Dave -- your '84 sounds like mind did when I bought it 4 years ago.  You have a bad front heater valve.  Easy fix; get a new valve, drop the spare tire, remove old valve, install new one.

Sounds like one of your problems could be crud on the connector between FI cable and ECU.  This will give a no start and fuel smell from the exhaust.  Key thing on old Vanagons is to make sure each electrical connection including grounds is squeaky clean and mechanically and electrically tight.  At $200 for the van, a good rule of thumb is that everything that has flow in it (coolant, air, vaccum, electrons) is suspect unless you know for sure that it is good.

John Lauterbach
Macon, GA
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Dave Rodriguez 
  To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM 
  Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2001 12:08 AM
  Subject: New to list...a few questions, and I need some stuff

  What's up guys?  I just bought myself an '84 Vanagon($200!!!), and have spent 
  the last week or so bringing it up to snuff as best I can.  When I got it, 
  both of the water pipes running from front to rear were rusted out and 
  leaking, so I replaced them, along with the gas tank breather(which was 
  cracked), and she's up and running perfectly.   

  Some background on me...I am a VW employee, I work at a dealership in the 
  parts department.  I have spent the last 4 years of my life dedicated to 
  repair and modification of VWs(primarily A1 and A2 chassis cars).  This van 
  is now my 9th VW(I had 2 Volvos, too), and my second van(my first was a '67 
  Westy).  I currently own 3 VWs, my other two being 16V Jettas.  Prior 
  experience with Vanagons includes converting an '88 from automatic to stick. 

  Now, this thing has no A/C, but does have dual heaters.  I disconnected the 
  rear heater when I did the other cooling system repairs, as the "T"s in the 
  lines were also rusted.  However, I cannot for the life of me figure out how 
  to turn off the front heater.  No matter what I do, there's still heat coming 
  out of somewhere, be it the floor, the defroster, where ever.  I have no 
  owners manual with this thing, and I can't seem to decypher the alien 
  pictograms on the control panel.  Some help on this one would be nice...it's 
  too hot for heat. 

  Issue 2:  Hard starting and rich running.  Every once in a while, the van 
  doesn't want to start.  Smells like it's flooding, then after x amount of 
  attempts, it won't even crank, kinda like it's vapor locking.  I may have 
  remedied this with the tank breather, but I'm not sure at this point.  Any 
  common issues with automatics and starting problems?  And what kind of gas 
  mileage are you guys getting? 

  Issue 3:  This thing handles like a pig.  I am used to track-worthy Rabbits, 
  and highly modified A2 Jettas that go around turns hard enough to throw 
  things around the cabin with deadly force.  I know better than to expect this 
  thing to do the same, but there's got to be a way to make it better.  Does 
  anyone make swaybars for these things?  I'd rather not lower it, but I'm sure 
  that's an option as well.  Bilsteins are an absolute must, and will be coming 
  soon.  ;-) 

  OK, now, I need some things for this Van.  For starters, I need a jack and a 
  toolset.  Anyone know where I can get those second hand?  Also, this thing 
  needs some different wheels.  The stock 14" steel wheels are not cutting it 
  for me.  I am a huge fan of steel wheels, especially on a vehicle like this, 
  and my intentions for it's use.  I'd like to do some 15" steel wheels, and in 
  fact, I have a set from a '99 Passat.  They are the correct bolt pattern, 
  however, the hubs on the van are too large for the wheels.  I thought about 
  grinding them out a bit(there's not too much of a difference), but they'd be 
  a pain to balance.  So, does anyone have some wheels out there they'd like to 
  come off of for a reasonable price?   

  Thanks again, guys.  I'm sure I'll have more for you as I get into this 
  thing, and I appreciate any help you can give me.   

  -Dave 
  '91 Jetta GTX 16V 
  '88 Jetta GLI 16V 
  '84 Vanagon 

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