Date:         Mon, 5 May 2003 13:54:51 -0400
Reply-To:     Jeff Ham <speakerdesign@MSN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jeff Ham <speakerdesign@MSN.COM>
Subject:      Re: Head Gaskets: Fall Leaky; Spring No Leaky
Comments: To: Gary Hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM>

On Mon, 5 May 2003 08:06:42 -0700, gary hradek <hradek@YAHOO.COM> wrote:

>jeff,
>    I should make two points.
>If all you do is local such a leak is acceptable.
>Not sure I would go a long distance with this type of
>leak.    Point two is that any leak of the head if
>fixed early and perhaps with a certain frequency is
>just not that hard to repair for a person of average
>skill.   gary
>
>--- Jeff Ham <speakerdesign@MSN.COM> wrote:
>> I've had this type of leak on my '90 Westy since I
>> bought it 4 years ago.
>> The previous owner hardly ever drove it and when I
>> first bought it leaked
>> a fair amount. I assumed I would be doing head
>> gaskets soon. After driving
>> it daily and putting some miles on it the leak got
>> much better! I had the
>> coolent changed, added about 1/3 of a tube of
>> Alumisil and it's still
>> going strong. It leakes a little but I can go for a
>> month without adding
>> any water.
>
>
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I've driven about 30kmi with this small leak, many long trips and I rarely
need to add water. I think when the van sits in the cold for an extended
period the head gaskets tend to dry up a bit and regular driving keeps
everything sealed better, just like many other types of seals on any
vehicle. The leak in my van got much better after daily driving for a few
weeks. This was before it got cold outside and before I did anything else
to the cooling system. If the leak ever gets bad enough that I need to add
water every week I'll be getting the heads done.