Date: Thu, 9 Nov 2000 19:15:29 -0500
Reply-To: Joe Romas <jromas@COLUMBUS.RR.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Joe Romas <jromas@COLUMBUS.RR.COM>
Subject: Re: Need your input - questionable mechanic (long)
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Colin,
Your right and yes 5 hours seem long to me. I'm also a new vanagon owner
and have never worked on one before. However I do my own mechanical work and
the vanagon is just another gasoline engine if not a little different. Ask
your uncle if he'll show you how to flush the system, he maybe excited to
help as long as you crawl under, drop the spare tire and remove the clamps.
The hardest part is bleeding the air from the system and it's really no
biggie. I've replaced the LONG steel coolant pipes underneath and even that
was stright foward.
Joe
PS you can mix coolants but have the protection of the least. When I drained
mine it also "looked" good however it killed the grass along the drive. The
only thing I can figure is it was very acidic.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Colin Carmichael" <colincarmichael@YAHOO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, November 09, 2000 6:58 PM
Subject: Need your input - questionable mechanic (long)
> Hi all -
>
> I had a frustrating experience today and need the
> advice of my fellow listees. Let me preface my story
> by saying that I've had my Vanagon since July of this
> year and feel like I'm pretty well read/informed -
> though I don't do my own work.
>
> My water pump had started leaking with the change in
> the weather. I bought a new one from The Bus Depot,
> picked up a few gallons of orange coolant and dropped
> the van off at the local independent VW shop to have
> the pump installed and the coolant system flushed. I
> specifically asked him to flush the system and use a
> 50/50 mix of the orange coolant and water.
>
> I went to pick up the van today. When I got home, I
> noticed the coolant expansion tank was very close to
> empty. In addition, the coolant at the bottom of the
> tank was blue. Then I noticed two of the three gallons
> of coolant I had supplied were in the back seat of the
> van.
>
> I phoned the mechanic and he said the system only
> needed two gallons of fluid after the water pump had
> been installed. I pushed him a little harder and he
> told me there is coolant in the system that is almost
> impossible to get out without unconnecting radiator
> hoses up front and flushing it out with a hose (which
> is what I thought I had asked him to do). He then
> started in with the "I wish you'd trust me - this is
> what I do for a living - blah,blah,blah.."
>
> Fair enough - I told him I was probably semi-paranoid
> thanks to the Vanagon Mailing List and knowing the
> limitations of the van. I also expressed my thoughts
> on the importance of flushing the cooling system every
> year or two. (You guys will like this) He discredited
> the vanagon mailing list saying that very few of you
> work on Volkswagens for a living and told me that it
> was ok to have a mix of the blue and orange stuff in
> there and the existing coolant looked ok.
>
> Knowing the PO was relatively clueless about the van
> (when bought, the van had under-rated Uniroyal tires,
> Fram Oil Filter, Etc.), isn't it important that I do a
> thorough coolant flush and not just top off what came
> out with the water pump install? Also, he charged me
> for 5 hours of labor for installing a water pump.
> Does that seem a little long? Can anyone recommend a
> good Vanagon mechanic in the Tulsa area? (I understand
> the systems in the van, but I'm a little intimidated
> to do my own work. My uncle is a great mechanic, but
> has no experience with Vanagons. Maybe I'll start
> having him do the work and just supervise?)
>
> Anxious to hear your thoughts. Sorry this is a little
> long.
>
> Thanks
> Colin
> Tulsa, OK
>
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