Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (April 2002, week 2)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Wed, 10 Apr 2002 10:29:21 -0700
Reply-To:     gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Help! 84 Westy coolant problem
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

KEN They may be right about the heads, but if that is the case they installed a new radiator for no reason. Clearly they could have figured out what was wrong before hitting you with a new radiator. If they do the head work ask for a price reduction. The price should be reduced by half the labor cost that went into the radiator. The fact remains you have the new radiator and should pay for that. Before doing the heads replace the thermostat and confirm that your coolant fan is coming on. Do this yourself if you can. Bleed the system again to rule that out. If this does not solve the problem ask them to sniff your coolant with the smog machine to look for combustion gases in the coolant. and then bend over. good luck, gary Date: Wed, 10 Apr 2002 09:59:25 -0700 From: Ken Baldwin <baldwin@ROGUEWAVE.COM> Subject: Help! 84 Westy coolant problem

I've got a 84 Westy. About a month ago, the temp warning light came on suddenly and started flashing, even though the van had only been running a few minutes. I checked the rear coolant reservoir and the level was way too high. (That's the overflow reservoir visible behind the license plate.)

I took it in to my local VW shop and they replaced the front reservoir and sending unit. It was ok for a week or so, then exhibited the same problem. They said the raditor was probably clogged, so I had them replace it ($400).

Again, ok for a couple weeks, then the problem returned (warning light coming on suddenly, too much coolant in the rear). Today they said they think that pressure is building up in the system and forcing coolant into the rear. They said the only place this could be coming from is a leaky head gasket. They quoted me $800 for the job, assuming they can reuse the heads. More like $1800 if they have to replace the heads. Yikes.

Does their diagnosis make sense? Is there any other explanation I should explore?

Thanks for your help, Ken

__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Tax Center - online filing with TurboTax http://taxes.yahoo.com/


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

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.