Our '81 vanagon has been quite cranky to start in the mornings this days.
It's not that cold outside (45ish), so I don't think that it's just a
temperature problem.  What happens is that when I turn the key the starter
goes just fine, but there dosen't seem to be much gas getting to the
engine.  For the first few times turning the key there is no sound of the
gas hitting the spark-plugs/engine, and after the third or fourth try you
hear the gas coming in in little spurts until it finally catches.  This
happens pattern happens if you pump the gas pedal and it also happens if
you don't.

Is this a problem anyone else has had before?   Does it sound like a
problem with the fuel injection or the gas lines to anyone?  Or is it an
engine problem?  The previous owner of the car removed the cooling flaps on
the engine, could it have anything to do with the engine being super cold?

Any thoughts on this problem are appreciated!

Alice C. Gibb
Dept. of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Univ. of California, Irvine

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