Matt - I know you have gotten some advice from some of the best gurus on the
list; however, I have a couple of other ideas based on my own experiences.
If there is dirt on the connector between the FI cable and the ECU van can
run rich, die, and not restart.  I have also had something similar happen
when the AFM fell out of the rubber elbow connecting to the inlet manifold.

John Lauterbach
Macon, GA
'84 DL

----- Original Message -----
From: Matthew Pollard <poll7356@UIDAHO.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, June 12, 2000 12:09 PM
Subject: Dead? Blue/black smoke, no ext. oil leak, runs bad

> Hello out there-
> We had a nice weekend hitting up some hot springs near the Lewis and Clark
> route :-)  and running into the beginning of the Rainbow Gathering.  That
> is where the fun ended :-(  On highway 12 in Idaho along the Lochsa River
> I went to accelerate and she puffed out black smoke!  I put the clutch in
> and coasted to a turnout where she then stalled.  I got towed back to
> Moscow (113 miles- thank you AAA+ ).
>
> So what is wrong? 84 with 100,000 on a VWofCa rebuild.  No oil or coolant
> is leaking to the ground.  It was a sooty smoke so i know it was
> oil.  Could a clogged engine breather hose be pushing oil into the
> cylinders?  Or a broken ring or something?
>
> Thanks for the help.  Lucky for me i live in a small city and can (and
> do) bike everywhere!
> -Matthew
> 84
>
>
> Matthew Pollard             http://www.uidaho.edu/~poll7356
> Dept. of Chemistry               http://www.chem.uidaho.edu
> University of Idaho                   http://www.uidaho.edu