Date:         Thu, 14 Jul 2011 11:06:33 +0000
Reply-To:     J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         J Stewart <fonman4277@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      Vacuum Leak-Yesterday was My Turn
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8

So, I have three days off from work and 6 days of stuff to do, none of it Vanagon related. Yesterday I'm taking my new pup to the vet for a checkup. It was HOT yesterday here in Virginia, and the humidity was off the scale. Fire the van up and it's running a tad rough. Put it in reverse and it stalls- it hasn't done that since I went through the entire top end and replaced every hose and/or gasket that looked suspect. Restart and get it going, at speed it's fine, come to a stop and it's still a tad rough. Trip home from the vet (in a horrendous thunderstorm) it's getting worse. Drop the pup off at home and head back to town for more errands and now it is stalling every time I come to a stop. Still fine at any speed, just won't idle worth a damn. I start thinking "damn, I just don't need this right now, maybe I do need to start thinking of a more "mainstream" automobile", or as my wife put it a few weeks ago 'Why can't you drive a normal car?". Well, I knew from experience I had a vacuum leak somewhere. When I got home from the second trip I went to raise the rear hatch and pop the engine cover-crap, everything from 4th of July is still piled up back there. Go on to other stuff but come back a few hours later, 'cause I got more stuff to do today and I don't like it stalling. Clear the stuff out and pop the engine cover and fire it up-I can hear it sucking air. Turns out to be the little plastic reducer on the vacuum line where it splits to the idle boost for the a/c and power steering-it's cracked on the small side. So I have it glued back together for now and all is well, but I do need to find a replacement part for it. And the Vanagon is safe from being sold once again! Jeff 



Jeff Stewart