Very interesting.  We should make a list of possible "syndrome" problems.  This
could definately help some people.

- shawn.

Jay Roth wrote:

> I'm new to the Vanagon world so I subscribed to as many groups/lists as I
> could. This one came today from the Westfalia group on Yahoo. I don't know
> if any of you also subscribe, but I see this author did NOT include this
> very active Vanagon Mailing list.
>
> So, taking this for what it's worth, you may find it interesting or not at
> all. The author, Terry, seems to be very active on the other lists and has a
> few items of interest for sale on his website (I'm not endorsing, I'm
> exploring their quality). If you know of his products and can offer some
> feedback about them, I'd be interested in knowing.
>
> Love, Light & Laughter,
> Jay
> '87 Westy
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: CTOnLine@webtv.net [mailto:CTOnLine@webtv.net]
> Sent: Tuesday, April 15, 2003 9:28 AM
> To: Vanagon@yahoogroups.com; Syncro@yahoogroups.com;
> Vanagon-Westfalia@Yahoogroups.com; VWVans@Yahoogroups.com;
> vwvanfulltimers@yahoogroups.com; WetWesties@yahoogroups.com
> Subject: [Vanagon-Westfalia] The Possible Answer to A Bunch of Vanagon
> Problems
>
> Hey All,
>
> I thought I would share this experience with you--which I believe may be
> the cure to a multitude of "Vanagon Syndrome" idiosyncrasies.
>
> My 87 Westy ran pretty good--but suffered from real poor fuel economy, (
> 13-14 mpg at best ) sometimes it would die upon starting it, and would
> only start again after putting the hammer down until it fired again--but
> then it would run OK.
> Sometimes it had an erratic idle--but not all the time, and at best it
> would cruise at no more than 75 mph and this was with zero headwind--
> If I was running into the wind--at best, I'm talking 65 mph--and this is
> with the pedal mashed.
> Ok--after talking to innumerable folks on any list--I started replacing
> all, and every electrical component on or around the engine--filter's ,
> timing, everything except the ECU.
> Things were getting better--but the fuel consumption was terrible and
> this really had me stumped--until last weekend.
>
> My J-Pipe to the engine pipes had a small leak--pft--pft--pft, and I
> thought possibly this cold be giving the oxy sensor a bad reading, so I
> went to work--
> The pipe flanges were tweaked, so I ground them, filed them, basically
> tried to make the match the J-Pipe mating surface perfectly so the new
> gaskets would seal good.
>
> Success--the joint wasn't leaking so homeward bound I go--the Van
> wouldn't get out of it's own way--throttle response was terrible, and it
> seemed real poochie--no gotaine, slow.
>
> I'm thinking--"there is some restriction here, and the only thing that
> could do that would be the converter".
>
> Before I got home the exhaust leak was back at the J-Pipe, and it was
> running better--I knew then this was it--
>
> So this last weekend I decided to replace my muffler (still original )
> the saddles, and the straps.
> As soon as I dropped the muffler and cat--and separated them--I took my
> drop cord and put it on one end of the converter--no light coming
> through---
>
> I took a 12" long sharp chisel and knocked out all of the rock inside
> the converter-and reinstalled all the new exhaust components--filed the
> J-Pipe and the engine exhaust flanges again--new gasket there--and fired
> her up--
>
> No exhaust leaks--tight--good--
> I head for home.
>
> I am elated at the difference in overall performance---like  the
> difference between night and day.
>
> Idles smooth--perfect.
> Cold starts are no big deal--it fires right up and doesn't die.
> Throttle response it fantastic, and here is the best--
> This Van has never seen 80 mph---I ran it down the road at 91 mph--( not
> long--just a high end blast)
>
> Now this is my thought process on this finding, and cure--
> While I am not condoning the removal of the converter's on your Vans--
> I am suggesting to a lot of you out there who have some sort of
> continuous running problems--that can't seem to be resolved, regardless
> what you do--this may be the missing piece of the puzzle.
> Figure it this way---how many of you have actually replaced the original
> converter on your over 100 k Van?
>
> Not too many I'd bet--and these things have such tiny passages in the
> stone that is suppose to clean up the exhaust--I can see where this
> would be a big problem in performance, and the engine running poorly if
> plugged up.
>
> My 85 has the converter gutted, and only because the stone self
> destructed--and was rattling, so I took the broken stone out and it has
> always ran real good--and gets good gas mileage.
>
> The 87 Westy I figured was just a heavier vehicle, and was doomed to
> poor fuel economy.
>
> I went for a ride Sunday--and the Westy is now getting 19 mpg--amazing !
>
> So--before you guys with the "Syndrome" problems start replacing all the
> electrical engine components first--I would suggest at least removing
> the converter and inspecting it--you might save yourself a bunch of
> money--and aggravation.
>
> Later,
>
>             ______________
>            |[  ] [  ] [ ]\
>            |    |    |    |
>      ~~~ ~||-(())----(())-|
>
> Terry--
>
>        "Zoom, Zoom, Zoom"
> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
> http://community.webtv.net/CTONLINE/terryshighonlifepage
>
> http://community.webtv.net/VanStuff/VanagonWestfalia
>
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