Date:         Thu, 20 Aug 1998 16:25:10 -0800
Reply-To:     "Roy R. Johnson" <rrjohnson@MAIL.ARC.NASA.GOV>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         "Roy R. Johnson" <rrjohnson@MAIL.ARC.NASA.GOV>
Organization: NASA ARC Code SFT
Subject:      Temp coolant sensor repair and Warmup?
Comments: To: vanagon@vanagon.com
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii; x-mac-type="54455854";
              x-mac-creator="4D4F5353"

Hello Vanagon Pilots,

Two part query:
Part one:
After sifting through archives, I came upon the following solution for
my problem.

Solution:  Replace the temp coolant sensor.

Problem:  Uneven and low idle.  Stalls until warmed up.

It's very annoying and maybe even dangerous to have her almost die out
from underneath me at the first stop light of the morning.  The fix is
probably straight forward and it appears to be a common problem.  I just
want to consult with the experts before I dirty up the "testing the temp
coolant sensor" page in my Bentley manual.

Part two:
Does this part fail with time (108,000 miles on my '87) or is it
something else?  I religiously warm up for at least two minutes before
pulling away.  While driving the needle on the heat gauge is typically
parked right over the warning LED.

Thanks alot in advance.

By the way...  Most auto's users manuals (including our beloved boxes)
advise not to sit and idle with fuel injection.  Are they excluding
warming up or is warming up actually damaging?  I've always assumed
they're just trying to keep people from frying their motors while parked
listening to their radios with the A/C on and eating lunch on a 105
degree day.

Thanks again,
Roy Johnson and
Glenda the Guagua ('87 GL)