Date: Tue, 5 Nov 2002 07:32:57 -0500
Reply-To: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Who Sells the Coolant Pipe Repair Kit?
Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
George, I have had this problem on my '91 Carat (plastic lines go bad
at the ends!) and my '85 Westy (metal lines rust out!) and I solved it
the same way both times. I went with the stock VW pipes. My question
to you is: How expensive is a new motor? Even if you bought a good
used motor you are talking at least $400 plus the labor to put it in
($1000-1500). To me it is worth the peace of mind to put back what VW
put there in the first place. It will make the installation process
much faster. And when you get done you should have something that will
last another 18 years (realize that the this was the lifespan of the
original pipes). This guys van is a beater, yes, but it is not yet a
lawn ornament. To keep it from becoming that I would go with stock.
Having said that you can go stock in a cheap way if you can find a 84-
85 Vanagon in a junkyard with good pipes. You can pick them up pretty
cheap that way. That is what I did with my '85, I had a parts van from
the west coast and the metal pipes were still wondering, 'What
does "rust" mean?' Just my opinion.
The other thing you have to think about is the thermal efficency of the
stainless pipes. Did you ever stop to think that the long pipes under
the van are actually part of the cooling system and radiate much of the
engine's heat before it even gets to the radiator? What is the btu
rating of these pipes? The thermal efficency? What about the
material? Perhaps it is a alloy of stainless that would react to the
special alloy in our waterboxer blocks. I think a 20 year study must
be completed before you even attempt to go with this other material.
Please begin at once and send us quarterly updates on your progress.
Got ya!
PS I was serious until that last paragraph :)
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
http://www.vanagain.com
Phone: 856-327-4936
Fax: 856-327-2242
----- Original Message -----
From: George Goff <THX0001@AOL.COM>
Date: Monday, November 4, 2002 11:09 pm
Subject: Who Sells the Coolant Pipe Repair Kit?
> It turns out my nephew is dumber than he looks. After witnessing
> the agony
> Vanagons have caused me, he was still stupid enough to buy a
> whipped out
> Sunroof '84 because he thought it was "sweet". Well, the only
> thing sweet
> about it right now is the coolant gushing out of the metal
> radiator lines
> where they kick up in the rear.
>
> When he called VW to get replacements, my nephew was given a
> strong dose of
> bitter reality: he found that the replacements cost almost as much
> as he paid
> for his "sweet" beater. Figuring that someday he may have to
> change my
> Depends, I carted him around today trying to find some of that
> highly touted
> marine wet exhaust hose to do a repair. We couldn't find any even
> close to
> the right size and after seeing how stiff the stuff is, I really
> didn't want
> to try to wrestle it into place under a dripping van anyway.
>
> Who is offering the stainless steel repair kits for these rotted
> coolantlines? Someone please let me know as soon as possible. It
> is getting cold
> out there, my nephew is NOT pulling that thing into my garage and
> I DON'T
> want to lie under it for indeterminate amount of time!
>
> George
>
