I feel certain that this is the VC going bad, which it does very slowly over
time, and eventually will be full on all the time.

I feel almost certain this is not the diff lock or the CV joints or the diff
itself--that it is the VC. I have this same problem.

At 10:37 PM 10/5/97 -0700, you wrote:
>I have recently encountered a problem like this.  It has only happened
>on long highway trips, over an hour.  When I pull off the highway into
>say a gas station and turn sharply on pavement, it takes a lot of
>throttle to make the vanagon move.  It feels the same as if I was
>driving with the diff lock on.  It has only happend a few times.  I
>have  tried engaging the diff lock and then disengaging again and it
>went away.  Once I didn't do anything and it went away.
>
>Can the diff lock engage by itself?  Heat? Vacuum leak?  If the diff
>lock is engaged without using the vacuum actuator, would the light on
>the dash come on?  Mine doesn't, only when I pull the knob.
>
>I can feel the one of the rear tires dragging, so I am fairly sure it
>isn't the VC.
>
>Peter Pistner
>91 Synchro
>
>
___________________________________
Derek Drew                           New York, NY
drew@interport.net