Vanagon syndrome on road now Oregon, home now!

[Microbusdeluxe]

I'm in N Cali now, limping towards I-5 in Oregon and heading N to home in Bellingham. After 8 weeks of flawless running all over Baja, my 1989 Westy has developed the dreaded vanagon syndrome. I'm very sure that's what it is, runs great for 2-3 hours at a steady 3500 rpm, then out of the blue bucks and jerks. Turn off and back on and you get a 5 to 30 minute reprieve, then back to a bucking bronco (worse cause it's a syncro so the driveshaft slop amplifies the action).

So to be blunt I'm not looking for a discussion on the syndrome or alternate causes, I've cleaned the throttle body, change the fuel filter, cleaned the air filter, etc. I want to find someone on my route who has one of those AFM capacitors a soldering gun and experience in doing this fix. I'd even spring for the VW harness, but since I'm going Zetec this spring, I'd prefer the $2 capacitor. Thanks for any solid info you might have, otherwise I guess it's a slow slog back to the cold darkness of western Washington.
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'69 Squareback RIP
'65 21 window deluxe sold before the price spike, damn it.
'70 rhd bay now a taxi in South Sudan
'81 Westy sold
'89 hightop Westy Joker syncro 16" now with Bostig!

[davevickery]

I had that on a van once and it does occur as you describe (way too many people think every problem is vanagon syndrome). But if yours is really vanagon syndrome, you can make it go away by varying the throttle position. It is a static charge or something that builds up when the AFM needle is not moving that wrecks the signal to the ECU. So if you can make it stop by giving it throttle, then taking off the throttle, it is probably VS. If not, it is something else. What I did on long flat drives was to acclerate up to 70, then drop back to 65 and then back up to 70. When I finally got the VW harness it went away. It occurs under such infrequent circumstances that you don't need to fix it if you are puling your engine soon. You can find a harness on ebay or classifieds though.

I would guess it is some other fuel air delivery problem. I would try to clean the intake, take a look at the spark plugs, if it is time to change the fuel filter I would do that. Maybe someone will have better suggestions, but that is what I would try.

[dkoesyncro]

Scott Foss on Talent, OR

He's retired but may help! He's the closest vanagon guru to your location. Ask around when you're in Ashland or pull of in Talent? Maybe check the vanagon rescue squad! Vanagon folks are everywhere, it's all about timing and location.

Good luck.

[bluebus86]

electronics store should have all you need, even the solder, an iron capacitor etc.... too bad radio shack turned into a cell phone store, they used to have that kind of stuff, but look for an electronics store, maybe Frys?




good luck
_________________
Help Prevent VW Engine Fires, see this link.....Engine safety wire information

Stop introducing dirt into your oil when adjusting valves ... https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=683022

[newfisher]

Radio Shack in Springfield has them. Im out of town but if you end up there I can arrange to loan you a soldering iron at the shop 2 miles from the Radio Shack. PM me if needed.

[bluebus86]

[pablum]

IIRC, it's a 22uF (that's microfarads, I saw someone here tried a 22mF and it made his engine sluggish) tantalum capacitor, of 16 or 25 volts.

Haven't installed one myself but I had non-syndrome hesitation that had me looking.

Good luck. The search engine won't work too well (the phrase is too readily employed here) but the answer is somewhere in the FAQ.
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The wise man learns from history, the fool from experience.
-
I see [a cat] in the street and i aim for the pest with my car. -- bluebus86

[0to60in6min]

No Name Garage in Eugene - (541) 344-2251

but they are closed on Saturday/Sunday

before open up the AFM and put in the capacitor try this

- check all vacuum lines
- check the TPS (throttle position switch) - it must give a clicking noise when opening the throttle

btw... my son is on his way to Oregon ... a dove blue 2WD... leaving Bodega bay this morning

good luck

edit:
http://www.roadhaus.com/shops_search_map.php?state_id=37

[Jeffrey Lee]

[Andymon]

If you make it into Medford, look up Merl and Mike at Quality Import Parts. 18 W Jackson in the back.
_________________
"Blanch" '85 Westy
"Too many freaks and not enough circuses".

[Microbusdeluxe]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. We made it as far as Eugene, will bring it on home tomorrow. Davevickery wins the prize for his suggestion. By varying our speed from 55 to 70 mph I've managed to keep th V.S. at bay all day, thus confirming my belief that this is indeed the problem. Of course it came with the bad karma of baffling other drivers as I passed them and then slowed down, but no more surging and bucking.

Added bonus of this thing acting up is that the Zetec is an easier sell to the wife now that we've gone through this crisis. The waterboxer ran so fine all through Baja that convincing her to go for the swap was an uphil battle.
_________________
'69 Squareback RIP
'65 21 window deluxe sold before the price spike, damn it.
'70 rhd bay now a taxi in South Sudan
'81 Westy sold
'89 hightop Westy Joker syncro 16" now with Bostig!

[Ahwahnee]

[wy_R32]

I have a cable if you need one. I'm in Tacoma. I'll be home all weekend.

[wy_R32]

I have a cable if you need one. I'm in Tacoma. I'll be home all weekend.

[Wildthings]

Running a ground wire from the body of the AFM to the engine block will help some. You can also just fold up the leads of the 22uf capacitor and jam them into the correct terminals in the back of the plug under the boot. Not as good a fix as soldering but it works in a pinch.

The 22uf capacitor is the largest size you can use without causing sluggish response. You could probably go a bit smaller and it would still work.

[amwaj]

for those of you in the know, are the Digijet 83.5-85 susceptible to this as well? I only find the "repair cable kit" for the Digifant models...thanks in advance
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the best way to make a small fortune in life, is to start with a big one, and become afflicted with Vanagon-itis

[Wildthings]

[amwaj]

Thanks for the info!!
_________________
the best way to make a small fortune in life, is to start with a big one, and become afflicted with Vanagon-itis

[Ahwahnee]

[tencentlife]