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Date:         Thu, 2 Dec 2004 21:15:06 -0800
Reply-To:     jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Subject:      Re: Replace trans oil cooler? 90 Vanagon automatic
In-Reply-To:  <20041202185505.96595.qmail@web90002.mail.scd.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 10:55 AM 12/2/2004, you wrote: >Should I heed the warnings out there, and have the transmission oil cooler >replaced before it breaks and causes mayhem? The ORIGINAL battery on this >van lasted a whopping 13 years. I don't expect all the parts to be so >tough. Again this is a 1990 Automatic trans water-cooled Vanagon. I've >read that this part should be replaced every 10 years. True?

I also have a 90 automatic. Of course the darn PO didn't have a single scrap of documentation, so I've essentially had to assume that EVERYTHING is possibly original (except the engine-- 167000 miles, it's surely been redone once). The one and only time I took it to the local VW stealership they pressure tested the cooling system. I too had heard about the infamous tranny cooler failure (from reading the GoWesty site) and managed to actually speak to the VW mechanic about it. The idiot PO was running corrosive green crap and tap water in the cooling system, so he said it'll PROBABLY be ok so long as I keep the coolant non-corrosive, but there is (unfortunately) no way to know. The blue stuff will keep it from getting any worse, but I don't think there's any way to tell if the damage has already been done and the cooler is on the verge of losing it. I've just been depending on my good fortune up till now, but I suspect that when I get around to doing the head gaskets (stupid weeping things!) and have the coolant out already, I'll probably shell out the 250-odd dollars for a new cooler (owning a Vanagon is a vow of poverty, it seems...).

So I guess the answer to replacing the cooler is....maybe? The VW mechanic indicated the coolers fail because of corrosive coolant , so I guess it all comes down to gauging how much time it's spent with bad coolant in it (and they all came filled with bad coolant from the factory, as I've heard). I guess it comes down to how detailed a service history you have, and whether you believe a mechanic working at the dealership who's possibly trying to sell a new cooler.

Anyone else have any ideas on the matter?

John Bange '90 Vanagon "Geldsauger"


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