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

[woodmonkey]

reading this with interest, think i have a similar problem, are you Aircooled.

[melmelody]

hi all sorry for hijackinng the thread ttoo but i have a 2.1 MV and i always run it on normal super 95 and it seems to run fine, shouuld i change to super plus and if so why?

[elmo makaroy]

is it ok to use super unleaded in my Aircooled 2.0 cu engine? will this make it run better?

[kevtherev]

No elmo
super unleaded is for high compression engines

[billy739]

how about a week fuel pump?

put your location up as if your in gloucester i can take a look.

[croc]

... also, if you have one, check out and replace speed limiting distributor rotor ... or replace with fixed type.

[woodmonkey]

could this be a similar prob to mr beard in another thread about hard acceleration, both descriptions seem to fit my problem.!

[kevtherev]

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 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.


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 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.

If an engine is misfiring throughout the driving range then suspect these items have failed or are faulty:-

The fuel filters (one by the tank and one in the carb.)
The fuel pump
Tank vent
Vacuum leak
plugs
leads
coil
compression

BUT if it is "hesitating" on acceleration then this narrows it right down..

wrongly gapped plugs (or wrong grade)
and or VACUUM LEAK

Vacuum leak is my bet

[elmo makaroy]

how do i check for vacuum leaks on my Aircooled engine?, im sure i do have an air leak somewere, but were???

[kevtherev]

start with any hard plastic tubes that sprout from your carburettor(s). These pipes have rubber ends that perish, not an expensive item from halfords so replace the lot
then look at your inlet manifold, any hard tubes or pipes connected there?
If you have servo assisted brakes ...do aircoolers have them?
if they do then this pipe will leak air if it's very old, replace or refurbish

last but not least cracks, in gaskets and flanges, spray WD 40 over the place where surfaces mate like carb to inlet manifold this will temporarily plug the gap (if any) and the engine should pick up if it's misfiring .

[woodmonkey]

looks like i've got an air leak, know what i'm doing at the weekend. someone told me to use brake cleaner instead of wd 40 to avoid an oily engine, would this work.

[kevtherev]

looks like i've got an air leak, know what i'm doing at the weekend. someone told me to use brake cleaner instead of wd 40 to avoid an oily engine, would this work.

yep thats good to

[onecogwonder]

I seem to have developed Vanagon Syndrome as well over the past few days on my 1992 2.1 , motor warms up, temp gauge levels out and then the fun begins, lack of power and misfiring which requires some clutch use to pull the wagon through. Not had time (or light) to check everything out but will start with plugs, rotor and cap, and possibly fuel filters (who sells the best filters at the moment?)

[HarryMann]

These are all poor descriptions of Vanagon Syncdrome
If it stops up the road randomly (between 1 and 50 miles), it might be, just misfiring is not, use traditional diagnosis

PS. Vanagon Syndrome has nothing to do with aircooleds.. as the Wiki makes clear