Cam sensor. Mass airflow sensor. Two things that will drive a car wacky
that I never even had to mess with on a car until I got a new beetle with a
bad head gasket! I tore up the cam sensor and went through coil-like
purgatory until I finally broke down and replaced that MAF. No problems
since, but it taught me that new engines have a lot more ways to give
problems than old ones. And coil packs... though I've never had to replace
one, people talk about them like they are disposable.

I suppose that putting a modern engine into a vanagon would result in the
same problems. But as least you'd have a scan gauge on your side as a
diagnostic tool. My experience on my newer cars with that has been pretty
good. The things tend to know what they are talking about.

But, maybe I will just keep painting myself into the "diesel corner" that
I'm in now. I own two diesel vanagons, no gas one though I started on them.
So demanding to build a good diesel engine, but so rewardingly simple when
you do.

Jim

On Thu, Jun 12, 2014 at 2:14 PM, Project Pat <psdooley@verizon.net> wrote:

>   On newer cars that is almost always a crank or cam sensor failure.
>
> On an old VW, you may be on to something there.
>
>
>  ------------------------------
>
> *From:* Jim Felder [mailto:jim.felder@gmail.com]
> *Sent:* Thursday, June 12, 2014 2:57 PM
> *To:* Project Pat
> *Cc:* Vanagon mailing list
>
> *Subject:* Re: 88 GL - Failure to Start - but now it does!! Hip Hip
> Huzzah!!
>
>
>
> I don't mean to say that coils are the most likely culprit, far from it.
> But when a vehicle starts, and won't restart until it cools, that's when I
> suspect the coil.
>
>
>