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Yesterday I was driving on the lougheed hwy and while I was taking my exit the van lost power and came back on. This was a matter of seconds. About 500 meters later the van just flat out died. So I tried starting it (10 seconds on and 15 off) to not burn out the starter. Pumping the accelerator did help it finally roar to life at 3000 rpm. With the foot on the break and still revving it at around 2000 rpm now, I shifted into gear and rocketed off!
So what happened? I know that I did get the fuel filter replaced about two months ago and it’s been having a similar problem, but not that it just dies completely, just a loss of power occasionally. And about 1 month ago I did the fuel lines, hard and soft. Could it be a problem with fuel delivery or spark? By the way, the van is a 1985 Volkswagen Vanagon.
Thanks for reading!
Joey
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Here are some specs:
1.9 liter water-cooled horizontally opposed engine
DigiJet fuel injection
83HP @ 4800RPM, 105FtLbs @ 3200RPM
3 speed automatic transmission
Electronic ignition
Dynamic oil pressure system
Thermostatically controlled 2-speed electric radiator fanUnfortunately it’s not possible for us to tell you what went wrong but we might be able to give you some idea of where to look. Do you have a check engine light on? If so that would be a good place to start. If not look to the basics like plugs, wires, or look for vacuum leaks. Any of these things can cause a stall/no start condition. If it happens again you want to look for what’s missing, spark, fuel, or a mechanical issue with the engine. If any one of these is missing it can cause the condition you described.
Solving Performance Problems 1
Solving Performance Problems 2
Re Performance Problems
Thanks for the reply’s and suggestions. Just today, the van stalled while I was driving to work. But try as I might, it would not start. It turns over but that’s it. I had to ditch it at the side of the road and take the bus. I’m going to try and tow it home this weekend so I can check it over. I know that most of you will say no, but what the heck. Do you think its okay to pull the van with my sisters 2002 accord v6? Its about a 5 minute drive home. If not, that’s fine, i’ll just call a tow truck, but it would be nice to save some cash. As a completely off topic question, I’m looking to buy an ’05 Acura EL (civic si w/leather & rear disc brakes) manual transmission as a daily driver. Reliability wise, are they any good? The one i’m looking at has 183,000 km.
Thanks again,
Joey
Thanks for the reply’s and suggestions. Just today, the van stalled while I was driving to work. But try as I might, it would not start. It turns over but that’s it. I had to ditch it at the side of the road and take the bus. I’m going to try and tow it home this weekend so I can check it over. I know that most of you will say no, but what the heck. Do you think its okay to pull the van with my sisters 2002 accord v6? Its about a 5 minute drive home. If not, that’s fine, i’ll just call a tow truck, but it would be nice to save some cash. As a completely off topic question, I’m looking to buy an ’05 Acura EL (civic si w/leather & rear disc brakes) manual transmission as a daily driver. Reliability wise, are they any good? The one i’m looking at has 183,000 km.
Thanks again,
Joey
I would not recommend towing the van with a small passenger car. I’m not sure how you were planning to do it. The acura would probably be a good investment.
I think you risk damaging another car if you tow with it. It’s your choice but I would not recommend it. Perhaps get a friend with a truck or something to help you.
As for the Civic, those are very reliable cars so long as they were maintained properly. Sadly, many of them are not.
Thanks for all the replies. The van randomly felt like starting so I drove it home without a hitch. No towing necessary. I’m going to look at that Acura this Thursday, hopefully it isn’t all beat up! If I do end up purchasing that Acura, I will be putting the Van in storage for a while until I get enough money to fix all of its mechanical problems, and maybe get the rust fixed up too.
Cheers
I have seen trouble like this from contaminated fuel. Take a fuel sample from your fuel rail test port. Put it in a clear jar and let it sit a few hours. You are looking for something to separate from the fuel. If you have water or solids in the fuel it should show up. The best part is it doesn’t cost anything to look at it.
Contaminated fuel isn’t a bad theory. If you can keep us posted on your progress that would be great.
Thanks for the test procedure roywrench22. I did the test and let it sit for about half a day but there was no separation.
I now think that a piece of rust in the fuel tank may have partially clogged the fuel filter. At this current moment in time, the van will start but with a rough idle, and when I put it from neutral into drive (its an automatic) the van stalls. So after starting it again, I rev the rpms to keep it going and then put it into drive, and while keeping the revs with my right foot, I ease off the brakes with my left foot so I don’t go flying into the street at 3500 rpms. The funny thing is, is that I replaced the fuel filter on it not too long ago, and before then, It was driving fine. So maybe the fuel filter has a defect and that may be causing low fuel pressure output. I’m going to replace the fuel filter this weekend and we’ll see how it runs from there. This is a strange ongoing situation and I hope to resolve it with a new filter. Thanks again for the comments, i’ll keep you posted on my progress.
Joey
As an aside, I saw that ’05 Acura El I was talking about earlier and it was great! The interior was mint but the exterior had a couple dents and scuff marks here and there. Overall, it was a pleasant experience. The slick manual tranny was a blast to drive and the engine was surprisingly peppy too. I’m going to see it again at the end of this week and try to negotiate the price from $6700 to the lower end of the $5000 price range.
May i recommend a Daewoo? they are pretty much maintenance free and are dirt cheap these days. Mine just passed 42,300 miles today and its never had work other than brakes in 2001 2002 and 2003 oil changes new front tyres in 2006ish new brakes in 2010 after sitting for 2 months (brakes made a grinding/thunking sound) and a new back tyre in 2012 from a hole in the inner firewall. its never had any fluid flushes it never uses oil and it starts up even when it is -20F outside 😀 most dependable car you can buy
I actually poked around craigslist funny enough, looking for a Lanos but there were hardly any ads on craigslist and most of them were Daewoo station wagons. I wanted to see how much they were worth because I just finished watching Pineapple Express and I had an interest for them. If one pops up in the market anytime soon, I might take a look. Reviews say that they are dependable cars as well. The reason I want to stick with a Honda is because I’ve had good experiences with them in the past and my family has not bought anything else. My uncle has a ’95 Accord and he has racked up 600,000 plus miles on it and it still runs like new. He only had to do oil changes and regular maintenance items. But I’ll be more open and look at different brands too!
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