Date:         Wed, 5 Dec 2007 18:46:34 -0800
Reply-To:     Jeff Duckworth <duckofalltrades@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeff Duckworth <duckofalltrades@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      How do you get a gremlin out of a Vanagon?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

Help!

  I purchased a 1985 VW Vanagon recently and there seems to be a gremlin in it. First, let me say, I'm a die hard VW driver. This is my 4th VW I have owned and perhaps it is my favorite in many aspects.

  I bought the van about a month and a half ago. I have a 5 year old son and just recently had a new addition to the family, so I wanted something a little larger than my 71 beetle. The Vanagon fit the bill and was a VW to boot! When I saw the van, I fell in love with it...even though it is a fixer upper. It included a log of all it's adventures and repairs. It was well loved, except for the most recent owner. He didn't really seem to know what he was doing or know how to take care of it. That being said...

  When I got the Van, it ran great, only when it got warmed up if you let off the gas, the rpms would bottom out and the engine would cut off. Needless to say, I have become a heel-toe expert. I sat out valiantly to fix this problem.

  New Oxygen sensor.
  New spark plugs.
  New rotor button.
  New temp sensor.
  New temp sender.
  Rebuilt and sealed leaks in exhaust.

  You know the drill. But after all this, the van drives great until...it runs awhile and is warmed up. It doesn't do it all the time, but 1 out of 3 times, if I let off the gas, the rpms flatline and it dies. Sometimes it will flatline and shoot back up, over and over until it dies.

  Basically, it is idling erratically and sometimes cutting out when it is warmed up.

  Does anyone have any suggestions to magically remove this gremlin?

  Also, a friend of mine that is a mechanic whome won't touch a VW, listened to the van and thought that I might have a burnt valve. Is there a way to check that?

  Thanks for any help,
  Jeff


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