Vanagon EuroVan
Previous messageNext messagePrevious in topicNext in topicPrevious by same authorNext by same authorPrevious page (September 2003, week 2)Back to main VANAGON pageJoin or leave VANAGON (or change settings)ReplyPost a new messageSearchProportional fontNon-proportional font
Date:         Fri, 12 Sep 2003 13:20:11 -0400
Reply-To:     John Parson <bentway@IWON.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         John Parson <bentway@IWON.COM>
Subject:      Re: disappearing coolant??
Comments: To: mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

I had a "disappearing coolant" problem too. At first, I was afraid it was going in to the combutstion, as I could see no leaks, but I had no white smoke. Then, I happened to pull over and look under the van after climbing a mountain. The leak was where the hose clamp clamps the rubber tube to the long metal tube by the rear tire. It only leaked when the van was very hot, and the pressure was high. A couple of screwdriver turns fixed it.

--- On Fri 09/12, Malcolm Stebbins < mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM > wrote: From: Malcolm Stebbins [mailto: mwstebbins@YAHOO.COM] To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 08:28:21 -0700 Subject: Re: disappearing coolant??

> It's not true that it's (coolant overflow tank) not<br>> used in normal driving, or that it only gets<br>> coolant in it in an overheating situation.<br><br>It is my understanding that as the coolant warms,<br>pressure is created in the system. The coolant system<br>is designed to operate under pressure as pressure<br>increases the boiling point of liquid & helps reduce<br>coolant boiling. I have driven my van in both sub<br>zero & over 50 degrees C weather and when the van is<br>moving (read: great amounts of air moving over the<br>radiator) this keeps the coolant at a temp that the<br>reservoir cap does not open. Only when I slow to a<br>stop on a hot day with a very hot engine and the heat<br>begins to build, does the radiator cap get enough<br>pressure to open. At least this is my experience and<br>understanding. Correct me if I'm wrong. I would<br>guess that if, at normal operating temps, there is<br>flow to the overflow tank, then maybe the reservoir<br>cap is not holding pressure.<br><br>This is not a difficult experiment. note/mark the<br>coolant level in the overflow tank and the drive in<br>Arizona/Texas in the summer (Egypt anyone???), drive<br>hard up hill on a hot day and then stop, run back and<br>look at the coolant level in the overflow tank. Keep<br>watching as the engine idles, soon the cap will let go<br>and the level in the overflow tank will rise. Once,<br>on a hot day, my water pump belt jumped its track and<br>the engine overheated so badly, and the coolant<br>expanded so much, that it was shooting out of the top<br>of the overflow tank's 3 little holes.<br><br>Anyway, I've been wrong before, but I have had my<br>cooling system fail and I keep a real good eye on it,<br>and this is my experience. Malcolm<br><br>__________________________________<br>Do you Yahoo!?<br>Yahoo! SiteBuilder - Free, easy-to-use web site design software<br>http://sitebuilder.yahoo.com<br>

_______________________________________________


Back to: Top of message | Previous page | Main VANAGON page

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.