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Date:         Sun, 9 Jun 2002 00:55:36 -0400
Reply-To:     Karl M <thewestyman@MINDSPRING.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Karl M <thewestyman@MINDSPRING.COM>
Subject:      Re: head leaks- any stopgap measures?
Comments: To: roch <roch00@YAHOO.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

This 'mechanic' is all washed up. Being trained in Germany and France hardly makes him any more an expert than someone trained in West-By-God-Virginia. Pure coolant has very poor heat transfer properties. Pure luck that he hasn't cooked an engine doing this. Water is the problem? Nope! Try a very poorly engineered design for a head gasket, that's the problem! FWIW, I have a customer with 210K on original heads AND gaskets, regular coolant changes with proper mix, driven most of it's life as a commuter van, 150 miles per day.

Karl Mullendore Westy Ventures 1987 Westfalia Syncro 1.9TD

----- Original Message -----

> I have a mechanic who does this on the side....he was trained in > Germany and France. He says you need to use 100% coolant. He has done > this for yrs and never any problem with heads. I told him coolant > directions say 70 or 50% water with coolant. He advised me to NOT > follow these directions and only use full coolant as it's the water > that causes the problem. Also he has a different perspective on air > bubbles. Dealer and other VW mechanics say to raise front end 12 > inches when doing coolant change. According to this guy...that is > wrong! He says you need to raise back of vw...reason being that air > bubbles rise to top...that way the bubbles will rise...bleeder value is > in back and that way you can get air bubbles out. He's been doing this > for years and again...never has had problems with air bubbles.. > > Anyone ever heard his perspective before?


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