Date: Sat, 21 Jul 2001 09:29:59 -0700
Reply-To: Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@WORLDNET.ATT.NET>
Subject: Re: Cooling system woes (again, again, again-again)
Hate to be the bearer of ill tidings, but most likely, you are getting
exhaust gasses in the coolant system. Cracked head or bad head gasket.
There may be other sources for your problem, but you're describing my
situation of last month.
have your mechanic do a sniff test on your coolant. If HC present, you've
got a problem. To determine the exact location of that problem, you need to
do a cylinder leakage test, which involves pumping air into the cylinders,
one by one, and measuring the amount of pressure loss. If the leak is
severe enough (mine was but yours probably isn't), you'll see bubbles coming
up in the fill bottle.
Karl Wolz
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Sassone" <bsassone@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, July 21, 2001 5:47 AM
Subject: Cooling system woes (again, again, again-again)
> My '87 likes to barf out its coolant little by little through the pressure
> cap into the overflow tank to the point where the damnable blinking light
> forever torments me. But, the light is the least of my worries as
> eventually even the overflow tank will overflow to the point where I am
> losing coolant. This usually happens when I've been working the van hard
> like driving all day or up long hills, etc. but even around town on a
daily
> basis, the coolant will barf out into the overflow (causing the low
coolant
> blink-blink) only to be sucked in later over-night. I understand that
this
> exchange between tanks is normal, but not to the extremes I'm seeing.
>
> I've replaced the pressure cap, and although happening less often, the
> problem still exists. I've had the entire cooling system flushed and
> inspected (not my work), the radiator thermo-switch/fan works fine, I've
had
> hoses replaced where needed, I've bled it myself, have new coolant
(50/50),
> new thermostat, and a new pressure cap on that stupid tank where the
> blinking-light-sensor is. And, yes, I've adjusted the coolant levels to
the
> marks indicated on the tanks.
>
> Has anybody had similar experience? My guess is that the pressure in my
> cooling system exceeds the rating of the cap under load, and eventually
> allows the coolant to expand and boil over. That tells me that I've got
> restricted flow somewhere. If it isn't a thermostat failing to open all
the
> way, then it's probably my radiator. Any other advice?
>
> Thanks,
> Brian
>
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