Date: Wed, 30 Jul 2003 23:45:57 -0400
Reply-To: maurio11@COMCAST.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: David Maurio <maurio11@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: MINOR? COOLANT CATASTROPHE HELP NEEDED
In-Reply-To: <3F28794D.7050307@flatblack.net>
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Wasn't the general consensus that you should not connect the two hoses to
the rear heater? Just cap them off individually?
David / NJ
85 Wolfsberg Westy <http://home.comcast.net/~maurio11/index.htm>
http://home.comcast.net/~maurio11/index.htm
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Chris ALmida
Sent: Wednesday, July 30, 2003 10:05 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: MINOR? COOLANT CATASTROPHE HELP NEEDED
Well the wife called about two hours ago to announce that she was stranded
in our 84 Westy and there was coolant everywhere. I found her high on a
mountain road near our house with coolant dripping from the open slider
door. So I proceeded to lift the rear seat and take the cover off of the
rear heater.
Sure enough the connections where the hoses and the heater come together
were covered in coolant crud and there was a large puddle under the heater.
I had done a coolant flush over this past weekend and installed a tee near
the front of the Westy between the two heaters; luckily there was already a
splice there with a knobbed connector which I replaced with the tee. So I
took said connector disconnected the hoses from the heater and connected
them together. This allowed me to start up the Westy , turn it around and
then coast it all the way down the hill (5 miles) the temp gauge was buried
to the right and the coolant level light was flashing so I ran the engine as
little as possible from the bottom of the hill to a gas station about half a
mile up the road. It now sits parked in front of the station.
My question is what best to do next? Should I just fill it with straight
coolant still? Can I run it with the heater by passed until I sort out what
part failed and replace it? (Connecting two straight hoses with a plastic
straight connector creates a slight kink in the hose) Should I risk limping
it home after it cools (maybe two miles mostly flat a little gradual rise)?
Can I just top it off till it's the right level again or should I now re
flush it again to make sure I get proper mixture? What about mixing coolant
types? I filled it with the sierra brand but live in a small town and can't
get any more until tomorrow when I head out to the big city. The gas station
where it is parked sells a brand that is safe for aluminum engines but uses
EG instead of PG.
Sorry for all the questions but I don't want to make a bad situation worse
and am a little paranoid about blowing the heads or something.