Date: Sat, 6 Apr 2002 21:02:38 -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: 88 Westy: Strange Leak, Strange Gasket
Uh, Chris, you're not a mechanic, are you? ;-)
What you're calling a gasket is actually a hose clamp. I'm sure you knew
that, but got caught up in the gasket idea.
These quick clamps (don't know if that's what they're actually called, but
. . .) can be opened fairly easily with a type of pliers called a
ChannelLock (that's a brand name) or even more easily with a special tool
that's designed specifically for those clamps. They're real springy, and
you just need to grab the two protrusions and squeeze them together. This
will release the pressure on the hose and allow you to work the clamp off
the end of the pipe it is on.
I'd recommend that the first time you do this procedure you have someone
around who is familiar with wrenching in general. That's the way we all
learned to do the basic procedures of maintenance.
Don't count on that hose being an intermittent problem, either. Fix it
before you drive it further. That can be a $2000 dollar lesson - not good.
Karl Wolz
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Paquette" <cp@IX.NETCOM.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Saturday, April 06, 2002 5:35 PM
Subject: 88 Westy: Strange Leak, Strange Gasket
> '88 Westy, new (rebuilt) engine with maybe 4,000 miles on it. As will be
> made apparent, I am not a mechanic, so please bear with me.
>
> I drove cross-town today, and when I parked, I could smell coolant. I
looked
> under the engine and sure enough, coolant was leaking out onto the ground
in
> a steady stream. I quickly removed the engine cover and saw that it was
> leaking from the end of a large hose close to the back of the engine (if
> you're facing the steering wheel).
>
> The obvious (?) solution is to replace the gasket on this hose, but it's
not
> the regular steel-circle-with-a-screw-type gasket. There is no screw to be
> seen, and I don't know how to remove it.
>
> So, two questions: this leak seems to be intermittent. If the gasket is
the
> problem, why wouldn't it leak all the time? I drove it to a local service
> station after initially seeing the leak, and the mechanic there left it
> running for an hour waiting to see where the leak was coming from, but it
> never leaked for him. As soon as I picked it up and drove it home, it
leaked
> again (of course).
>
> Secondly, how do I remove the existing "strange" gasket so I can put a new
> one in its place?
>
> Thanks for any help.
>
> Chris
> Los Angeles
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