I, too, have had recent power loss problems, especially up hill.  Upon
researching the archives the following was suggested.

1.  installed magical harness on AFM to ECU
2.  removed and replaced temp sensor II--the small blue sensor on the block
3.  checked ECU specs as specified in chapter 24 of bentley's.
4.  removed replaced distributor cap and ignition coil--total of $100.
5.  However, the thing that seems to have worked is changing the fuel filter. 
So far this has done the trick.

Joshua M Lee <josh@BEANSPROUT.NET> wrote:
> Recently our Vanagon, named Bertha, has developed an extra-ordinarily low
> power problem.  On the way home from a longish trip, about 700 miles, we
> were unable to go faster than about 35-40 mph when going up hills.  i
> noticed that there appears to be a small amount of oil and/or coolant
> leaking from the heads, indicating that the seals need to be replaced.  i
> also think that the seal between the two halves of the engine block needs to
> be replaced.  i was wondering if anyone might have any insight into whether
> the low power indicates that the blown seals have already done too much
> damage to the engine to make it worth repairing?  Could the low power be
> indicitive of any other problems...we did also notice that she started to
> idle very, very high when sitting in traffic, but after shutting the engine
> down and coming back a few hours later, that problem is gone.
> 
> Thanks for the input,
> Josh Lee
> jlee9@emerald.tufts.edu
> 
> '84 Vanagon (Bertha)

____________________________________________________________________
Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.