I recently bought an 1983 water-cooled Westy 3rd hand.  There are a
number of parts that I'm wondering about.  Right now, now the Van
works fine except for a rough idle and stalling when the engine is
cold.  I popped open the rear hatch and found a couple of parts that
weren't connected.

Please check out
  http://communitybuilders.dhs.org/craigoda/vw/tinker/index.hml

for pictures of the mystery parts.

Part 1 is a 3-prong electrical connector that appears to be connected
to the engine.

Part 2 is an air hose that is not connected to anything.

Part 3 is a missing idle control unit.  Do I need this part?

Also, when I was checking the connections on the air system, the cover
for the air sensor came off.  There is some red rubber sealant around
the edges that is sticky, so I pressed the cover back on and it is
staying.  However, I was wondering if this needed to be completely
airtight and if I should cover this with sealant.  If I cover it,
should I drop in that capacity that people are talking about?  There
is no problem with my engine yet when it is warmed up, but I was
thinking of preventive maintainence.

Also, I checked the auxiliary air regulator by closing the hose with a
pliers as suggested in the Bentley manual and this is having no effect
on the idle when it is cold.  I suspect that the auxiliary air
regulator is disconnected...   Maybe the white wire?

I'm going to colder climate for camping in a few weeks and am trying
to prevent any problems during the family camping trip.

Thanks.

--
Craig Oda   craigoda@communitybuilders.info