On Thu, 3 Oct 2002, Martin Jagersand wrote: > Mostly: If the van has ever overheated it may have a warped head and/or > headgasket leaks. Check for bubbling/blowing coolant when test driving. > Since the vans put a heavier load on the small engine than the cars, they > are more likely to end up with this problem. The temperature gauge will also tell you something. It should stay below the LED unless you're really pushing it going up a hill. If it quickly comes up above the LED and stays there, it's likely there's a headgasket leak or other problem. (Mine did this when it had a cracked head, but I didn't know any better -- never had a watercooled VW, so I didn't know where the gauge was *supposed* to sit.) Check for oil in the expansion bottle and water froth in the oil. I also recommend trying to test-drive the van on a day when it hasn't been started yet. How well it handles a cold start will tell you more about the health of the engine and the glow plug system than a warm start will. _ _ __ _ _ _| | | | David M. Brodbeck (N8SRE) Ypsilanti, MI / _` | | | | | | +----------------------------------------------------- | (_| | |_| | | | @ cyberspace.org \__, |\__,_|_|_| "There is something ironic when the developers name |___/ housing development after what they bulldozed to build it, but I think you have to allow some latitude in naming, so that not every street is called "Suburban Drive." -- Jan Wolter |
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Vanagon mail messages have been archived.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.