Date:         Fri, 22 Mar 1996 20:42:06 -0800
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Steve Hoge <steveh@emu.com>
Subject:      "Driveability" (Was: 87 syncro GL:rough running)

Fred wrote:

> Lately my van (136kmi) has developed some mild hesitation while
> running,
> especially for the first 1/2 hour of the drive. It is not a serious
> bucking, just a small acceleration/deceleration i can feel in the seat
> of my pants--not completely smooth. 

As for "hesitation", "smoothness", etc., I've never driven any Vanagon
that seemed to accelerate really evenly, especially not the one I have
now.  My '89 Syncro always seems to have these slight plateaus in the
power curve as it accelerates, and on deceleration it often "oscillates"
(surges/lags), especially if I take my foot off the gas suddenly.  In
addition, it's quite hard to hold a constant speed in 1st or 2nd gear
around 3000rpm - it really seems to want to either speed up or slow
down.

Is this what they refer to as "driveability"?  An experienced VW
mechanic who's driven it pronounced it normal for a Vanagon, but this
unevenness is the one real dissatisfaction I have with the car.  I'd be
willing to go to some lengths to fix it, but I'm not sure if it can
really be improved.  Do other people experience these effects?

BTW Fred - d'ja get a good deal on that Bosch OXS?  A couple of months
ago I was polling list members about the advisability of non-Bosch OXS
replacements, and there was unfortunately no consensus.  Local dealer
wants over $100 for the real item, but I've procrastinated replacing it
(I'm at 95K miles and have pretty rough idle) knowing that there are $40
replacements out there that *might* work.  Not to open up that thread
again... ;-)

Steve Hoge
'77 AutoLoaf (Da Rust Bucket, FS!)
'89 Syncro GL (Da Stud Bucket)