Date:         Sun, 5 Jan 2014 14:12:55 -0500
Reply-To:     Jack R <jack007@COMCAST.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jack R <jack007@COMCAST.NET>
Subject:      bucking/stumbling, etc. - 91 2.1 WBX Automatic
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Same thing happened to me, in my 84 Westy last year... I have a 91 2.1 WBX
motor.

Easy fix... added Dry Gas, and ran perfect after that!

Cheap and quick!!!!

Good luck.

BTW, our friends 90 2.1 WBX Auto had a catastrophic failure on the Flex
Plate on the Auto Trans mission, so you may want to do whatever preventative
that calls for.

Jack R.
84 Westy Wolfie w/2.1 WBX
N. of Detroit

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Robert Clemmer
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2014 8:10 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: bucking/stumbling, etc. - 91 2.1 WBX Automatic

Good Morning All,



We just drove to Cape Coral, FL from Bucks Co. PA.  Somewhere around
Richmond VA the engine started stumbling, bucking, or whatever you want to
call it. It was like someone was doing Morse code on a kill switch for a
brief moment.  The episodes started slowly then increase as the miles ran
on.  It ran fine under full throttle.  It would only act up after you
reached speed and eased off the throttle lightly.  Or when cruising after
backing off the throttle lightly from cresting a hill or rise.  Didn't
matter whether using your foot or cruise control on the throttle.



About a 150 miles later we stopped for the night.  Next morning, started up
and the stumbling started up again for about 50 or so miles then stopped for
the remainder of the trip.  Two or three times you could feel it wanting to
try when lightly coming off throttle at speed, but not to the point of the
engine bucking and shaking the car.



Weather conditions at the time were cold as in high teens.  Wet as in salt
spray for the prior 250 miles.  Ice hanging off the bottom of the car.



Prior to this event there was one very brief hiccup in July on a trip to
Mackinac Island, MI.  Otherwise the car has been running flawlessly.



Ironically, the same thing happened 20 years ago on a trip to Florida again.
Same conditions, cold wet salt spray.  Stopped for the night and the next
day the car was perfect until the ride back and back in the cold salt again
around Baltimore.  Never did determine what the cause was. It just stopped
and ran great for the next 20 or so years.



I'm at a loss as to what the issue is.  Has anyone experienced these symptom
before?  What did you do to solve the problem?  Is there something going on
of imminent failure that will leave us on the side of the road.



Any comments, suggestions, words of advice will be greatly appreciated
before we turn back to the frozen north.



Bob Clemmer