Date: Fri, 2 May 2008 14:12:55 -0400
Reply-To: Bob Donalds <donalds1@VERIZON.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Bob Donalds <donalds1@VERIZON.NET>
Subject: Re: lurching engine
Content-type: text/plain; format=flowed; charset=iso-8859-1; reply-type=original
Lurching could be many things and could be as simple as bad motor mounts
at part throttle on and off the gas the engine will give and take enough for
the cable to be to tight and lurch
down hill in forth gear sounds right for this condition
Bob
Boston Engine
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Drew" <john.p.drew@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, May 01, 2008 5:15 PM
Subject: lurching engine
> Hi All:Border Stories has made it out of Texas, through New Mexico and
> into
> Arizona, but there are now some concerns about our vanagon's ability to
> reach California without a total and potentially dangerous breakdown (we
> might be passing through some "rough" areas on the Mexican side).
>
> The reasons for concern are the following:
>
> After driving 150 miles or so (yesterday), we reached a slightly higher
> altitude along the southern state line between N. Mexico and Arizona (at
> one
> point I think we nearly hit 6000 feet), the car started to occasionally
> lurch, as if it were running out of gas (the tank was full and there were
> no
> gas leaks however). At first I noticed that this only happened going down
> hills in the highest gear (4th), but after a bit it actually happened
> going
> up hill too and eventually, in all gears. Fortunately, our gradual ascent
> leveled off and for the most part, the lurching went away but my feeling
> is
> that after another long drive and any more significant descents or
> ascents,
> it will come back. Any idea what might be causing this and how we might be
> able to fix it?
>
> In addition to this lurching phenomenon, we also experienced a scare this
> morning when I noticed that the temp gauge had risen above the light in
> the
> dashboard. I stopped before the light went on and checked the coolant tank
> to see what was happening. Sure enough, coolant was coming out the side of
> it (but not the top where the cap sits). It did not look as if the tank
> had
> pulled any coolant over from the reserve tank though because the coolant
> level in there was where it should be. I made sure the screws that appear
> to
> keep the top half of the tank fastened to the bottom half were secure and
> then started driving again, watching the gauge carefully. I also turned on
> the heater, as stop-gap measure. As it turns out, the gauge never rose
> above
> the light bulb again and we were able to reach the southeast corner of the
> Arizona/Mexico border safely and without losing anymore coolant from the
> tank or reserve tank. The only thing I can think of is that I might have
> driven out of last night's camping spot in a low gear, pushing the rpms a
> bit, but other than that, the car seemed normal until I noticed the temp.
> gauge going up a few miles down the highway. We had not driven for more
> than
> 5 miles when this happened but the problem did not come back after we
> settled into highway driving at 50 mph with the heater on.
>
> My rather naive opinion is that these two incidents are not related, and
> may
> not transpire again, assuming we stick to level terrain and I regularly
> watch the gauge. Given the fact that some of our next border stories are
> going to be shot in some remote, hot and potentially dangerous areas, I
> thought I would send these concerns out to the group for feedback however.
>
> Thanks in advance for your input-
> the borderstories team
> www.borderstories.org
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