i was getting some stuff from the tech bulletin file and thought this might
be a timely time to put this out for the folks who live where it gets cold.
especially if you have gotten a water-cooled vanagon recently ... the
oil cooler seal, if it breaks, can dump ALL your oil on the ground in a
big hurry, as one poor soul on the list already found out.

from Technical Newsletter, 88-N04
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Volkswagen Technical Newsletter
88-N04

High Pressure, Low Performance

A Volkswagen that stalls when the engine is cold or after driving a few
hundred feet could be suffering from an air/fuel imbalance.  It could also
have a bad oil pump.  That's right, oil pump!  If the same engine has zero
compression, the chances are even greater than the oil pump is to blame.

If the oil pressure relief valve sticks, oil pressure could rise to over
200 psi when you accelerate to drive off.  With pressure that high, the
hydraulic valve lifters will overextend themselves, causing the valves to
hang open.  After the engine warms up, the car will probably run great the
rest of the day.  So check the oil pressure when you've tried everything
else to solve a stalling problem ... believe it or not!

from Service Bulletins, Model Year 1987
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Technical Information
Group:    17
Number:   87-05