Check the compression before you start spending big bucks on the unknown.
This could be anything from a vacuum leak to a dropped valve seat.
You could have a combination of problems and they just reached X factor
together and caused it to quit.
P mail me if you want to do some of the investigation yourself and I'll
try to guide you through it.

Stan Wilder
83 Air Cooled Westfalia (Dallas TX)

On Wed, 20 Nov 2002 11:41:08 -0600 Patrick Kreuzer
<kreuzer@ECE.UTEXAS.EDU> writes:
> Howdy Vanagon aficionados,
> Something unfortunate happened to my poor westie last night and I
> need
> to find a mechanic in Austin who is relatively quick, inexpensive
> and
> over-all trustworthy (man, am I dreaming of the perfect mechanic
> here).
> What happened is that I turned off my van and it dieseled for a bit
> and
> died eventually, not too bad I thought, just carbon deposits. Then I
> go
> out to start it about 45minutes later and it shook pretty bad when
> trying to start at first, then it started (only after depressing the
> gas
> pedal down a ways) and it would make a loud noise like something in
> cylinder 1 was banging around inside (it checked it with a timing
> light). For the very short time I tried to run it, the shaking went
> away
> but it was still banging loudly from around cylinder 1, and it
> quieted a
> bit when the RPM's increased, but I let it go to idle and it died
> quickly. So now it sits in from of the video store parking garage
> on
> 29th and Guadalupe waiting for help. Sorry about not including my
> van
> specs in my previous e-mail, but I have a 1983 Air Cooled (CV
> engine
> code) Vanagon Westfalia with the Weber dual progressive carb. Also
> a
> matter about the urgency, the only reason I need a mechanic that is
> semi-quick is that I need it done by Wednesday of next week so some
> friends and I (who are all down here attending UT Austin) can go
> home
> for thanksgiving (In El Paso).
> Thanks in advanced,
> Patrick
>
>

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