'Vanagon syndrome???? n do I Have it?

[nickthe fish]

Dear All.

I have an intermittent problem with my 1982 high top T25, the poor old girl is juddering or misfiring. There is no back fire or anything like that and fuel economy seems to suffer greatly when the juddering/miss firing happens on a journey. It seems to happen regularly on a journey when I have to slow and then speed up, or it doesn’t seem to happen at all and the problem seems to be getting worse with time.

No issues in starting from hot cold, not been started for 6 months etc, and 90% of the time the engine runs like a dream. It has been well serviced. Filters, plugs and oil changed around 5k miles ago.

The problem seems to arise only on acceleration, if I have to slow for a roundabout and then accelerate after I have gone round the roundabout the issue can rise its ugly head. I have never had to stop for this or pull over as if I pop the clutch and rev the engine high the issue seems to go away. Incidentally the problem seems to arise less with higher octane fuel. I know this will have no effect on performance but I know the put extra additives in this fuel, it could be coincidence put thought it’s worth a mention.

I have posed the question before and was told that the issue was perhaps electrical, I have had no issues with electronics and the van is very corrosion free. it’s like I am either running on three cylinders or not enough fuel is getting through. So I am thinking Refurb of carbs and check leads and plugs. But has anyone come across this before. I am going on a 9 day trip in it next month and would like to get this sorted before hand.

Nick

[1664]

If it's a 2.1 in needs higher octane fuel 98 RON. Mine hates bog standard 'regular' unleaded.

[slowcoach]

mines a 2.1 but has always run fine on regular petrol... its an injection engine though if that makes any difference to that..

{E D I T: 1.9 actually..}

[1664]

The 2.1 can be re-tuned in order to run on regular, but it does have to be re-tuned or damage will result. 2.1's are all injection unless someone chucks a carb on instead

[Epiphone]

since Ive had a partial reconditioning done on my engine, Ive experienced the cutting out when driving at high speeds (90-105 km/h) exactly as described on http://www.benplace.com/vanagon_intermi ... ndrome.htm

Its occured twice now when driving after approximately 2-3 hours of driving, inbetween I drove 1-1.30 hour and it didnt happen.

I did have some other issues, which I wanted to ensure wasnt the problem:

• Split spark plug cable on cylinder 3, which I did put insulation tape on, but now replaced

• New Air Filter

• Putting High octane petrol in

On my last trip I drive 80-85 km/h for over 2 hours and it didnt occure. So next trip will try it a little faster.

[terryvanman]

I'm almost sure intermittent syndrome only happens on 2.1 fuel injection engines with computer management systems...on my old 2.1 i found out that it was the Lambda probe....when it started to play up I just pulled the plug off the lambda and it went back to running OK

[Epiphone]

yep mine is a 2.1i.

Forgot to mention also that when I picked up the Bus the mechanic said the exhaust fumes were not correct when running hot. He said that he spent quite some time on trying to find the problem, checked many components and also the main cables etc but then he changed the Lambda probe and then it seemed to be ok.

He also said that the Fuel vaccum regulator is broken and therefore he has used cable tie to keep the slider in 1 position.

He also indicated that I should get my exhaust fixed at one point, he tried his best to ensure that no leaks are there.

I know there are some issues on the bus as listed above, which dont help the running of it. But my issues are definitely ONLY when its hot and after cruising for sometime at a high speed. As mentioned, it hasnt happened when running for less than 2 hours or at a lower speed for more than 2 hours. I never had these issues before the reconditioning. I still need to test more with the new components now to rule them out.

for you german speakers: http://members.aon.at/vwbus1/FAQ_Ruckel ... ndigkeiten

and

http://www.telusplanet.net/public/gary2 ... arness.htm

[nickthe fish]

Just a thought, I'm going to try the HT leads and plugs see if that makes any difference, a mates van had split bleeder pipes that sit in the front wheel arches that were pulling sh*t into the tank and causing the van to run very badly. had to change the pipes and clean the tank out after the carb had been cleaned a few times. Right pain in the a***

[kevtherev]

nick have you a fuel injected 2.1?

[nickthe fish]

No its the 1.9, why?

[kevtherev]

Because vanagon sydrome is for the injected 2.1 MV engines poss DJ even

so... With your answer, my answer would be no you don't.
but you do have a problem, that's for sure

[Epiphone]

ahh thought this was a 2.1 thread, sorry for hi-jacking it.

So after some more research about the AFM etc, will break the seal and open it up sometime in near future. See what it looks like.

I spoke to my garage about this and I gave them the information about Vanagon Syndrome etc and they just said they could swap out the ECU. I expected more from them, to try and look into the problem.

[Epiphone]

ahh thought this was a 2.1 thread, sorry for hi-jacking it.

So after some more research about the AFM etc, will break the seal and open it up sometime in near future. See what it looks like.

I spoke to my garage about this and I gave them the information about Vanagon Syndrome etc and they just said they could swap out the ECU. I expected more from them, to try and look into the problem.

[tomgillson]

Cheapest thing to try would be some new plugs I reckon, might be that they are getting a little fouled. Also clean carbs and fuel lines if possible. Could be a fuel starvation issue and if it isn't those things then at least you've done 'em........

[Cruz]

New dizzy cap and rotor arm too?