Joel,
thanks for the information.  I'll probably take out all the cruise
control parts.  You know, my van has a cruise control lever on the
left side of the steering column.  Maybe the cruise control system is
stock and the PO disconnected it?

I don't have an idle stabilizer.  The previous owner took it out.
Could this be the problem of my rough idle when cold?   What does the
idle stabilizer actually do?

Also, the temperature switch on that is located on the driver-side of
the radiator in the front of the van does not work.  I operate the fan
manually through a switch that I installed on my dash.  The
temperature switch on the radiator doesn't affect cold idle does it?

I can get an idle stabilizer from volkscafe for $50 and I'm willing to
spend the money if it will help.  However, I don't want to spend the
$50 if it won't.  I can't figure out what the idle stabilizer does.
Note that I have a 1983 van and there appears to be a different (and
more expensive) idle stabilizer control unit in 1986 and newer vans.

On Tue, 16 Apr 2002, Joel Walker wrote:

>> http://communitybuilders.dhs.org/craigoda/vw/tinker/
>>
> all three of those items are aftermarket cruise control. 3 is the
> throttle control ... that cable coming out is supposed to go hook up
> to the throttle arm (where the normal accelerator cable attaches to
> the shaft that comes up vertically from the butterfly flap in the
> intake manifold (that silvery spider-looking arrangement, with 'legs'
> that go to each cylinder head)).
> 2 is likely the vacuum connection for the cruise control ... but
> something is missing (from the cruise control parts). see if the
> rubber hose goes back and connects to the backside of the black
> cylinder at 3.
> 1 is part of the throttle control arm that the cable from 3 was
> supposed to attach to .. the ball-chain is a dead giveaway: almost all
> aftermarket cruise controls use this as a 'safety' device, claiming
> the ball-chain will break and not allow unintended runaway
> acceleration.
>
> it sounds more like you've got a coolant temp sensor problem or idle
> stabilizer problem to me. but it could still be a vacuum leak ...
> sometimes a crack in a rubber hose will allow air to get sucked in
> when the engine is cold, but as the rubber warms up, the crack will
> close enough to seal the leak. only thing to do is start checking or
> replacing all the hoses on the engine ...and a bentley manual would be
> of some help for that.
>
> good luck!
> joel
>

--
Craig Oda   craigoda@communitybuilders.info
VW Info: 1983 VW Westfalia, water-cooled, automatic
http://communitybuilders.dhs.org/craigoda/vw/