HELP!! On RoadTrip and 1995 Eurovan Camper Idling Strangely

[hjsaunde]

Hi all,

I just purchased a 1995 Eurovan Camper (woo hoo!). It's a 5-cylinder, manual, 2.5 L engine with about 80K miles on it. I bought the van in Georgia, live in Washington State, and she is currently en route home! My folks are doing the front section and I am doing the end. They got about 2000 miles in with no issues whatsoever. No burning gas. Good temperature. But my dad called me yesterday to tell me that the van was idling strangely, and going from resting at around 700 and then idling up to 2000 and then back down.

So...here are my questions:
-Does anyone have any advice or recommendations for a good VW mechanic to look at in Vegas tomorrow (May 12)? I did call Justin at BeetleBarn but he is really busy. He said if I couldn't find anyone else he could probably run the codes and try to make a call on my second question below.
-Thoughts about safety and whether or not I can make the rest of the trip safely and get it looked at when I get home. It's got to make it from Vegas to Tacoma over 5 days.
-First thoughts are *hoping* its just something with the throttle assembly, but I know NOTHING...so other thoughts?

Thanks everyone!

[mukluk]

It's called idle hunting, typically caused by a dirty idle air controller and/or dirty throttle body. If the vehicle is otherwise driving normally and there isn't a check engine light or MIL illuminated, there shouldn't be any problem with driving it home -- the idle surging is just a nuisance. The usual fix is to clean the throttle body and IAC using some sensor-safe throttle body cleaner.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[hjsaunde]

Thanks for the insights. I thought that might be it. However, the check engine light IS coming on every once in a while. It isn't blinking and doesn't necessarily correlate to the idling. We first thought that was maybe an emissions thing. But now I wonder if they are related and and its something to do with the mass flow sensor? Either way...the car is fine and driving normally other than that. I would like to get it home and then get it checked out by someone I know, but don't want to be foolish either. Knowing the check engine thing, do you have the same advice? THANK YOU!

[mukluk]

With the check engine light illuminating, no, I wouldn't just roll with it. The light could very well be something unrelated, but it's best not to chance it. At this point I'd suggest seeing what fault codes are kicking out and go from there.
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1960 Ragtop w/Semaphores "Inga"

[67rustavenger]

Do Euro vans have an ODB2 (Whatever they are called) port connector?
If so. The codes can be read at just about any auto parts major chain store. That should help in diagnosing the issue.
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