The moment has arrived, my normally reliable '87 Vanagon has a coolant drip. I bought the van 2 years ago with a newly rebuilt engine (both heads) and I've done less than 10k miles since then. I first noticed the flashing red light 2 days ago. The red light comes on within 1-2 miles of starting off. The temp gauge hovers around 1/2 for 2-3 miles then creeps up to 2/3. My journey to and from work is around 5 miles each way and takes around 35 mins (Phoenix traffic!). I'm losing about a pint of coolant (rough estimate) per day. I was a quart down on oil when I checked the coolant. I have looked underneath but cannot tell exactly where the drip is coming from. It is dripping onto what looks like a rubber boot at the inner end of the driver side axle shaft. Thats as best as I can tell. Could this be a coolant hose, or something more serious like a cylinder head? Any tips on Vanagon mechanics in Phoenix, AZ? I just moved here and know zero. I am not a mechanic and I live in an apartment complex where working on vehicles in not allowed. I love my van and need to get it back on the road as soon as possible since its my only vehicle and I've just started a new job and have no other way of getting to it than this. I've been getting around 10-12 mpg, is this normal? Any help and advice will be most appreciated. - David |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.