In a message dated 21/07/2008 11:53:38 A.M. Central Standard Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:

I just  got back from a quick trip to Cleveland from Peterborough ON . The
van ran  great (87 Westy 2.1 Watterboxer) except when we got caught in a
traffic  jam. It was about 80 degrees out and the temp gauge went up to just
above  the indicator light. when this happened the idle went up to 2200 -
3000 .  When we got going aging and the temp went down the Idle returned to
normal.  I could hear the ran fan working. Ideas on what I should check  ?

Jerry, I don't think the  overheating and high idle are related.  The
overheating situation you speak  of is the NORMAL operation of the cooling system of
the 2.1 waterboxer in  your Westy.  The waterpump is not able to move enough
coolant at idle to  keep it cooled off so the first stage fan comes on then
should go off when the  temperature of the coolant drops.  This scenario can go
on until you either  raise the RPM or start moving forward to get fresh air to
pass through the  rad.  The idle kicking up at the same time as the
temperature went up is a  coincidence.  The idle is controlled by the idle control
mechanisms which  are the throttle position switch, the ICV (Idle Control Valve -
on top of the  plenum), ICU (Idle Control Unit - behind the RH tail light), the
power steering  pressure switch, and A/C power switch (if you have A/C).  The
first place I  would go looking is at the throttle position switch.  It
frequently goes  out of adjustment due to a plastic cam that wears out rubbing on a
metal switch  arm.  The condition of the throttle body is also suspect as the
butterfly  may have worn a groove into the throat of the throttle body (very
common).   I can rebuild these throttle bodys and currently have one ready to
go, from my  _Vanagon Items Forsale_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/sales.htm)
"Used  Parts" webpage: Throttle body 1.9 or 2.1, rebuilt, excellent better
that new  condition - 250.00 exchange or 300.00. The ICV and ICU are a bit more
challenging to test.  I swap in known good ones to test.  I just had a  van
here the other day that had a constant high idle and the problem was the ICV
was bad and swapping in a known good one cured the problem immediately.   Yours
may be on the verge of being totally defective.  You can try removing  it and
cleaning the insides with lacquer thinner.  The ICU is a all  electronic
computer control, no test I know about.  Check the part number  and see if it ends
B or D.  B is the old one that goes bad often, D is the  newer version and
I've yet to see one of them go bad.  I'm here all day  today if you need more
help.

    Time to start getting your Westy in order for  Bacalar !

Cheers,

Frank  Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
'87 Westy & Lionel Trains (_Collection for sale_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/trainsal.htm) )
_Frank Condelli &  Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
- Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
_Vanagon Stainless Steel Exhaust  Systems_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/exhaust.htm)
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm)  a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 12 ~ 15,  2008