my 1986 volkswagen has no power when I step on the gas. the rpms rev up.

is this a standard or automatic? sounds like it may not be in gear if its reving up alright.

its automatic and its gas it skips when I step on the gas the rpms go up to high it hits 4000 rpms at 55 miles per hour and it has no power I have to push my foot through the floor

I was told it could be the fuel pump but there are two on the car I am so confused and neither one is cheap. is there anyone out there who could please help me and lead me in the right direction

well on these older cars its easier to just start at the top and work your way down. The main check list goes fuel, spark and air. Start by checking all the air ways and cleaning sensors. Check all the vacum lines and valves and replace them as they need it. Check the spark and replace the plugs or distributor cap and rotor if they need it. Check the fuel pressure and start at the fuel filter and then move on to checking the pumps. I am putting up a diagram of the vacuum system to help go over it. you may need to replace the idle control valve at this point in its age especially if you have an erratic idle. Any ways this all aside i am still thinking your trany is not fully engaging and may need a shift solenoid try the car in the manual gears 2 and 1 and see if its shifting normally bettwen the 2 gears.

Vacum Diagram

thanx for the diagram I have it-as for the shifting it shifts into first fine but as for all others including reverse is screwed. and the running does the same. it bucks and skips no power.(great) :(

I changes the fuel pump in the tank. checked the plugs all running clean. as for the timming and the cap and rotor seem ok. I don't know what to do I guess I am going to check all the relays under the dash IDK so upset but thanx for the advice so far I have been trying it

Well if its running ok in first but not in any other gear then you likely got a bad transmission as i feared. The transmission sounds to be only shifting to the first gear and is stuck trying to go further. It is most likely the solenoids that push the transmission into gears has gone faulty or your transmission fluid is low. this is only a guess but you can have the trany looked at by a mr transmission ussaly for free. and they often will tell you what it needs. I would spend some time and check out your vacuum system tho as it could simply be a vacuum issue.

thank you, the filter for the tranny was full of metal shaving so I ordered the kit along w/some lucas transmission repair. see if that works.as for the running the skip seems to go away in it after I let it run for a while. the vacuum system seems to be good I think it has a lot to do with the fuel injection there is one plug in next to the fuel injection system behind the battery that has no power to it. I don't know what it is called so order a new one

metal shavings are usually normal wear and tear. eventually the wear and tear causes the gears to stop connecting right and they slip which could be why its not shifting right then again it could always be a toque converter. If the fluid change and filter don't fix the issue i would suggest going to a mr transmission and seeing what they say.

ok thank you I will but there is no mr transmission in clnton county ny

closest thing i can see there is Adirondack Transmissions i have no idea how good they are but they should be able to tell you whats going on. there is a ammaco across the river that would not be a bad alternative.

well I tried the filter kit and lucas but still slips in reverse and has no power skipping idk just going give up u wanna buy it? lol

my motto is never give up, Never surrender. It needs a rebuild. Take it to the trany shop and they can probably rebuild it for any where from 600-1500$ if you remove the trany yourself it wont cost any more then a rebuild. the shop could probably do the work for you for around 2000$ i would imagine as a rough estimate. the best thing you can do tho is get the car to the transmission shop and have them take a look at it as it could be anything from the bands, torque converter, the pump or simply worn out gears. normally its just one or the other. once they detrermine the main cause you might be able to have it fixed while its still attached to the car but my money is riding on worn out gears which will require the trany to be removed. It would be best to bring the torque converter with you if you plan to just remove it and have it checked.

I am thank you for the help along the way u been a big help :0