I don't own a WBX, but from what I've read on the list......

Check grounds and connections/plugs to all the engine peripherals in engine bay.

Check fuel filter.

Cheers,

Neil.

On Thu, May 1, 2008 at 2:15 PM, John Drew <john.p.drew@gmail.com> wrote:
> Hi All:Border Stories has made it out of Texas, through New Mexico and into
>  Arizona, but there are now some concerns about our vanagon's ability to
>  reach California without a total and potentially dangerous breakdown (we
>  might be passing through some "rough" areas on the Mexican side).
>
>  The reasons for concern are the following:
>
>  After driving 150 miles or so (yesterday), we reached a slightly higher
>  altitude along the southern state line between N. Mexico and Arizona (at one
>  point I think we nearly hit 6000 feet), the car started to occasionally
>  lurch, as if it were running out of gas (the tank was full and there were no
>  gas leaks however). At first I noticed that this only happened going down
>  hills in the highest gear (4th), but after a bit it actually happened going
>  up hill too and eventually, in all gears. Fortunately, our gradual ascent
>  leveled off and for the most part, the lurching went away but my feeling is
>  that after another long drive and any more significant descents or ascents,
>  it will come back. Any idea what might be causing this and how we might be
>  able to fix it?
>
>  In addition to this lurching phenomenon, we also experienced a scare this
>  morning when I noticed that the temp gauge had risen above the light in the
>  dashboard. I stopped before the light went on and checked the coolant tank
>  to see what was happening. Sure enough, coolant was coming out the side of
>  it (but not the top where the cap sits). It did not look as if the tank had
>  pulled any coolant over from the reserve tank though because the coolant
>  level in there was where it should be. I made sure the screws that appear to
>  keep the top half of the tank fastened to the bottom half were secure and
>  then started driving again, watching the gauge carefully. I also turned on
>  the heater, as stop-gap measure. As it turns out, the gauge never rose above
>  the light bulb again and we were able to reach the southeast corner of the
>  Arizona/Mexico border safely and without losing anymore coolant from the
>  tank or reserve tank. The only thing I can think of is that I might have
>  driven out of last night's camping spot in a low gear, pushing the rpms a
>  bit, but other than that, the car seemed normal until I noticed the temp.
>  gauge going up a few miles down the highway. We had not driven for more than
>  5 miles when this happened but the problem did not come back after we
>  settled into  highway driving at 50 mph with the heater on.
>
>  My rather naive opinion is that these two incidents are not related, and may
>  not transpire again, assuming we stick to level terrain and I regularly
>  watch the gauge. Given the fact that some of our next border stories are
>  going to be shot in some remote, hot and potentially dangerous areas, I
>  thought I would send these concerns out to the group for feedback however.
>
>  Thanks in advance for your input-
>  the borderstories team
>  www.borderstories.org
>

--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia - "Jaco"

http://web.mac.com/tubaneil
http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/