Latest curiosity, top speed

[mjanderle]

1987 2.1 Automatic Weekender 

Picture for fun..

So this summer was the first time the van stranded us in seven years of use.  No biggie, 5 mile Uber ride home, AAA to the rescue.  Ended up being an ignition issue that was related to poor wiring from the previous owner.  New ignition coil, used ECU, and fully rewired, we were back up and running, no problem.  Thank you Percy's of Madison, WI!

A month later, 600 mile road trip to Rhinelander, WI and other sundry places.  Big-time rainy day, and I notice in a parking lot that the van's idle and my acceleration was increasing without pushing on the accelerator.  Huh, that's weird.  Stop, pop it into park, and the engine goes redline, racing all the way to the top.  Huh, that's weird....and kind of scary....turn it off.  Start it again, no problem.  Later that day (still wet out), and the van does the exact same thing.  

300+ miles later.  It's never happened again.

But since all these neat things one new feature that is present is that I've lost my top speed.  In the past I could do 70 all day, no problem.  But now I really gotta push it to see 60+ and hills on the highway?  I often dip down to high 40s.

A. I just replaced the fuel filter, little better, no huge change.
B. I just cleaned the K&N air filter, little better, no huge change.

Thoughts? And thank you in advance!

Best,
MJA
_________________
1976 BMW R90/6
1979 Honda XL250
2004 BMW R1150GSA
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR
1987 VW Vanagon Wolfsberg Edition, Westfalia Weekender

Gone but not forgotten, 1976 Toyota Land Crusier FJ40

Déjà-nesia - Having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this s@*t before.

[DanHoug]

Check your throttle cable from end to end.
_________________
-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--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[DanHoug]

to elaborate, with the engine off, start by having an assistant floor the gas pedal while you look at the throttle body to see if it is completely open and against the stop. try to move it by hand further and if it moves more, you're not opening all the way caused by a cable/linkage issue. hopefully it is just this, there's other more dire things but we won't go there. yet.
_________________
-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--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[jimf909]

Hmmm, I was hoping to see a speedo pegged at 85 mph. Good luck with a solution.

Clogged cat? Spitballing but that doesn't explain redlining while parked.

My van has spent a good deal of time in SE WI (Dodgeville). These folks in Wisconsin Dells may be helpful:
https://autoventuresllc.net/
_________________
- Jim

[outcaststudios]

i would at least start with a compression check. easy to do and first thing to eliminate.
_________________
'88Doka JX td
'69 westy
(rip)couple bugs
(rip)three type III"s
(rip) '81 vanagon
a bunch of french stuff,and 9 motorcycles.

https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2573791

[mjanderle]

Thanks for the responses, fellas.

[DanHoug]

[mikemtnbike]

[jimf909]

[mjanderle]

So, with a board jammed in hard against the accelerator, this is what we have for play on the throttle body. See video below

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/IIU3m0VX4PM

Too much? Am I loosing the chooch?

FYI, I still need to trace the cable to make sure there are no other oddities to report.
_________________
1976 BMW R90/6
1979 Honda XL250
2004 BMW R1150GSA
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR
1987 VW Vanagon Wolfsberg Edition, Westfalia Weekender

Gone but not forgotten, 1976 Toyota Land Crusier FJ40

Déjà-nesia - Having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this s@*t before.

[DanHoug]

that last little bit you're not getting is keeping the Wide Open throttle switch from telling the ECU to enrich the mixture for more power. that said, it shouldn't account for the seemingly large power loss you are experiencing. other than top speed, what is it like driving around town and stop/go?
_________________
-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--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[mjanderle]

[DanHoug]

do some easy things first... adjust the throttle cable so that you get full movement and that the WOT switch clicks when the gas pedal is floored. then disconnect the air hose between the air cleaner and the pillar snorkle as that has a foil paper lining that sometimes comes loose and blocks air flow.

report back.
_________________
-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--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[mjanderle]

Thanks. We might be getting a smidge closer.

I started looking at the cable. Even with the drop-kit, my oversized BFG spare was crushing the cable housing pretty well. That pinch, mixed with the dirt and rain, might have been the root cause for the racing engine.

I need to glance at the Bentley regarding throttle cable adjustment. Looks like both ends can be fiddled with...and I will check to make sure the WOT switch is actuating.

Oh, and the air cleaner disconnection....

Thanks again for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

Best,
MJA
_________________
1976 BMW R90/6
1979 Honda XL250
2004 BMW R1150GSA
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR
1987 VW Vanagon Wolfsberg Edition, Westfalia Weekender

Gone but not forgotten, 1976 Toyota Land Crusier FJ40

Déjà-nesia - Having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this s@*t before.

