Date: Wed, 26 Nov 2003 13:22:27 -0500
Reply-To: Evans5 <evans5@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Evans5 <evans5@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: My Advice- Re: Coolant hose fatigue
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Greetings
Total agreement here. Been there, done that. One-by-one hose replacement
is not the way to go. Do it now and enjoy the sunsets. Wait and feel the
pain.
On another note, I recently had a major oil leak from failure of the oil
pump gasket . Was jsut leaving home and had extra oil on board, otherwise
this could have been a bad scene. Keep eyes peeled for this problem because
it is/was a huge oil blowout.
Caswell
86 Westy
----- Original Message -----
From: "Kenneth Wilford" <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, November 26, 2003 8:21 AM
Subject: My Advice- Re: Coolant hose fatigue
> The question is not how expensive is it to replace the coolant hoses, but
how expensive is it NOT to replace the coolant hoses. Right now every
Vanagon out there with original coolant hoses should have them ALL replaced
if they have never been done. This is for three reasons: time,
obsolescence, and cost.
>
> Time. the newest Vanagon is the 91. This is almost 13 years old at this
point. The fact that German coolant hoses will last this long is not a
reason to keep relying on old hoses. I don't know what the original
lifespan was supposed to be but at this point I think it is safe to say that
is was less than 13 years (probably 10 at the most). So if you are driving
around with your original hoses on your 84 Vanagon (almost 20 years old)
don't be too smug. Mercy is not getting what you deserve. Right now there
are alot of folks out there driving with the only thing between them and a
catastrophic engine failure is Mercy. Ignorance is bliss but after reading
this email you can no longer profess ignorance.
>
> Obsolescence. In the next 4 to 5 years I know that all of the coolant
hoses available for the 1.9l Vanagon will be No Longer Available from the
dealer. VW holds the patents on these hoses and if it wants to it can
prevent any aftermarket manufacturer from making replacement hoses. Right
now the 83.5 hoses have been NLA for years. The 84 hoses have one very
large hose that is NLA (I have another hose that can replace it). The 85-91
Vans, so far, have a good supply of hoses. So now is the time to replace
your hoses. When they are available and relatively cheap. You say $600 for
a set of hoses how is that cheap? It is way cheaper than infinity dollars
which is how much you'll have to spend when these hoses go out of
production.
>
> Cost. Right now the most expensive hose kit we sell for the Vanagon is
around $600 (the older van hose kits are cheaper). All at once you could
say that is a lot of money. However spread it over the next 10 years of
life for your engine and it suddenly becomes very cheap. It works out to
about $5 per month. When you consider the alternative, frying your engine
when your wife is driving the van some where far away from home, paying the
tow man, not to mention the danger of a side-of-the-highway breakdown (BTDT)
with big mac trucks whizzing by, you will never regret getting the new
hoses. You will regret sitting there in the freezing cold while your wife
and kids look at you in the darkness like you have just failed them (BTDT).
>
> So save money and a lot of stress (beyond money). Put all new hoses and
plastic coolant fittings on your van. It is one of the best investments you
can make to avoid a breakdown.
>
> --
> Thanks,
> Ken Wilford
> John 3:16
> http://www.vanagain.com
> Phone: 856-327-4936
> Fax: 856-327-2242
> > I want to know if anyone can suggest any hoses that I should replace
other
> > than the one mentioned below (the small 2 inch hose that is about 6
inches
> > long and goes from the engine to the long cooling pipes.)
> >
> > Driving down the freeway to San Diego California my LED light on the
> > temperature gauge begins to blink and the van is running hot (the fan
comes
> > on and goes off.) When I reach my destination I call the VW dealer to
ask
> > about it. They say to look at the coolant tank, the one where you add
> > coolant. It was empty so I refill it and start up the engine. My wife
> > notices a leak below the van so I crawl under to look see and notice
that
> > the small 2 inch hose that goes from the engine to the long cooling
pipes
> > has a small pin hole leak. (It is probably a 1 & 1/2 inch hose.) I wrap
it
> > with tape and clamp it to get me home. I had to fill the coolant tank 3
> > times to get the LED light to stop flashing. I made an appointment with
the
> > VW dealer to diagnose everything, replace that hose and flush the system
to
> > put in new coolant. It was due for new coolant anyhow after about almost
2
> > years since the last flush and new coolant. I just do not6 feel like
doing
> > the work myself.
> >
> > I am asking advice from those who have had similar problems before. So
other
> > than this 6 inch long two inch OD hose what other hoses should I get
> > replaced? Is it worth the effort and cost to replace all those expensive
> > hoses or just wait for them to fail one by one?
> >
> > William
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