Stalls in idle, 1982 VW Rabbit

Tiny
CHRISTIN
  • MEMBER
  • 1982 VOLKSWAGEN
For about a month, my 1982 Rabbit (fuel injected) has been stalling almost every time I take my foot off the gas. The only time it doesn't is for the first 5 minutes or so in the morning. Can anyone tell me some things that A) I can check/repair myself, or B) A mechanic could diagnose for free?

I don't know if this makes any difference, but the car has never had a gas cap in the 4 months that I have owned it. Could someone have put something in my gas tank that would cause this maybe. Or, could the missing cap be a problem in and of itself, even though everything was fine for 3 months?

My main question is this: How likely is it that the repairs it needs are going to be expensive?
We only meant for this car to get us through the summer anyway, so am not interested in doing any major repairs. If it seems likely that the repairs are going to be expensive, I don't want to pay a mechanic just to tell me that either :-)

One other thing if anyone knows. Where can I buy a brake fluid reservoir cap for this car? I've searched and searched with no luck!

Thanks so much for any advice!

(I don't know the mileage as the odometer was broken when we bought it, stuck at 119,000 miles. As for the engine size, I think it is a 1.7. It's just the basic model Rabbit, not convertible or anything)
Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 AT 2:15 PM

6 Replies

Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
  • 11,533 POSTS
Look for any broken or missing vacuum hoses. Also clean out the throttle bore with some carb spray and a rag. Yes, you should have a gas cap on it, you never know what could wind up in there.
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Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 AT 2:47 PM
Tiny
CHRISTIN
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Thanks so much! I have no mechanical skills whatsoever (I've never even changed the oil in a car!). But I've checked out every Volkswagen repair book that the library had, so I'm going to give it a try!

I went to buy a gas cap when we got the car, but couldn't find the right one, so I gave up and forgot about it until now.

If someone put something (water maybe?) Into my gas tank. Do you think it would be worth the $10 bucks to buy some of that fuel system cleaner/ additive stuff?

Assuming no one has messed with my gas, though, how likely is it that having no gas cap would affect the fuel or air pressure, etc, enough to be causing my problem?

Thanks again!
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Wednesday, August 29th, 2007 AT 4:35 PM
Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
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Moisture in the tank could be a problem, an additive wouldnt hurt. Dont think th elack of a gs cap is th eactual problem though. Try cleaning the throttle bore and get back to me
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Thursday, August 30th, 2007 AT 7:43 AM
Tiny
CHRISTIN
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
Thanks so much again for the reply :-)

I wasn't aware, but my husband had already put some of that fuel additive in a week ago.

As for the the throttle bore. We just looked at it and it was perfect. No residue whatsoever. We looked at the spark plug wires, and there was some corrosion, wondering if that has anything to do with the stalling?

We visually inspected everything we could. Didn't find any obvious leaks or cracks in any of the hoses.

Not sure what else we can do ourselves, or will the next step be taking it in to a repair shop?

Thanks again!
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Friday, August 31st, 2007 AT 1:46 AM
Tiny
2CARPRO JACK
  • MECHANIC
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An ignition misfire can make it stall at idle. Try cleaning out the Idle Air Control valve with carb spray as well
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Friday, August 31st, 2007 AT 7:31 AM
Tiny
CHRISTIN
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  • 4 POSTS
I will check out that valve you mentioned. But for now, it seems that problem may actually be solved. A neighbor offered to help. He raised the idle speed by adjusting a screw, and the car hasn't stalled since he did that. And, although I never saw any leak on the fuel distributer, he thought one of the lines was leaking and tightend the connection on the distributor.

Thanks again for all your help!
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Friday, August 31st, 2007 AT 3:17 PM

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