Date: Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:14:32 -0700
Reply-To: John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: John Bange <jbange@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Weak..... so weak
In-Reply-To: <6da579340809101828u366a7076t7ebe22d88915269b@mail.gmail.com>
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On Wed, Sep 10, 2008 at 6:28 PM, John Bange <jbange@gmail.com> wrote:
> Yesterday my work vanagon developed a bad case of the groggies.
> Started out as an intermittent loss of power, but has developed
> steadily towards permanence..... Sounds an awful lot like fuel
> filter. ... Or maybe air flow meter.
An update on my 90 non-GL "Lastwagen". I've been driving the GL
"Wiesel" for the last several weeks and basically ignoring the other
van because it was easier than trying to fix it in a dark apartment
parking garage. This is the problem with having a spare van. I was
hoping to shine it on a little longer until I move to a house with a
Real Garage next month, but today Wiesel developed an oil dribble from
the upper oil cooler O-ring. I am sure I will curse the PO when I see
how badly it was assembled, but that's something for later, as I won't
have the replacement O-ring for at least a couple days.
So to make an unnecessarily long story even longer, since I need to
drive SOMETHING for work, I was forced to get off my hind end and look
at the non-GL. Over the preceding weeks I had spent many hours
"studying" the Bentley and "ruminating" over the symptoms in the
evenings, though my wafe says it looked more like I was sleeping in my
La-Z-Boy with a book in my lap to her. She clearly does not understand
the delicate art of Volkswagen engine diagnosis and repair. Of the
things I had not checked, only two seemed likely: a subtle electrical
gremlin in the wiring, or a vacuum leak. As checking every dang wire
in the ECU harness sounded too hard, I figured I'd start with a sanity
check of every orifice of the intake space downstream of the AFM.
Besides, the weekend before I mentioned the symptoms and everything
I'd checked to my mother, and she immediately said "It doesn't sound
like any of that; sounds like a vacuum leak to me".
Clamped the breather hose shut, no dice. Plugged the carbon canister
hose and pressure regulator hose, no dice. Checked the clamps on the
S-shaped rubber accordion-looking piece, no dice. Then i started down
the brake booster line. Hey, lookie there, the white plastic clamp
that attaches it to the body line at the firewall was loose--- like
"spin it around with your finger" loose! Tightened that down and took
it for a drive. Hey, what do you know, it doesn't die no more! It
still feels weak, but I think that's just because A) it's heavily
loaded down with tools and parts for work, and B) it's an automatic
and the "spare" GL Vanagon I've been driving in its place is a manual.
It may turn out to be only part of the problem. Time will tell.
Vacuum leak!
--
John Bange
'90 Vanagon - "Lastwagen"
'90 Vanagon GL - "Wiesel"
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