Date: Sun, 6 Mar 2005 06:12:50 EST
Reply-To: RAlanen@AOL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Frank Condelli <RAlanen@AOL.COM>
Subject: Re: going down for the second time w/ the waterpump
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"
In a message dated 05/03/2005 8:32:21 PM Eastern Standard Time,
LISTSERV@GERRY.VANAGON.COM writes:
Well as half time approached(the point that the pump is actually removed
from vehicle and replacement begins)I had the old pump out (score 3 points).The
waterpump ran the ensuing kickoff back 110 yards (7 points) when I broke off
two(2) 10mm screws on the thermistat housing.These are the 2 bolts that hold
the trapizoidal flange to the short hose.These bolts are now one quarter inch
studs that stick up out of the housing for a 1.9.I used propane heat and
all,but no luck(snap! snap!) Is my thermistat housing now toast, or can some
trick be pulled out of a hat to fix it? I doubt it. I see my choices as 1, buy
a new one from VW.I'll have to mortgage the house to do that,if they are
avaliable. 2,go to a junk yard and put in about 5 hours to get a new used one
off and engine.I now see those occasional offers for free or cheep cores as
good deals.Mind ya,I'm doing this in 35 degree weather w/a cast on my foot.With
the pump off, I can see where the old impeller has buzz sawed some metal
off the engine case.There is a small amount of metal that remains.I think
enough remains to properly direct the coolant.I once heard of jb weld being
used to patch up something like this. Does anyone have the low down on this
condition? waterpump, 7 me, 3. My team(me) is in the locker room at half time
trying to come up w/a new game plan.
Roger, your problems with that waterpump and thermostat housing are common
on most all 1.9s. Corrosion of aluminium to steel is better than welding. I
have managed to save a few of these thermostat housing and if you look on my
_Vanagon Items Forsale_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/sales.htm) , "Used
Parts" section you will find a couple 1.9 thermostat housings that I have
refurbished all coming with Stainless Steel hardware. Now that said, you may be
able to save yours if you want to spend some time on it. Once the bolt heads
break off on those long bolts or any of the others for that matter the only
thing left to do it drill them out if there is no butt left to grab with a pair
of Vise Grips. If you are able to grab on with the Vise Grips, use heat from
a propane torch to heat the surrounding aluminium and a good quality
penetrating oil. This technique will usually get the bolt out. If not you will
have to drill using very good titanium hardened steel drill bits. Stating with
a small 1/8" bit to get a straight and true pilot hole then using
successively larger bits until you get the old bolt out and not ruin the threads. If
the hole has threads you will need a tap to clean out what is left of the bolt.
This operation make take several tries with the tap as it loads up and
needs to be removed often to clean out the blind hole so that the tap will
continue without braking or damaging the threaded hole. If you damage the threads
you will need to install a Helicoil to repair the threads. As you can see it
can become quite a long process to save one of these thermostat housings so
the price I'm asking for the refurbished ones are cheap and does not in any
way reflect the time I spent on saving them. But, saving them was the goal
not to get rich ! So you can buy a used one that's been refurbished or go at
yours and try to save it. Don't know if they are still available new as I've
not checked on that item lately at my VW dealer, so that may be another
option.
Regarding the damage to the engine block where the waterpump impeller
has gouged out a path. This should be repaired for proper waterpump operation.
This too is a very common sight. I repair this area with JB weld. Clean
the damaged area well with a wire brush on a rotary tool, clean with lacquer
thinner, apply JB weld so that it will more than cover the damage, let JB Weld
cure, sand the surface smooth with an orbital palm sander using 120 grit
sand paper. Use a very light coating of Permatex Grey RTV Silicon Sealant for
aluminium surfaces on the O-ring when installing the new pump. This should be
used on all the aluminium mating surfaces of the water pump and thermostat
housing top prevent future corrosion. Use a liberal coating of anti-sieze on
all the bolt shafts and threads to prevent their corroding again even if you
use stainless steel hardware. Hope this is helpful. I know the pain your
going through. The changing of the waterpump and thermostat housing on the 1.9
engine is one of the most horrible jobs there is on a Vanagon. Take your
time and do it well and try to not get too frustrated with the ignorant German
engineers that designed this bit of Hell for us.
Cheers,
Frank Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm) a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2005
'87 Westy, '90 Carat & Lionel Trains
Member: _Vanagon List_ (http://www.vanagon.com/) , _LiMBO_
(http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/) , _IWCCC_ (http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/) & _CCVWC_
(http://www.ccvwc.ca/)
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in the Ottawa Valley
_STEBRO/Vanagon Stainless Steel Mufflers_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
_Frank Condelli & Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
or http://frankcondelli.com
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