1982 air cooled, 1-800-HELP

[1982vanagonnoob]

Hi, I'm new to the community. Recently purchased a 1982 Vanagon, air-cooled that was sitting for 10+ years. Have already changed the spark plugs, distributor, fuel pump/filter, new oil filter, etc.
My van will start but dies right away unless I pump gas. Or it has recently backfired popping off vacuum hoses.
What should I change or look into next?

[calo1956]

I have a 80 air cooled, there are many things to look for, one big one is vacuum leaks there everywhere. but harder to find with out it running. I use a homemade smoker to find mine. Also the Temp2 sender can be a cause. just go over everything again and again, I have found that there is no magic bullet in solving the problems. Timing, fuel, air, get those right and it sold run. It took me months, and i had a zero mile rebuild, and virtually all new parts. It takes some time to figure things out. but this is the right place. Im no expert, im just sharing my experience till the pros chime in. Good luck, and if there is anything i can help wit let me know. Remember to look for vacuum leaks!
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Enjoy the ride....
72 bug
80 westfalia

[chompy]

At a minimum checking the timing and also your points if its back firing.
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'81 Westfalia Subaru EJ22
Manual Transmission

[sjbartnik]

yes and if it's been sitting for 10 years I would wager that those injectors need to be pulled and re-habbed. Gasoline turns into a varnish over time.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[Scottn59c]

[Wildthings]

If the fuel is old it will cause a variety of problems. Just started my '91 Vanagon that had been sitting for 3 years. Hard to get it to fire up and then it stank like crazy as the fuel wasn't burning well. Added some FI cleaner and it helped a bit to the point it seemed to be running well enough. Wife drove it to town and back the next day and it was spitting and backfiring bad by the time she got it home, couldn't run it past about 1/4 throttle. She topped the tank with ethanol free on the way home and I dosed it heavily with a couple of different FI cleaners. Didn't make much difference right off but the following day it was fairly drivable again and in the days after began to run pretty well. At this point, we have been through a tank of gas and filled with ethanol free gas and it is running as well as ever.

[michaelasnider]

As others have said, vacuum leaks and the temp2 are a good place to start. For the piece of mind its easy to replace the majority of the vacuum lines and the s-boot right off the hop, and throw in a new temp2 sensor.

Get your injectors serviced and reinstalled with new seals.

Set the points and statically time the engine until you can get it running, and then set the timing dynamically (~28 degrees BTDC at 3500+RPM or so, vacuum hoses off).

Enjoy the van, I have an air cooled and love it. Drove Fernie to Kelowna, BC and back over the long weekend with 4 mountain passes each way. If you get things running properly the air cooled is great.