Congrats Marc - that sounds hopeful!  I still need to get my new ISV to see
what problems I can eliminate with that first, and then take it from there.
I would think a good exhaust would do wonders for your power and fuel
efficiency.  Mine's gotta wait 'til I get some other things fixed first.  I
am gonna check my O2 sensor as well - tho - bet its an original and could
probably use some TLC or replacing.  What mechanic do you use (I forget
where you live...)?  Always good to know where to find a good one. :)

Peace,
Marla
'87 Westy GL Vana Morrison

>From: Marc Perdue <marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET>
>Reply-To: Marc Perdue <marcperdue@ADELPHIA.NET>
>To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>Subject: Yet ANOTHER idle update!
>Date: Mon, 14 Apr 2003 21:20:07 -0400
>
>I know you've all been hanging on the edges of your seats waiting for
>yet another idle update (NOT!), so here it is!
>
>First, the patient: '87 Westy, Auto tranny, no A/C.
>
>I got my leaky exhaust fixed today, new muffler, new gasket on the
>J-Pipe before the cat., welded a crack in the rear-most header, new
>tailpipe.  I asked them, while they in there tinkering around, if they
>would go ahead and loosen the O2 sensor and they DID!  I'll replace that
>later this week.  Also, while they had it apart, I asked to inspect the
>cat. converter and it looked fine.
>
>The work was just done today, so this is not a long-term update, but
>here's what I've noted so far.  When I started it up after work, it
>didn't idle up and down like it used to when started "cold".  YAY!!
>When first started, it jumped up to about 1200 RPMs for a second, then
>settled down to a steady 950 RPMs.  There seems to be more power, but
>this is such a relative and subjective thing . . . not sure if the
>change is actually measurable, but I feel like it has a little more
>power.  YAY!!  It shifts SMOOTHER!!  YAY!!  The rough shifting was most
>noticable driving through an area where the speed limit is 25 mph.
>Before, at 25 mph, it would clunk down into third from second.  Now, the
>shift is barely perceptible.  This is not a benefit a was really
>expecting, though I wondered if there might be some relationship there.
>Marla, there IS HOPE!!  I hadn't really noticed a huge amount of noise
>because of the leaky exhaust, but it does seem quieter now.  YAY!
>
>The downside:  I will not really be able to test the O2 sensor to see if
>the repaired exhaust was causing faulty O2 sensor readings.  When the
>technician loosened it, he also broke off the metal casing around the
>wires, so I think that if it wasn't bad before, it is now.  No big deal,
>I was going to replace it anyway.  First, I'm going to see if my gas
>mileage has changed as a result of the exhaust repairs.  Then I'll
>replace the sensor and see if there's any change after that.
>
>All in all, I feel like it's been a good day for my Westy.  I'm very
>pleased to find that the Westy's engine can, indeed, be a fairly
>smooth-running machine.  Think I'll check on all those electrical
>connections and grounds after I get the O2 sensor replaced and try to
>get a little more out of it!
>
>Now let's see what tomorrow brings . . .  ;^)
>Marc Perdue

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