Date: Mon, 22 Oct 2007 06:31:27 -0700
Reply-To: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Michael Elliott <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: 1.9L Gutless when first started
In-Reply-To: <BAY125-DAV14DE61518D75D622942C69A09A0@phx.gbl>
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Hi Dennis,
Injectors are next in line to be checked, once I get a new pressure cap
onto the expansion tank.
I seem to have a lot of coincidental failures. The "gutless when first
started" thing first occurred immediately after checking the compression
(130, 150, 150, 150). And I mean immediately: the next time the engine was
started. Nothing else was messed with at the same time, so either pure
coincidence or something got broke. Plugs and wires have been tested and
replaced. I don't know whether not grounding the coil wire which had been
disconnected during the compression test could have damaged the coil, as I
have been told, but I've built plenty of high voltage transformers --
which is what a coil is -- and know that insulation breakdown in
transformers doesn't always lead to complete failure immediately, but can
cause intermittent problems. Maybe the coil isn't the culprit for the
gutlessness when first started, but it's easy to check.
The heads had been pulled and redone when we first got the van, at 68,000
miles, and it now has 75,000 miles so I'm hoping there hasn't been a head
gasket failure. The failed pressure cap occurred immediately after
replacing the water pump and filling and bleeding the cooling system last
Friday. Immediately. Right after it was topped off and test driven. Prior
to that there was no loss of coolant loss, overflow tank oddnesses, or odd
bubbles in the system.
Either I am the most unlucky driveway mechanic, or the most hapless. At
this time I'm not going to lose sleep wondering if something more sinister
is going on. I expect that once the cap is replaced the cooling system
will be peachy keen.
Thanks for the suggestions! I just hope to have this thing running happily
by the end of the month because I'm working on a photo essay project in
the Mount Laguna area east of San Diego which requires me to spend a
couple night camping up there every month.
--
Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
KG6RCR
On 10/22/2007 3:50 AM Dennis Haynes wrote:
> Might be related to your coolant problem. Water in a cylinder!
>
> Compression and leak down test.
>
> Could also be one or more bad injectors or some other reason for running
> lean when cold?
>
> Dennis
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> Michael Elliott
> Sent: Sunday, October 21, 2007 11:00 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: 1.9L Gutless when first started
>
> I need some ideas where to look. (1.9L, auto transmission)
>
> Symptom: when engine is first started it doesn't have any power and won't
> rev easily. By "first started" I mean this will happen the first time the
> van has been started that day, or even if it has been driven until warmed
> up, left to sit in a parking lot for 15 minutes, then started again.
>
> Pressure on the gas pedal when in Park or Neutral will cause the engine to
> rev, sort of, but it's not very enthusiastic about it, "pulses" VROommmm m
> m m mmVROOmmm m m m. Ken Lewis O2 monitor sits pretty steady in center of
> range during this brief time (new O2 sensor, too, O2 fluctuates properly
> when ECU closes loop). Pressing on pedal will cause rpms to go up, but
> grudgingly. There might be a soft cough or two (backfires?).
>
> After 30 seconds or so, the engine "wakes up" and revs properly.
>
> If I don't wait until it has woken up before driving the engine simply
> will not rev at all when in gear. Feathering, pressing, wiggling gas pedal
> do nothing. Van may creep at 1mph for a few seconds, cough, then it will
> wake up. It generally runs a little "rough" for the first few seconds
> after waking up but it has power.
>
> The "waking up" of the engine is not coincident with the ECU going
> closed-loop by the way. It will wake up well before the bouncing ball on
> the O2 monitor indicates closed-loop operation, which occurs about a
> minute or two after the engine has been running. Before going closed loop
> the monitor drifts kind of lazily around the middle range. This appears to
> be normal.
>
> After the engine has awoken and smoothed out, there is no problem
> whatsoever for the remainder of the trip. O2 sensor bounces in a lively
> fashion. It has "fixed itself," until it gets turned off for a few
> minutes.
>
> I envision it this way: I step on pedal, throttle moves off idle switch
> (tested) and AFM should tell ECU that fuel is wanted. Near as I can tell,
> no fuel is being delivered. Or timing isn't advancing, though it was
> tested (centrifugal and vacuum) a couple weeks ago after this behavior
> first surfaced. O2 sensor sits in middle of range, neither rich nor lean.
> Should rich up, yes?
>
> Things I have checked (O2, idle, timing advances and retard) are already
> listed on my "poor mileage" page at
> http://camping.elliott.googlepages.com/poormileage so I won't list them
> here.
>
> Fuel pump? Funky AFM? What am I missing? Brains for driving such a cranky
> old vehicle (75,000 original miles, California wear and tear, meaning
> looks pretty like new in engine compartment).
>
> --
> Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
> 71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
> 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana")
> 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano
> KG6RCR
>
>
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