Did you try UNPLUGGING the O2 sensor? If it's OK it shouldn't make any
difference. The next question is this - is the CAT PLUGGED, this *will*
kill a motor after a few minutes of running, and severely hamper RPMs.
Has the CAT rattled? Or made any weird noises loose being loose?

Good luck - beware the dealer..

AB

William Grace wrote:

>  I'm stuck in Pueblo, CO with my 85 Westy and my incredibly good
> spirited and encouraging partner, Kerri.  I would appreciate any ideas
> before I visit the VW dealer in the morning.
>
> Background:  I just bought the Westy in Tennessee, and am driving it
> back to Seattle.  It ran great from Tennessee to Pueblo, and upon
> arriving in Pueblo today, and driving in stop and go traffic for about
> 15 minutes in 97 degree heat, the symptoms started.
>
> Symptom:  The 85 Westy's (with manual trans) engine cuts out,
> hesitates, runs irregularly, and finally dies altogether when it gets
> hot.  This progression takes about 30 seconds.  While the symptoms are
> happening, I can kind of "feather" the throttle, and keep it running
> for a little longer - especially if I can get it up over 2000 RPM.
> Immediately after it dies, it cranks fine, but won't re-start.  After
> letting it sit for about 15 minutes, it will start and run normally
> for about 5 minutes, then the symptoms start over again.  I've
> repeated this process 5 times now, and it acts the same each time.
> The coolant temp gage reads normal (about mid-scale) all through this,
> but I'd guess the temp in the engine compartment was the highest it's
> been since I picked up the van.
>
>
>
> Here's what I've done so far, and none of this has changed the
> symptoms at all:  When I looked at the engine after it died the first
> time, the hose from the crankcase breather to the air intake boot
> (about 1 inch diameter hose) was sucked flat in the middle.  It had
> lost all it's stiffness - heat? and was floppy.  I replaced it with a
> nice stiff hose of just the right size from Auto Zone.  Free too - it
> was a scrap.  Thanks Auto Zone.  It didn't do any good, though, still
> had the exact same symptoms.  After that, I replaced the air filter,
> cap and rotor, plugs, plug wires, all of the little fabric coated
> vacuum lines, and fuel filter.  The rotor was really bad looking - the
> center contact was broken off from the metal strip leading to the
> spinning rim piece.  Must have been sparking across the little gap.
> And two of the plugs were loose.  Anyway, that's all interesting, but
> none of it helped.  I brought all those parts with me "just in case",
> and it's Sunday afternoon, so might as well put 'em in, huh?  I also
> tried to replace the O2 sensor, but couldn't get the old one
> unscrewed.  It is full of gas & oil level's fine.
>
> Here's what I haven't done:  Any real troubleshooting to isolate
> whether it is a fuel delivery problem or a spark problem.  I guess I'm
> going to leave that for the dealer in the morning, but any thoughts on
> these symptoms would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks.
>
>
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