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Date:         Wed, 30 Apr 2008 21:09:08 -0400
Reply-To:     TJ Hemrick <x53gunner@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         TJ Hemrick <x53gunner@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      87 Wolfsburg persistant hesistation problem (confusing)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

All, I've been having on/off problems with my 87 Vanagon for several months now and need some (more) help. It's on/off as I get disgusted with not being able to figure out what's wrong and just park the old "box" for weeks at a time and curse at it loudly. It was running fine for many months and especially so since it had not had any real tune-up to speak of. I collected all the replacement parts since the water pump was going I decided to give it the full makeover. I did the radiator, the pump, filters (oil, air, ps, & fuel), plugs, rotor, cap, wires, and replaced some vacuum hose. Now, it runs like $h1t and has for many months since that day. So, I figured, I must have dislodged or bumped something since I was in the area. I have this terrible off idle hesitation and then stalls. It runs fine as long as your above 2500-3000 rpm. I ended up manually shifting the automatic trying to keep that rev's up just to keep it running. Now, after checking all I could, I got desperate, I swapped the AFM (no change), I swapped the ECM (no change), I swapped temp sensors 1&2 (no change), I swapped distributor caps, (no change), I swapped spark plug wires and yet NO CHANGE. The one thing that really mystified me was the tachometer. It would swing wildly up to 3500 and stay there or bounce around even at idle. I would be driving and the needle would move up to 3000 and just bounce around while I was driving. It's weird, the van runs fine when cold but the tach is occasionally crazy. Once it warms up, the tach is fine and it runs horribly. I check the grounds all over the engine bay, the wires on the distributor, I jiggled every wire I could find while running (again, no change). One thing has been constant- It's running rich, really rich. You can smell the fuel and see it running puffs of black (not the oil black but the poor combustion burn dark grey-black) smoke. So I'm racking my brain the other day, trying to figure out what it controlling the rich fuel mixture and it hits me like a freight train, the O2 sensor. I'm certain it should run (but somewhat crappy) with the thing out of the loop but I say, "Wait, check the net, ask the group, then get the tools". So I test it-It runs the same disconnected or connected but it's probably bad and never changed since new. Not much help there. Oh, I have to cut it out to replace it. It's either welded in there by the PO or it's seized. I used a LOT of tools on it and it is NOT moving. So, the floor is open. I've gotten suggestion before and they were damn good ones at that but yet, my van's engine still runs like a POS. It's very discouraging. I work on my own rides, I work on other peoples rides (for money), I have other vans (same year, same engine) to pull parts from and I'm still getting my @$$ handed to me by a 20+ year old brick.

Fuming in Florida,

TJ


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