Date:         Thu, 24 Jul 2008 20:34:59 -0700
Reply-To:     Evan Mac Donald <vanagon_dad@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Evan Mac Donald <vanagon_dad@SBCGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: Engine Racing (not racing engine...)
In-Reply-To:  <8BAA6651-16C5-4B35-A667-0B62E0EDB0D4@myactv.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1

O.K. there are a couple of places to look. I won't even come close to covering all of the places, but here should be a start -

  1) Open the engine cover, and look at the throttle shaft. If you are in doubt, (with the engine OFF) have somebody press on the gas pedal, and see what moves. It should be on the top of the engine, forward, and slightly to right of center. What you are looking for is a long spring, slightly larger in diameter than a regular pencil. It should be attached at one end to the mechanism at the top of the throttle, and to the intake plenum on the other. This check is easy, and doesn't require much in the way of "dirty hands".

  2) If the spring is in place, and stretches when the gas pedal is pressed on, try next rotating that throttle by hand. There should be some resistance, because there are actually TWO springs on it, but it should be smooth, with no catches or drag. If it won't return easily, you may be suffering from a worn-out throttle body. Common. Relatively easy to get fixed, but kind of expensive.

  If both of the previous tests are good, then the problem will require more effort to check. Under the van you go!

  3) Have somebody ready to press on the gas pedal - again. On the right side of the transmission, right in front of the drive axles, is a lever that the throttle cable attaches to. To find it, have somebody press on the gas pedal, and watch what moves. There are two big things that mey be wrong under here. One is the cable itself. The little rubber boot at the end of the housing rots away after a time, and the cable rusts into its housing. Or, it can start to break, and the frayed ends jam in the housing. Another may be the lever on the side of the transmission that the cable attatches to. This is not really likely, but possible. To check this lever's action, gently tug on the lever. It should move, a little, without feeling too stiff , or "locked up" (My '84 did this to me...)

  These are relatively easy to check, and the answers from these checks can help decide what to do next...



Kevin Gilbert <kggilbert@MYACTV.NET> wrote:
  Vanafolks,

My 1.9L ('84, @112,000 mi., AT) does not kick down the rpm when
stopping. Makes for interesting stops. I have to throw it into
neutral and give the accelerator a hard punch to drop the rpm.

Tell me what to check.

Thanks.

Kevin