[mjanderle]

Ok, throttle cable is adjusted & air cleaner is disconnected from the pillar, and spare has been removed (...for now). We are doing a little 150 mile camping jaunt this weekend.

I'll report back to the team what we experience!

Thanks again for the help!
_________________
1976 BMW R90/6
1979 Honda XL250
2004 BMW R1150GSA
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR
1987 VW Vanagon Wolfsberg Edition, Westfalia Weekender

Gone but not forgotten, 1976 Toyota Land Crusier FJ40

Déjà-nesia - Having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this s@*t before.

[mjanderle]

Update for the masses : Today's trip = cancelled.

Interestingly enough, we woke up this morning to rain and a bit of fog. The van lives in the garage, so no direct contact with the elements, but it was very wet and damp out. I took Moose, our dog, to the local park for a run and decided to take the van to warm her up.

Nothing exciting on the way there, but on the way home, lo and behold, the idle picked up and the van started accelerating on its own. Hills in the road kept it under control, but I did stop and put it into neutral and park and the engine red lined again.

I popped it into drive and played with it a bit on the way home. I pumped the accelerator to see if anything was hung up, but other than the jerking of acceleration and the constant high idle, nothing came free. Slowing it down with brake power and turning it into the driveway, it actually chirped the tires the idle was pushing so hard on the turn.

I eased her back into the garage. Turned it off and started it back up......and everything was normal. Nice quiet idle. I'm turning here to the experts, but as it stands now, I really don't think it's a mechanical issue, it feels like an electrical component not working correctly. The restart was the reboot it needed to reset.

Not knowing as much as most of you, all I know is that :

A. Percy's put in a used ECU when they fixed me earlier this year.

B. I've read a smidge about the idle control module and how these can go bad at times.

Could either of these two electrical components be the root cause of my racing engine? And maybe my loss of top speed? As said before, just spitballing....

Any help would be great. Thank you again.
_________________
1976 BMW R90/6
1979 Honda XL250
2004 BMW R1150GSA
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR
1987 VW Vanagon Wolfsberg Edition, Westfalia Weekender

Gone but not forgotten, 1976 Toyota Land Crusier FJ40

Déjà-nesia - Having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this s@*t before.

[DanHoug]

you can unplug the idle control valve electrical connector, you want to make sure the valve is closed by both sucking and blowing on either end of the valve. if it is not closed, just put a cork in the boot opening as well as the one on the valve to the manifold. you'll have to increase your idle speed with the LARGE screw on the throttle body. i've run without an idle control valve for years. this will eliminate that system as a possible cause.
_________________
-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--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[mjanderle]

Dan, that was it!

I pulled the plug on the idle control valve after checking that it was closed and the van runs great now! No crazy redlining, throttle response is WAY better and I can go up and down hills at highway speeds as per before! She's running great!

I did turn the large screw on the throttle body out a little more than 1/2 a turn and I now need to give the van a little gas at start up until it warms up before putting it into gear.

The idle control valve, when still connected, had the appropriate buzz when I turned the van on, so I'm guessing my idle control module, behind the tail light, has gone sideways.

Now.....do I pony up the $250 that GoWesty wants for a refurbished unit or do I just leave everything unplugged? I assume the only drawback is the warmup time and slightly higher idle speed?

Thanks again for helping me though this one. It is greatly appreciated!

Best,
MJA
_________________
1976 BMW R90/6
1979 Honda XL250
2004 BMW R1150GSA
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR
1987 VW Vanagon Wolfsberg Edition, Westfalia Weekender

Gone but not forgotten, 1976 Toyota Land Crusier FJ40

Déjà-nesia - Having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this s@*t before.

[DanHoug]

nice to hear you fixed it! as i mentioned, i've run without the stabilizer on my 87 for years and don't miss it except on a really cold morning. summer mornings are no problem. don't be afraid to raise your idle speed to 950-1100 rpm. you get better splash lubrication of the camshaft, smoother idle, better take offs, and better coolant circulation. these ain't like a great V8 that can bump along at 650 rpm.
_________________
-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--
www.thefixitworkshop.com

[mjanderle]

Dan, quick question, I assume that since I pulled the plug on the idle control valve that I can, at any time, pull the idle control module out and still run the van, as per usual? I'd like to pull out the module and see if I can find any burned out circuitry.....but still use her as a daily driver... Thank you.
_________________
1976 BMW R90/6
1979 Honda XL250
2004 BMW R1150GSA
2019 Toyota Tacoma TRD OR
1987 VW Vanagon Wolfsberg Edition, Westfalia Weekender

Gone but not forgotten, 1976 Toyota Land Crusier FJ40

Déjà-nesia - Having amnesia and déjà vu at the same time. I think I’ve forgotten this s@*t before.