20 Most Recent 1986 Volkswagen Wagon Camper - Page 2 Questions & Answers

The fill location shold be right under the dash board. there will be a black rubber boot over the bottle.

you have a lazy o2 sensor on one bank that is leaning out the mixture too much if it has a twin port intake manifold. if it is a common intake assembly,then check for an exhaust restriction like a bad catalytic converter on one side.

I would check these things;
1. Does the fuel pump have enough pressure? It should have 2.0 -2.5 bar (29 - 36 PSI). It is located on the frame to the left of the transaxle.
2. I would just go ahead and replace the two relays in the little (5"x5" ?), black plastic box on the left side and above the motor. These are your main power and fuel pump relay. They can be quite trouble some and cause similar symptoms.
3. Check the ground for the ignition distributor. A little brown "pig-tail" wire. Should be grounded to the crankcase vent. Make sure it has a good ground. Also the cluster of grounds between the upper rear left head and body. If you said, checked some grounds, but take them off, clean them, and secure them.
4. Air flow meters fail fairly regularly on these and should have the retrofitted "diode harness" plugged in between the meter and harness.
5. Check the throttle position switch under the throttle body. The switch should make a "click" at the idle stop and another "click" at full throttle. Remove the throttle body if you need to make adjustments. Sometimes the butterfly shaft gets worn and you can not get the switch adjusted to make both "clicks"
6. Check for burned wires at the back of the fuse box, and "fried" connector pins.

A couple other things, at this point I would also;
1. change the coolant temperature sensor (blue plug near the thermostat).
2. drain cna fill new coolant mix.
3. can you get a hold of another air flow meter to try?
4. lnspect the fuel injection control unit, try dismounting it and shaking it or changing it's position.

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check out compression first,could be low.

Any 5W30 will work fine, however because the oil coolers in 1970 and pre 70 VW were so marginal it is a good idea to put a full flow oil filter on and if you really want to do it a service you should consider a remote cooler or a post 70 VW dog house cooler that was larger and added to your oil capacity by about 1.5 qts and you can extend your oil change to 3000 mi. I am an avid Amsoil fan for proven reasons... I have a hard working F-350 power stroke diesel with 240,000 miles on it and still as strong as new thanks to Amsoil 100% synthetic. One thing about synthetics that will help your 70 is that they tend to make your engine run cooler, but be warned if you have an oil consumption condition now it will be aggravated by synthetics so in that case stick with a good quality name brand Dino oil like Shell or Esso etc.

I will not provide this here. Get the Bently Workshop Manual. If you are messing with head torque you need the proper reference.

Mercedes is same bolt pattern but they use a 12mm stud/bolt so the holes need to be enlarged to 9/16" (14.28mm) for your 14mm stud/bolts. This is not an exact fit but I have run them and it works dandy and the turbine wheels look great in addition to being about 1" wider so I can use lower profile passenger radials instead of the skinny reinforced ones.

The freeze plugs can be loosened and removed using a punch and a hammer. Or, drill a small hole in the middle of the freeze plug, then thread a large sheet metal screw into the hole. Remove the plug with a slide hammer. When installing, coat the freeze plugs with sealer. Tap into position using a piece of pipe,socket slightly smaller than the plug, as a driver. location back of engine

Sounds like a massive vacuum leak. Check the boots for cracks/tightness and replace/tighten as necessary.

The condensor you said it smells like gas the ponts are good but the condensor you might have to carry a extra one there are low condensor on the market. and the fuel pump make sure it goes in the carburator no out, check the oil make sure it doesnt internally leak, and look in the carburator does it squirt in there? and check its timing,now is the condensor for 6 volt system application or 12 volt aplication ? remeber 1976 T2 VW had 6 volt applications

sounds like an impossible dream....and pricey....youd have to have a pwr steering pump mounted in the perfect position for alignment and a belt, probably not a space for another belt on the crankshaft..... high pressure hoses etc.... i dont see how that vehicle could be hard to steer being light in the front end.....grease the front end and steering at every grease fitting on it .... always have the vehicle moving, even just a little will help, before turning and that will make turning the wheel easier. OK!!

maybe the fuel system is dirty? run some fuel system cleaner with your gas and it should fix the problem

Why? If they are noisy (hydraulic tappets, remember?), try an oil/filter change first with a little Gunk cleaner in the crankcase before draining. If that does not help and you seriously want to do this, do yourself a favor and get a Bently Service Manual. The basic adjustment is "2 turns tighter (clockwise) after all lash is removed and the adjuster is just touching the valve stem." Although in practice 1.5 turns seems to work better. GET THE MANUAL for the proper procedure including sequence as the cam must be on the base circle when you do it or the adjustment is no good.

To be clear. When you lift off the pedal with the transmission in gear you don't move? That would be a shot clutch. Very rarely it could be a fractured gland nut and sheared off flywheel but I've only seen that once and the vehicle was sorely abused. On the other hand, if you mean the clutch won't DIS-engage when you depress the pedal, you likely have either a worn or broken cable. A worn cable can be adjusted a bit at the transmission. Another possibility is a worn Bowden tube (the stiff black tube at the transmission with the curve in it that the cable runs through). This can also be adjusted out if not too bad, otherwise it needs to be replaced. Obviously, if the cable is broken you need to replace it.

What do you mean? Does not crank over or cranks over with no "sputter pop?" Re-post with specific symptoms, please

I haven't seen one in a long time, so am going on memory here. Yes, it does have power steering ! I also remember it having a power steering filter that used to clog sometimes.

You will have to find the source of the leak and repair it. There can be no leaks of any amount, or the clutch won't work. After you repair it, whether it be a line or the slave cylinder or whatever, you will have to bleed the line and get all the air out of it. if you need more info, get back to me.

First make certain you have sufficient oil. Then check coolant level. If both are OK, you may have a goofy sensor. The one in the expansion tank is particularly prone to cracking and giving weird readings.

You will need a very large allen wrench (like 19mm or so) for the drain and fill plugs. This is an uncommon size so if you do not want to invest in one just have a shop do it. If you decide to go ahead, get GL-4 hydraulic oil and a pump. Remove fill plug first (to ensure you can before draining transmission!) on side of transmission, about mid-line. Then remove drain plug (center bottom toward engine). Have catch pan ready. Once it has all dripped out, replace drain plug and fill with pump through side plug until it starts to drip back out (car level). Let it finish dripping out, replace plug and good to go!

Try on-line parts store like gowesty.com, van-caf?.com or busdepot.com Failing that, a junkyard like "pick n pull" or similar is a very good source for items like this.