Date: Tue, 2 Jan 2001 16:11:41 -0500
Reply-To: dianne gigler <dlg@ANDREW.CMU.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: dianne gigler <dlg@ANDREW.CMU.EDU>
Subject: Request for Help - Overheating Problem
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I have been using my '87 GL Westy as my daily driver for the past 5 months.
I am the third owner and have owned it for three years. It currently has
under 80k miles.
Recently I encountered a problem that I hope this group will assist me in
solving.
While driving yesterday, the red temperature light came on; the temperature
needle was about one-third to one-half of the way up. I immediately pulled
over, shut the engine off, and waited about five minutes. I restarted the
engine and everything appeared to be fine, but about two minutes later the
same thing happened. I drove to the nearest exit (about 2 miles) and drove
to an Ames located quite near the exit. I checked the level in the coolant
reservoir and it appeared to be empty. I went into the Ames and purchased
a gallon of Prestone coolant - the only brand they had in stock- and filled
the reservoir. I was surprised that less than one-fourth of the jug was
needed for the reservoir to reach the "max" level. I started the engine
and let it run for several minutes to see if the level in the reserve tank
went down. It did not, so I closed things up and drove away.
About three minutes later, the light came on again and the needle was below
the half-way mark. I checked the reserve tank level and it was still at
the "max" level. Against my better judgement, I decided to proceed to my
destination which was about seven miles away. The light remained on the
entire time, but once again the needle did not go beyond the half-way mark.
I made arrangements to borrow car and garaged the vanagon at my destination
after once again checking the coolant level which had not change.
I have limited mechanical abilities, but am willing to give most anything a
try. For financial reasons, I would like to avoid taking the vanagon to a
mechanic unless this is absolutely necessary. Given the location of the
van, the nearest VW mechanic would be at a small dealership five or six
miles away. I have basic metric tools and can purchase parts from a local
parts store that specialized in foreign vehicles or order from one of the
list vendors.
Any help - the more detailed the better- will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance for whatever assistance you can provide.
Dianne