>i also seem to have a leak in a vacuum hose. when i start the van up
>sometimes there seems to be a 'sucking sound' and somethime she idles
>very very low. all this stops when the engine has been running awhile.
>my question: which hose is the vacuum hose? the big, thick hose leading
>from the carb to somewhere? please excuse my ignorance! heheehe

Yes, it is.

I've been having mucho problems with my '71 bus (first year of the big,
thick vacuum hose going to the power brakes in front), and have so far
found a leak in the master cyl and a one-way valve in the vacuum hose that
was not only both-ways, but had a hole in it on top of that.

I had disconnected the big hose and capped the vacuum tap to deal with
these other problems, and drove around with nonpower brakes for a while
(workable, but weighing 220 helped a lot). Miraculously, the engine acted
like a real engine during that time! Replaced dead parts, reconnected the
hose, and now the idle sucks again and it overheats. So now I've got about
five feet of wire-reinforced 1/2" heater hose from Napa in the parts box
in back, and will replace all the little hose sections, maybe next weekend.
Will keep you all posted on the results, which hopefully will be in place
before the engine loses patience with me and goes boom.

 -Steve Maher   smaher@gi.com   '71 Transporter