Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 05:43:14 -0700
Reply-To: Michael Snow <mwsnow@HOME.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Michael Snow <mwsnow@HOME.COM>
Subject: Re: Cooling system leak - where to start?
In-Reply-To: <4.2.0.58.20001013093117.00b50e60@ns2.mediaweb.nl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
I had a puzzler like this not too long ago. The water was constantly low in
the tank. I couldn't find the leak. A 1.5 cm crack in one of the
combustion chambers was allowing combustion gases into the coolant. The
pressure forced coolant out of the overflow tank. It took a while for the
crack to get large enough for me to figure this out. If there are no leaks
from the cooling system, check to see if air bubbles are getting into the
expansion tank. A head gasket leak could go either way. Coolant could also
get into the cylinders and exit with the exhaust. Check your oil closely to
make sure that the coolant is not leaking into the oil pan. Your use of the
word "flush" reminds me of watching an MG owner years ago run cold water
directly from a hose into a hot engine. He cracked the block and ended up
selling his car for parts. I hope for your sake that there is a simple
solution.
Mike Snow
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM]On Behalf
Of Peter van Marwijk
Sent: Friday, October 13, 2000 12:38 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Cooling system leak - where to start?
Hi,
Since I flushed my '87 diesel panel van about 5 or 6 weeks ago, the
temperature gauge slowly began creeping up. A quick check told me the water
level in the tank was a bit low, so I filled it up again. That helped for a
day and the temperature began creeping up again (and the water level was
low again).
Since it has been raining for a couple of days I couldn't tell if it was
leaking, but it is (yesterday was a dry day). Tomorrow is saturday, so I've
got some time to look for the leak.
But where should I start? The tank seems to be OK, but I bet there's a weak
spot somewhere that other Vanagon owners have discovered before me...
Any pointers, things to look for?
Thanks,
Peter.
----------------------------------------------------------
"This isn't life in the fast lane,
it's life in the oncoming traffic"
- Terry Pratchett -
----------------------------------------------------------
Peter van Marwijk,
Concept & Design
Mediaweb, Internet Integrators (http://mediaweb.nl)
P.O. Box 207 - 2200 AE - Noordwijk - The Netherlands
Phone : +31 71-3641168 Fax: +31 71-3641165
Email :pvanmarwijk@mediaweb.nl ICQ: 3773451
----------------------------------------------------------
Katwijkse Branding Surfclub -> http://kbs.nl
| 
