 Burgundy Vanagon > > For musings about life and the vanadventures: > http://users.rcn.com/jhecht/gypsy > > **************************************************************** |
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