Mine 85 Van did this too.  I did open up the airbox resistor and it had worn
thru.  Then problem was only experienced  at certain throttle postions while
traveling on the highway.

After replacing the airbox, all was good for a while.  Now the problem is
back.  This time I will replace the ignition coil and rebuild the
distrubtor.  Then engine had 176K miles on it.  The engine is now under
going an overhaul.  When I opened the case, I found the camshaft had lost
half a tooth.  I am assuming it was from on of the jerks that would occur.

-----Original Message-----
From: Shawn Wright <swright@MAIL.SLS.BC.CA>
To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Date: Monday, June 29, 1998 3:31 PM
Subject: High speed hiccup and noise in 2nd gear

Just got back from our backroad trip - our '88 Westy performed flawlessly
(even
on so-called 4WD roads...), except:

An occasional hiccup when cruising at steady spead with light throttle
pressure. Quite a violent jerk, almost as if fuel was cut off, or timing
messed
up for half a second or so. Otherwise engine ran flawlessly. Could this be a
sign of the airbox "resistor plate" wearing through? I opened the box two
years
ago and bent the arm slightly, which seemed to help, but I'm worried it's
coming back.

Also, near the end of our trip, which was mostly on rough roads, I noticed a
clacking sound when decelerating in 2nd gear. Also, the gear whine in all
gears
appears to have increased. I haven't checked the tranny oil, but no signs of
a
leak.

========================
Shawn Wright
Computer Systems Manager
Shawnigan Lake School
250-743-6240
swright@sls.bc.ca