Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2010 12:53:55 -0400
Reply-To: Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Greg Potts <greg@POTTSFAMILY.CA>
Subject: Re: Must sell my Vanagon - Comments appreciated
In-Reply-To: <B401DB06EA594239B1F3329CCB32D418@PC245562293221>
Content-Type: text/plain;charset=iso-8859-1
Hi Pat,
Sounds like CIS issues for sure. That system doesn't age well, and parts
are very expensive. When we first got it my wife's 85 cabriolet used to
die after 3 minutes and would not restart at all until it cooled for 3
hours. Then it would run for 3 minutes again. I could never sort it out,
so I took it to a local VW specialist and they got it running for me; and
even they couldn't say precisely what it was.
You don't want a vanagon specialist to work on CIS; they won't be familiar
it. You would be better off with a Rabbit or Fox specialist, or someone
familiar with Porsche 924s or 1970's audi products.
Wiring on a CIS motor is quite simple; much more so than a digifant
engine. Basically there's the ignition and a temp sensor and a throttle
position switch. But then there's the fact that all the wiring on the van
is close to thirty years old.... lots of opportunities for issues. with
limited resources at your end it might be best to pull it off and go with
a $500 carb kit so you can get some use from it; or at least to make it
finally run better so as to improve the resale value and attract more of a
potential customer base. A carb kit is not the optimal solution but it
will be a good way to get the van mobile. You can probably pay for most of
the carb by selling the used CIS components on eBay.
Going back to your original question:
Selling it non-running, with issues... you are basically sitting at the
top end of the scale for parts vehicles. Minus some points for it being
assuan brown. I recently got a clean BC '88 wolfsburg with a blown motor
for $1200; but there were buyers behind me in line who were willing to go
higher. I am not too familiar with your market but at this time of year
the prices certainly are not going up.
Happy Trails,
Greg Potts
www.pottsfamily.ca
WWW.BUSESOFTHECORN.CA <--- NEW .CA DOMAIN!!!
1987 Wolfsburg Weekender hardtop Vanagon
1988 Wolfsburg Weekender hardtop Vanagon
1973 Westfakia "Bob the Tomato"
> Thanks, Greg for your questions. It has a CIS fuel system.
> I guess I don't have Vanagon Syndrome if that only occurs on '86 or older.
> What it is doing is having great difficulty starting and when driven in
> the
> city (stop and go traffic) it begins to surge and then cough after about
> 20
> minutes driving. Eventually it coughs and won't restart. Sometimes it will
> start again after resting for about 1/2 hour. Other times, it gets towed
> to
> a garage for whatever. Right now it is parked on the street in front of my
> apt building. It only starts after great difficulty and when/if it does,
> it
> now makes a screeching noise that sound like a bad fan belt to me.
> All this in spite of a new battery and ignition switch, as well as
> considerable rewiring. I'm told that more rewiring is needed. There is
> also
> a complete new fuel delivery system from new gas tank, lines, pump, filter
> and injectors.
> 4 mechanics have worked on her - 2 of them highly recommended Vanagon
> mechanics. One VW mechanic gave up saying that he really didn't like Jetta
> engines. Another said that the van had been horribly rewired earlier in
> its
> life and would require many hours more wiring work. One small town
> mechanic
> did a lot of rewiring for cheap and a lot of work on the fuel system, but
> eventually gave up because he just didn't know a lot about vans and it was
> taking time from his usual customers. I'd like to put the problem to your
> inline engine list, but I still am lacking someone local to work on it
> without bankrupting me.
> I've spent about $2500 on this so far (above and beyond the purchase
> price)
> and have no knowledge, tools or location to work on it myself.
> Registration
> needs to be renewed in a couple of weeks and I have nowhere offstreet to
> store it.
> So it looks like a rock and a hard place to me. Any perspective from your
> end?
> Cheers, Pat
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