Date:         Mon, 26 Aug 2002 13:53:47 -0500
Reply-To:     Birkenfeld Jeff <BirkenfeldJeff@JOHNDEERE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Birkenfeld Jeff <BirkenfeldJeff@JOHNDEERE.COM>
Subject:      Radiator stop leak and Water Wetter
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I had 2 experiences this weekend that I wanted to share.
First experience deals with my removed radiator.  I picked up a new one from
radiator.com (sorry list vendors, needed it Saturday and $20 Sat delivery
was too hard to pass up) for $210 including shipping due to a dripping leak
in the old one.  The new unit is German made and identical to the stock
radiator that was removed.  I took my old radiator and sliced it a few ways
to see what was inside.  I found it to be caked with radiator stop leak type
substance; a gooey, sticky, whitish/grayish colored stuff that appeared
would not easily come out.  I generally flush my systems annually and every
2 yrs. have the radiators flushed.  This stuff apparently did not flush out
last June and prolly never would have.  I was amazed at how much was in
there.  I knew the PO had used the stop leak as was evident when I replaced
the leaking engine 2 yrs. ago but had no idea it had consumed the radiator
as much as it did.  I would guess about 2- 2 ½ cups of this stuff was in
there.  Dropped in (actually pushed up) the new radiator and noticed an
immediate difference.  This on my '89 daily driver which promptly drove 450
miles roundtrip to Eureka Springs Arkansas for their annual VW event.  I
would highly recommend against adding stop leak to any coolant system.
Note-this engine has the Z-stick product from FastGermanAuto installed and I
may attribute some of that goo to this.  Guess it's time to check the heater
cores and lube coolers.
Second experience deals with Water Wetter by Redline.  I flushed and
refilled my other '89 with 50/50 mix of favorite coolant and added Water
Wetter for the first time.  In this vehicle, I measure coolant temp via VDO
gauge tapped on the large metal coolant pipe that runs from thermostat
housing to water pump.  I noticed a 20-25F degree drop in measurement.  I'm
not easily convinced of remedy-in-a-bottle type stuff but couldn't believe
the results.  As a control to measure any temp difference, I noted the
readings about 2 hrs from each other (time to flush, fill and bleed) on the
same day, ambient temp and humidity was approximately the same.  The A/C was
not used to limit the fan variable and I drove the same route to help the
comparison.   I also noticed that temp recovery was much quicker such as
heating up in traffic and back down once running again. 
Bottom line is I am now convinced this product can help keep coolant temps
down.  If you've been on the fence about Water Wetter, spend the 6 or 7
dollars and give it a try.
Call me anal but I firmly believe annual coolant changes help WBX corrosion
issues more than anything else does. 
YMMV
Have a good day!

JB
'89 Wolfsburgs - yes Chris, if one goes on the block, you'll be the first to
know ; )