Van bucking/hesitating, dies, then won't start

[mosqutio_control]

Hello all. I am having an issue with my 83.5 watercooled Vanagon (1.9 liter). Recently, my van has been experiencing intermittent bucking/hesitation while driving. It's looking like it may be related to the dreaded “Vanagon syndrome” I have now been reading so much about since I started having this issue. However, I cant seem to find much info to help explain what my van is doing. I noticed this problem after the bucking/hesitation on the highway started. When I drive my van for longer periods of time, shut it off, then turn it back on soon after, the van turns over really really slowly, sometimes not even cranking over and I have to give it a few minutes then it will fire right up. ???? A few days ago, I had some bucking and hesitation on the highway on a 200 mile trip and the van died on the road while bucking. I pulled over and let it rest for 5 minutes. It cranked extremely slowly, but wouldn't start. I tried 20 minutes later, and the same happened. I finally called a tow truck and they were there within 20 minutes. I tried one more time when the tow truck got there and still it didn't start up, just cranked over slowly. Lo and behold, by the time the tow truck got to my driveway, 45 minutes later, the van started like everything was fine and I drove it off the truck and into my parking spot. I can start it up in my driveway to up to full temperature and it idles just fine, but I am now afraid to drive it anywhere. Does anyone know what can cause this sporadic highway bucking./hesitation and cause the van to not want to start while still hot? Any suggestions help. Cheers.

[adv rider]

I would start by fixing the slow crank, which could be why its not starting. Depending on how slow it cranks. Check you battery cables, ground connections,etc. Is it the original starter? Maybe its time for a new starter. And add a starter relay too.
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86' Wolfsburg weekender 2.1, 4spd, , merian brown

[Wildthings]

Bypass your Digital Idle Stabilizer and see if that helps. It can cause the timing to do wacky things. If your plugs are firing too early that will cause slow cranking even if the battery and starter are perfect.

[mosqutio_control]

Thank you both for the help! My mechanic said that the ECU could be the cause of the sporadic hesitation/bucking that has been occurring. I don't feel comfortable driving it anywhere, as I don't want to be stranded on the side of the road again. But I'm willing to try a few cheaper alternatives first, before I have to drop a good amount of money for a rebuilt ECU. The thing with the hot start issue and the hesitation is that it happens so randomly. I could drive it for 2 weeks or 2 days before it happens again. It's not an everyday thing. It's so strange.

[dobryan]

If you are in OR you likely are near several samba members. Maybe ask if someone has an ECU you could try out for a few days to see if that cures your issue. If it does then you won't be wasting money on buying one. Good luck.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2010 Subaru EJ25 (Vanaru) and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[mosqutio_control]

Miles at No Name Garage offered to let me use a known working ECU to see if that fixes the issue. My dilemma is, if the borrowed ECU fixes the issue, should buy a rebuilt one from Gowesty or elsewhere? Im aware they're not cheap, but a working one would still be a used part and could fail in the future like the one I have now. I want to put an end to this issue for good. Are the rebuilt ones worth the money, if the ECU turns out to be the issue?

[dobryan]

I'd worry about that when you get to it. Try the ECU first...
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2010 Subaru EJ25 (Vanaru) and Peloquin TBD

"To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive." Robert Louis Stevenson

MD>Canada>AK>WA>OR>CA>AZ>UT>WY>SD
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=620646

Building a bus for travel in Europe (euroBus)
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=695371

The Western Syncro build
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=746794

[Merian]

you might start a new thread with rebuilt ECU in the title

one thing - a rebuild should address the failure caused by the cable cracking the PCB
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[pablum]

What about all the other things that cause 'Vanagon Syndrome'? This actually sounds more like the actual VS than a lot of posts, so have you done the tantalum capacitor fix for that problem? Or bought the replacement harness for the AFM?

Besides that, just about everything that goes wrong in the vanagon engine system seems to cause 'hesitation' in one way or another. If you use that for your search term here you will fall down dizzy from all the different sources of 'Vanagon Syndrom' or hesitation.

You have a lot of work ahead of you, even if you don't get a refurbished ecu.

Wait. Ok, I'm pretty new here. But one guy is pushing an ecu, and another a rebuild. Ok, I'm a little slow, so I have to be direct about this. You guys are playing around here, right? You're teasing the newbie because cable checks, grounds, and starter were answered with ecu, right?

[Wildthings]

[pablum]

k, sorry. Well, still. Everything applies nonetheless, right? There are many possible causes for this on the digijet as well, right? Wasn't that much implied by the first response?

And I didn't bring up VS, that was the original poster... and it was implied in what you quoted, and made explicit in my response, that vanagon syndrome, with the scare quotes, is theSamba's version of asberger's, today's most sexy disease. Everybody's got it. But with all these different causes...