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Subject:Re: Rebuilding vanagon engine
From:quoton
Date:Sat, 4 Apr 1998 20:33:45 -0800

Darrell Boehler wrote:
>
> ------------------
> Have you tried the fuel injectors.  Our engines will not run well if one
> injector is too rich or too lean.   The computer will adjust the mixture
> until it has a proper burn mixture and some cylinders will be rich or lean.
> The bosch systems we have need all injectors to inject the same amount.  One
> exception is at wide open throttle,  the digifant uses a preset amount of
> injection time depending on the rpm and I believe  the  L-jetronic with ego
> sensor  and digijet use the afm and rpm.  A bad or partial clogged injector
> can play havoc with our beloved wasserboxers performance.
>     You can get pretty good success cleaning  the injectors by soaking them
> submerged in injector cleaner over night and blow them out with air.  You
> would not believe the crud that will roll from the injectors.   It is
> possible to test the flow rate, I have done this with paper cups under
> pulled injectors and then crank the engine a bit and measure the output of
> each with a syringe or eye dropper.  I now have an injector tester  that
> gives me the ability to dial in the pulse length  and repetition rate
> (simulates rpm) and can let it run continuos or for a variable length of
> time.  A balanced set of injectors can make a huge difference in power
> output.
>
> Darrell Boehler
> Makanda Illinois
>

I believe that I had the injectors swapped with my 84 vanagon. I had to
also replace all the injector seals at the time of swap. It did not help
and I swapped all of them back.

But you made a real good suggestion here. I have wondered for a long
time
how my injectors are doing. I'll try to check them out if I have a
chance.
It seems not too difficult to clean them out.

I think I will do a compression check again and compare it to my 84. If
the difference is obvious then I have a good reason to take the engine
apart. I believe it has worned out the rings and possibly the cylinders
too. I hope the pistons are still good. I believe the rings/cylinders
wear
out very fast if running cold/slow warming up for a prolonged time.
That's
what had happened to my westy.

Thanks for replying again. I am taking the Bus Depot's words. I will
probably replace the liners if proven worn out after I take it apart.

David Kao
83 westy (80k)
84 vanagon (140k)