Date:         Sat, 14 Aug 1999 18:04:38 -0400
Reply-To:     Bulley <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Bulley <gmbulley@BULLEY-HEWLETT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Engine hesitation -- Need Help!

Gary-

A very small group of problems can cause the type of hesitation/poor
performance you speak of. It seems that the remainder of your message was
clipped, so we don't have a lot to go on, so I will explain the obvious
things to me...you may have one or many of the following problems.

It has to be one or a combination of three things. (A) the ignition system,
(2) the fuel injection system, or (III) a bad ground.

To diagnose (A), look for an old condenser, ugly cap/rotor, or bum ignition
wires/a high voltage spark leak. Change your plugs, rotor, points, and
condenser if this hasn't been done recently. If your plug wires are old,
replace these. If the ignition is the problem, this will probably fix it.
The only thing that would remain questionable is the coil, which probably
wouldn't be the problem, but also 'could' cause your problem, though it is
less likely.

More likely is the fuel system, (2). Bucking here is often caused by a
dirty wiper on the Air flow meter (AFM), but never have I seen this fault
cause such a marked decrease in performance. There is a lot of recent
information in the archives (a post in the past 24 hours) on cleaning the
AFM wiper. Follow the info and clean it. This may help.

Also, the "dual relay" (on the driver's side of the fryer wall) may be to
blame (small black box with lots of wires). This is a semi-costly part,
($50?) and I am in favor of opening it up and cleaning the contacts
thoroughly prior to out-and-out replacement. It is time consuming and
requires patience, but may be worth the effort. Finally, your fuel filter
'could' be the cause, but that usually doesn't cause bucking when it is
clogged, just horrible performance (like not being able to get above 40
mph).

Finally, (III) check all the grounds. There is a group of grounds under the
ERG valve, and MANY of the fuel related components rely on a solid ground.
If, for example, the dual relay isn't screwed tightly to the firewall, it
may not feed a clear signal, and cause 'bucking'. Check all of these.

Also, the battery MUST be firmly attached to the circuit in the L-Jetronic
system (which you have). I had a 1976 bus that bucked wildly, but
intermittently from NC to TX. At 2:00 a.m, after looking at everything else
on the van for two days, and fed up with the bucking, we wearily stopped in
the parking lot of a place called "Clown Around" in the middle of nowhere,
and figured out that the negative lead to the battery was loose. Check
that.

In the broad analysis, ignition related bucking is usually more "sharp" or
severe than fuel related bucking, if than makes any sense. The cylinder
will usually fire a little bit on remaining fuel vapor if the fuel cuts out
for a microsecond, but a lack of ignition means a total failure to fire for
that instant. Comprendez vous?

Please let us know what the problem turns out to be...

Best o' luck,

G. Matthew Bulley
Bulley-Hewlett & Associates
www.bulley-hewlett.com
Cary, NC USA
888.468.4880 tollfree


-----Original Message-----
From:   Gary Basey [SMTP:gbasey@LINK2000.NET]
Sent:   Saturday, August 14, 1999 1:16 PM
To:     vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject:        Engine hesitation -- Need Help!

My family and I were 1,200 miles into a 1,500 mile vacation when our
'80 Westy (2.0 aircooled) begin to buck and kick.  It never died but we
couldn't get above 40 MPH.  It seemed to want to take off but would
hesitate