Date:         Sun, 21 Apr 2002 10:30:44 -0400
Reply-To:     David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         David Beierl <dbeierl@ATTGLOBAL.NET>
Subject:      Re: mystery of the missing coolant
Comments: To: Deborah Walters <debbwa@EARTHLINK.NET>
In-Reply-To:  <B8E8374F.F4A%debbwa@earthlink.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 09:30 AM 4/21/2002, Deborah Walters wrote:
>I'm losing coolant while parked.  Can't find any leaks anywhere, coolant
>level is normal in the refill tank just after driving, but when I check
>again before driving somewhere else the tank is dry - pratically bone dry,
>like all of the coolant has evaporated.  I've felt around the seems of the
>tank for drips but haven't felt any.  Any thoughts?

I have one but you're not going to like it.  First of all, the system could
be purging air, in which case it will stop when it's full -- shouldn't be
more than 2-3 cycles required, assuming you fill the overflow tank in
between.  If that's not it, though, either it's getting shoved out to the
outside when the system is under pressure -- run it at a high idle in the
driveway until it gets good and hot, and look/smell for escaping coolant,
not forgetting to look inside the back seat for flooding -- or it's
escaping to the inside.  In that case it's either going into the crankcase
or the cylinders.  If the cylinders, a shop will be able to detect the
glycol in the exhaust.

Or possibly you have a poltergeist.  Are there any disturbed adolescent
girls around with a vague sweetish smell about them?  Some people call it
maple-syrup, but that merely shows they've never had maple syrup. <g>  It
actually smells much like glycerin tastes, a sort of buzzy sweetness with
rubbery overtones, quite distinctive when hot.

david

--
David Beierl - Providence, RI
  http://pws.prserv.net/synergy/Vanagon/
'84 Westy "Dutiful Passage"
'85 GL "Poor Relation"