Help! Vanagon dies when releasing clutch

[vodo1976]

Been having issues with my 86 Westy lately. Mostly rough idle.
But then last night I drove to town. Things seemed ok on the way there.
Then, on the way home, I stopped to get gas.
After filling up the clutch felt really spongy and was hard to shift.
Then I noticed that I was not really accelerating properly. On the highway at 55 I had it floored and she seemed to not wanna break 60. Occasionally I would feel power re-engage, but that was only for a brief few seconds.
Barely made it home.
She fired up fine but dies immediately when I release the clutch, even if I’m revving to higher RPMs.
I was planning on checking fuel pressure as well as replacing clutch/brake fluid.
But now I fear it’s something worse. Maybe need a new clutch?
This might be my excuse to upgrade to a 5speed and replace the old wasserboxer.

[MarkWard]

Does the van roll easily if you push it?

[vodo1976]

With it in gear?
I did a compression test. All cylinders above 110 psi

[vodo1976]

Yes. In gear it practically rolled down without pushing.
Yikes.

[MarkWard]

Brakes can hang enough to kill an engine on move off. Since it rolls easily it’s not the brakes.

[DanHoug]

can you drive fine in reverse?
_________________
-dan
60% of what you find on the internet is wrong, including this post.

'87 Westy & '89 Westy both 2.1 4spd

Past projects can be found at--
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[borninabus]

[MarkWard]

If the clutch were shot, I'd expect the engine to rev easily and have no movement. I like the idea of testing how does it do in reverse?

[vodo1976]

It moves forward and backwards a little bit if I basically smoke the clutch.
I’m beginning to think it’s the throttle position switch. The switch isn’t clicking in the low end. Gonna check it soon.
If that’s it, I have to thank VanAgain.

[DanHoug]

[4Gears4Tires]

I was thinking misaligned shifter too. But, at 55mph in 4th gear the van should accelerate. So I think that rules that out as well.

Does it rev easily in neutral?
_________________
'87 Syncro Ferric Oxyhydroxide Superleggera Edition
'85 Westy Sciuridae Domus Edition

[MarkWard]

Still sold on testing in reverse. No mistaking what gear you’re in. As far as the TPS, I’ve seen plenty of vans running with misadjusted and non functioning tps switches.

[zerotofifty]

[?Waldo?]

A slipping clutch may still allow the van to move, but it will not cause the van to stall nearly as easily as a non-slipping clutch. In fact, a common way to test if the clutch is slipping is to dump the clutch in a higher gear and if the engine keeps running, the clutch is slipping. Considering the title of this thread, it seems very unlikely to me that the culprit is a slipping clutch.

[E1]

I suspect that the clutch is not fully disengaging, if not fully engaging either.

It’d be interesting to watch the distance that the slave “lever” moves into the transmission, and compare it to what one or several of our own vans travel. I’ll measure mine if you measure yours.

It’s also possible the bracket holding the slave has recently cracked, is flexing with full clutch pedal travel, and coming up short of full travel and disengagement. This could explain why the soft pedal suddenly showed up — or the softening wasn’t noticed and could be as easy as needing a good fluid flush.

Is your level full in the brake fluid reservoir? If not or if so, looks for any leaks below the reservoir but especially under the boot of the slave itself.

I sense the stalling and weak highway power is another issue altogether, possibly a failing O2 sensor or Temp 2 sensor, or since it started at the gas station, some water in a load of bad gas.
_________________
1984 Westfailure/2.1 Digijet/5.43 Ring & Pinion/Peloquin/D-rated BFG KO2s
AI has spoken to further illiteracy, to steal, to cheat, and to replace humans

"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere." — Colin Chapman

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[MarkWard]