Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 18:26:10 +0200
Reply-To: Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Robert Steven Fish <fish@SALZBURG.CO.AT>
Subject: Re: Coolant problems
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
For troubleshooting the cooling system, it is good to get the initial
diagnostics out of the way first, so you know what you are up against.
I would do a compression test on the cylinders, and check if one has low
compression.. this can tell you if the cooling system is not sealed (meaning
either combustion gasses are getting in, or oil etc).
Once you figure out that the compression is sound.. then do a presure test
on the cooling system. Find any and all leaks, and get them sealed up.
Then once you are no longer leaking and/or spraying... get the system
flushed out real good, and fill it back up with the VW Autobahn R-11 blue
coolant diluted 1:1 with distilled water. Make certain that the system is
bled well, and bleed it again after the first highway drive.
You should run cool as a cucumber afterwards!
You may need to get a new collant resevoir if the plastic threads are
trashed. If it is just a loose fit, you might want to try wrapping the
sensors threads with a good hemp (the kind plumbers use for connecting
threaded pipes together). Just be certain that nothing gets in the coolant
which could clog the radiator or damage the pump.
The big resistor can be bought at the dealer, I imagine... it is PN 251 971
284 E - but I don't think it is cheap. Make certain that you really need it
before you buy it. I was ready to buy one and it turned out that the temp
sensor in the front radiator was all covered in a few millimeters of slime..
and that was keeping the fan from coming on!
Good luck!
RSF
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Robert S. Fish
Salzburg, Austria
1987 Wolfsburg Vanagon 2.1 GL Weekender
1987 Golf Cabriolet
1991 Golf
----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Erlandson" <danoer1@ECLIPSE.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, September 28, 2003 2:37 AM
Subject: Coolant problems
> My wife had some coolant problems today and it turned out to be that
> coolant was leaking (spurting) out past the o ring that is around the
> temperature (level?) sensor that gets screwed into the coolant reservoir.
> So... I'm hoping that it is just a simple O-ring issue and not anything to
> do with combustion gases. If combustion gases were leaking past the rings
> and into the cooling system wouldn't that lead to a higher pressure in the
> system and cause the coolant reservoir cap to open (assuming that it is
> working correctly) and cause a coolant overflow from the overflow tank
> rather than the reservoir tank??
> Incidentally... still looking for a source for the big resistor up
> behind the drivers side headlight that controls the speed of the radiator
> fan.
> --
> Dan Erlandson
