Date:         Tue, 14 Nov 2000 16:29:17 +1100
Reply-To:     Stephen Overmyer <s.overmyer@UWS.EDU.AU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Stephen Overmyer <s.overmyer@UWS.EDU.AU>
Subject:      Return to the wasserleaker club
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Volks,

With only 65,000kms since a head job (192,000kms total since new)
I have bad feelings of deja vu (sp?)presently...
My '92 WBX has had the annoying habit of the coolant light blinking
on occasions over the past few months with the header tank a little
on the low side but the expansion tank level never getting down.
Have never been able to find a leak but have always kept an eye out
naturally expecting the worse.

Anyway,yesterday the van wouldn't start for my wife and she called
the local road service.Van finally started but don't think it had
anything to do with the surly turd that attended her.On the way home
the blinking light came on again...

Had a look this morning and tried to start the van.Engine didn't want
to turn over but was trying to. Hmmm Huston,we have a problem.
Finally the engine did manage to turn over but didn't quite sound right.
Went to the back of the van to see white smoke (well,coolant vapor more
precisely) pouring out of the tail pipe and more evaporating off the
exhaust below #3 cylinder.

Finally I think I know where my mystery slow coolant loss has been
going-out the tail pipe.The leak below #3 has just occurred but I
guess it's now reached the terminal stage.

Given the AMC heads have relatively low "kilometerage"as it were on them,
I'm kinda hoping that maybe it's the head gasket & related O rings that
have let me down instead of the head but naturally I'm keen to hear
from anybody who has suffered similar symptoms and what the diagoisis
ultimately was.

All replies gratefully received and feel free to burst my bubble of
self denial if it really is more likely to be the head instead of
the gasket.I think I'm big enough to take it...:(

Thanks for listening,

Steve O.
Blue Mountains NSW Aust.
'92 Transporter @#$%ing Wasserleaker
'76 Transporter Double Cab
'68 Beetle
'00 Transporter 5Cyl Double Cab (work truck)
'48 Fairmont M-19 Speeder