To me this just smacks of intermittent wiring connection which could be
anywhere
in the ignition path or perhaps the electrical controls to the fuel
system.   You'd
have to do a thorough check of many connections and then possibly inside the
engine computer which is a whole matter all it's own.   Intermittent
problems are
a bear and I think most just wait until the problem becomes more self
evident.
Hopefully not at great expense....

Steven
91 Westy

On Thu, Jun 20, 2013 at 1:41 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>wrote:

> Emissions failures are rarely just something "out of tune" unless something
> has already been tampered with. Something is going wrong. Intermittent
> performance problems are usually fuel delivery or wiring problems. Bad
> injectors, spark plugs, ignition wires etc. usually give consistent issues
> although weather can have an effect. A defective O2 sensor or circuit can
> also cause intermittent drive ability issues. With the failed emissions you
> can start there. Consider the failed test as a sign something is wrong. The
> more you continue to use it the worse things can get. Non-working O2
> sensors, ignition or valve issues, vacuum leaks etc. all eventually lead to
> catalytic converter failure.
>
> Yes the injectors are easy to change. You can also do some testing on them.
> The Bentley gives some instructions.
>
> Hope this helps,
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> David M
> Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 10:36 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Scary happening plus fuel injectors/catalytic converter
>
> My bus has been running fine for years (I admit with minimal maintenance,
> except to pass emissions). The other day I pulled up to a light and when it
> turned green, I pressed the gas pedal and I barely moved. After crawling
> for
> about 20-30 yards it picked up and ran normally but it felt strange the
> first 2 or 3 times I had to slow down. I made it to my destination and then
> came back home without further incident.
> Any ideas what might cause this? I did have my gas pedal cable replaced a
> while back but I don't think it was that. My van did recently fail
> emissions
> which I have not had time to get looked at yet - so it is probably out of
> tune. But I'm wondering if this could be a warning of something more
> serious.
>
> On another note, how easy is it to replace the fuel injectors? Can I do it
> myself? And how easy is it to replace a catalytic converter and oxygen
> sensor, can I do that myself? The last time I took my van in for emissions
> work, it cost me over $1000 so I hope to avoid that again.
>
> -David (1987 Wolfsburg)
>