Date:         Mon, 10 Dec 2001 20:22:37 -0500
Reply-To:     Wade Shen <swade@UMIACS.UMD.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Wade Shen <swade@UMIACS.UMD.EDU>
Subject:      The moral of the story is... (Semi-long tale of woe)
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'Tis the season for fables and parables so here's one that may, hopefully,
save y'all the thousands in repair costs that I'll now have to pay.

I just bought a new '90 Vanagon GL the other day.  It seemed to be running
well, and everything seemed to be in great condition - even the mechanic
that I had check it out commented on how well it had been cared for.

Then the other day, I was returning from the Airport (an 80 mile drive round
trip) when the flashing LED came on.  I was about 1/4 mile from home and it
was late in the evening, so I just parked the car, figuring that I would
look into the problem the next day.

The next day, I open the engine compartment and noticed that the coolant was
low, so I fill everything and start the engine.  The blinking LED didn't
come on for a while, but when the thermostat opened, I noticed coolant
dripping out of the T-connector <-> thermostat housing hose and the LED
started blinking again.

After shutting off the engine for a couple of hours, I decided to risk
driving the car to the local mechanic (about 2 miles away, but in city
traffic).  Nervously watching the temp gauge and the blinking LED, it took
almost 15 anxious minutes to get to the mechanic.  By this time, the temp
gauge was almost 3/4 up, steaming coolant out of the broken hose, and a
blinking LED all the way (however, there was coolant in the system).  I
thought to myself, "I should have paid to have her towed."

Well, this morning, upon getting her back from the mechanic, she ran well,
but i noticed a small puddle of green coolant under the right cylinder
head/engine body interface (God, I hope they forgot to tighten the drain
bolt), and the coolant reservoir was down 1/2 from Max.  I'm pretty sure it
was doing this before...

So it turns out a small risk may turn into a $1300 head gasket job.  I guess
I should be glad I didn't melt the entire engine.

wade