84 VANAGON manual trans inline motor/Digifant engine management. Recently I have had an issue with my idle sometimes being too low at unpredictable times letting the van die during traffic pauses, etc. I found a spare idle air control valve in my spares, but it is slightly different from the one I have now, so I douched the one that's here on the van, as well as Checking connections and vacuum leaks. All that and still low idle, but not consistently low, just sometimes. The Bentley book led me to a screw (imagine, something mechanical!). Similar to what was used on vehicles with carbs in the old days, this screw, with locknut, I turned it about 1/3 of a turn and that brought the idle back into spec. The van runs right again without the annoying dying at idle. I guess I'll be told now that I can't fix it that way...but I did first try all the fiddley little resistance readings and test protocols with no results first, just like s good little automotive technician should in our modern modular World. An aside: This last tank of fuel again gave me over 26 miles per gallon in rural driving. The Fuelly App I've recently began using to track my driving expenses has me at $.13/mile for the Vanagon, or 24.2 mpg over the past 6000 miles from my late fall's travels. I'll guess this kind of gas mileage surpasses most other much more expensive engine conversions, or even brand new Gucci G.W. style $5k rebuilt wbx motors. |
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