I haven't been on this list for a few years, but I have an emergency now and
I can't think of a better place to find an answer on a holiday weekend.

I drove my '85 Westy from the SF Bay Area to Lake Tahoe today.  All was well
until I hit the Foothills....  I was keeping up with the rest of traffic on
I-80, cruising along at 70 mph.  Going up the west slope of the Sierras I
slowed down... what else is new?  I'm used to being passed by 16 wheelers
going up hill.  But at about 3000 feet, I noticed this was much worse then
the usual Vanagon uphill experience.  I had to drop down to 2nd gear, and
bottomed out at about 25mph.  That's not cool for Interstate travel.  I made
it up here, but the last few miles were tough.  Even when starting out from a
level top, I could feel the loss of power.  And I also notice a mild
surging... the power would be there, and then go away... in about 5 second
cycles.

I need some theories.   Is this something I'm likely to fix myself with a new
fuel filter?  Or do I need to find a VW mechanic in North Lake Tahoe (if such
a soul exists)?  Of course you'll need some more information...  here goes:

- I refueled in Rockland... just before I started to climb.  Could it be a
bad tank of gas?

- I went through fuel really fast... like 3/4 of a tank over the last 90
miles.  On the previous tank I averaged 19 mpg.  (Maybe I didn't really get
it full?  I think I did.)

- Besides going uphill, there is also altitude to consider.... things got
very rough at 7200'.

- I have 61K miles.  It was tuned up about 1K miles ago.  Compression was
fine back then.

- I had a fuel like repaired earlier this week, and rack & pinion seals
replaced... could there be a connection?

- My oil consumption is normal, but I didn't check it again after this
problem occurred.

These of the possibilities I can think off... but I'd really like some advice
to narrow it down:

- fuel filter
- air filter
- vacuum leak
- fuel pump
- clogged injectors

All ideas are welcome, as are any recommendations for a VW mechanic in the
Truckee or N. Lake Tahoe area.  

Phil Geller