Scott,
I had this problem on an '83 watercooled westy.  Some stuff I did:
  - replaced auxiliary air regulator (helped at first, then problem recurred)
  - adjusted valves (kind of helped, but problem still occurred)
  - replaced idle control stabilizer unit (This solved the problem)

on an 1983, the idle control stabilizer unit is a small black box with two
wires coming out the bottom.  It was $50 from VolksCafe.  i heard that it
helped sometimes and didn't help other times.  I bought one anyway and for
me it solved the problem.

I spent 2 months trying to find a vacuum leak, but never found one.
Replaced all my 3mm tube connectors, put sealant on various connectors, put
hose clamps on my exaust manifold gaskets.   Sprayed carb cleaner all around
the running engine to check for speed up.  Found nothing.

Putting a new idle control stabilizer worked, so I gave up trying to look
for other sources of the problem.  Though, I suspect there is something else
wrong too.

-- Craig

On Mon, 3 Mar 2003 10:54:40 -0800, Scott W. <smorewhisky@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

>so in a bid to assure myself an air tight engine, and
>rule that out, i replaced the 4 hoses that attach the
>the air runners to the intake manifold, and the
>gaskets that hold the air runners to the heads. no
>improvement. checked fuel pressure- 32 at idle, 38
>with the vacum hose to the pres. regulator
>disconnected. no problem. verified that the injectors
>are working, spray pattern is good, nothing wrong
>here. aux. air regulator is acting normal. temp 2
>sensor is fine. ecu is fine. throttle switch is fine.
>last time i pulled the plugs(month or so) they all
>appeared to have been firing, discolored on the firing
>end. so i think i am out of ideas here. here is what
>happens with the van- start it up, cranks easily,
>fires up to idle speed, then dies suddenly. crank it
>again, and it will probobly die again, but sometimes
>it will run rough for a couple minutes before dying.
>once it is warm, it runs just fine, making good power
>at 5 btdc, burns no oil between changes. plug wires
>are almost new, cap, rotor,idle stabilizer, blah...one
>more thing, since it will not idle cold, i have to
>warm it up with my foot on the gas, about 2k rpm for 3
>minutes and it is ready to go. while it is cold, the
>rpm will fluctuate even though my foot is steady on
>the gas, going between 2k and 1500 rpm, up and down
>until it warms up a bit and then it steadies out...any
>ideas short of changing the blinker fluid or muffler
>bearings will be greatly appreciated, thanks
> as if i needed to add one more thing...i tried to
>just set the idle speed high enough to get the darn
>thing to run by itself, and even when i have the idle
>set to 1.5k, it still will not run until warm. it will
>run 1.5k once it is warm, about 10 min. later, but why
>is this??? i set it back to spec since it did not help.
>
>=====
>Scott Wilson
>85 GL Westfalia
>
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