Date:         Tue, 12 May 1998 09:37:06 EDT
Reply-To:     SyncroHead <SyncroHead@AOL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         SyncroHead <SyncroHead@AOL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Syncro running terrible
Comments: To: TkJa@aol.com, Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

In a message dated 98-05-12 01:25:09 EDT, TkJa@AOL.COM writes:

> I posted a note a couple of weeks ago about this.  The '89 Syncro idles
> great, runs  when cold.  When the engine warms up it stalls out when you put
your
>  foot on the gas.  Also stalls when stopped at stop sign.  We swapped out
the
>  air flow meter, no difference.  We swapped the ECU, no diff.  We unplugged
> the O2 sensor, no difference.

It sounds like you have a bad coolant temperature sensor, or might be running
on just 3 cylinders.

A. Find a "bad" cylinder:
To find out if you have a "bad" cylinder, remove one spark plug wire at the
distributer and see how it runs.  If little or no change you've located the
cylinder.  If it runs much worse, replace the wire and try another, etc.
If you find one that doesn't seem to affect engine performance whether
connected or not, that's the cylinder.  If you don't find a "bad" one, check
the coolant temperature sensor.  Not the one for the coolant temp gage, but
the one for the Digifant engine computer.
B. Check the wires:
Swp the spark plug wires with the cylinder next to it.  See if the problem
follows the plug wire.  If so, you've found a bad plug wire.  Replace your
plug wires.  Keep one of the satisfactory ones under the rear seat as a spare.
C. Check the plugs:
Now, pull & replace the spark plug on the "bad" cylinder.  If that doesn't do
the trick, continue below.
D. Cap?, Rotor?, Injector?
The cap and rotor are pretty hardy, but they're relatively cheap and easy to
replace, so you might try it.  Examine the inside of the cap for wear, cracks,
or corrosion.  Examine the metal parts on the rotor for wear or corrosion.  If
the rotor & cap are not the problem, I'd suspect the fuel injector.  A new
Bosch one is about $90-$130 each.  Last time I checked, prices varied
dramatically.

Good luck,
Jim Davis