if it is a throttle cable issue ...
*all* vanagons if they haven't had it done, and I see many that have never
had this part worked on ..
remove the throttle cable from the van ..
blow out the white plastic forward tube with compressed air.
on the throttle cable itself, thoroughly lube the outer cable where the
inner cable slides in the outer part.
Lube the bell crank mechanism under the floor of the van ..
lube the gas pedal pivot ..
when inserting the cable back into the white plastic tube , spray good lube
as you insert the cable...
push the cable in some, spray lube, repeat, etc.

you do all this starting in the middle of the van ....undo both ends.....
remove from the middle.

when you do this deluxe throttle cable lube, it's good for years. Many, many
vanagons  have never had their throttle cable worked over, cleaned and lubed
like this. They love it.

you'll find throttle action is about 90 % smoother ...
it's part of a major re-fit/service/restore that so, so many of these 25
year old vans are needing now.
I find hundreds of spots to lube on them that have not been lubed since they
built it Germany.
The throttle cable sure is one, especially the white tube part, and the gas
pedal and bell crank below it.
lube the throttle body too, they almost never get any service, not the
dozens of them that I see on vangons anyway.

Scott
www.turbovans.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark" <mbrush@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, July 07, 2010 8:36 PM
Subject: engine revving at idle

> Has anyone had this problem?  After my engine reaches operating temp and
> is
> in stop and go traffic, it doesn't fall back down to idle after I
> accelerate
> to move forward in traffic.  It just stays revved at 3,000 rpm or
> thereabouts.  Not fun when stuck in traffic.  I'm thinking it has
> something
> to do with the spring on the throttle (maybe needs to be cleaned or
> greased?).   I haven't worked on this part of the van yet, so I'm not
> familiar with how the accelerator cable hooks up and works in the engine
> compartment.
>
> Thanks for any insights!
>
> Mark
>
> --
> Mark
> 1990 Westy (2.1 - manual)