Date:         Sun, 10 Jun 2007 23:20:14 -0400
Reply-To:     "Daniel L. Katz" <katzd54@YAHOO.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "Daniel L. Katz" <katzd54@YAHOO.COM>
Subject:      Re: coolant leak after long idle

damon:

there is probably nothing wrong with your van.

at idle there is little circulation of coolant, and so it is natural to
overheat during a prolonged idle, especially with AC operating  - that's
why keeping the rpms up in a traffic jam keeps engine temps down.

it's worth checking that the radiator fan works, and it never hurts to
bleed any air out of the system, but normal operation since incident at
garage suggests van is ok.

incidently, it is possible for a thermostat to fail partly open, probably
making van slow to warm up, and run a bit too cool when cruising, but then
tend to overheat prematurely in a traffic jam, prolonged idle, or a hard
pull.

dan

On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 16:06:56 -0400, Damon Lowe <dlowe93@COMCAST.NET> wrote:

>I took my new to me 91 westy in for an A/C service yesterday and had
>something odd happen.  The tech let the van idle for about 20 minutes
after
>I dropped it off while he was fiddling around with his equipment and when
he
>was ready to hook everything up he noticed coolant leaking out of the rear
>part of the engine bay so he immediately shut it off and refused to do any
>more with it.  I was alarmed to say the least when I called to check on
>things and they said my van had a "massive" coolant leak!  In the two
weeks
>I've had the van it hasn't leaked a drop of anything and my friend who
sold
>it to me said it drips a drop or two of oil a month, but nothing more.
So I
>go down to the shop and see a big wet spot underneath the van and my heart
>started beating faster.  I checked the coolant level in both tanks, the
main
>tank was full and the other was between min and max, the same level as
>earlier that morning.  So I started it up and everything was fine, no
>leaking at all.  I had the tech go ahead and do the service and everything
>was still okay after another 10 minutes at idle.  Then I pulled around to
>the front and left the van running while I went in and paid.  When I came
>out there was coolant flowing down the side of the second coolant tank,
the
>one that you access from the license plate flap.   Since I had to get the
>van home I decided to head out but had my father trailing behind me to
keep
>an eye on things.  I even stopped at BK to grab the kids lunch and no
drips
>at all.   I drove it home on the interstate at high speed (yeah right!)
and
>the gauges were normal, and when I parked it there was no leak and when I
>checked the coolant levels both tanks were the same as earlier.  This
>morning I started it up and let it idle for quite some time and still
didn't
>reproduce the leak so now I'm baffled.  The main coolant tank and cap were
>just replaced last fall along with a full flush.   I'm a bit concerned
>because I will be taking the whole family on a fairly long trip in the
near
>future and this has added to my stress level considerably because I'm
>worried if we get caught in a traffic jam I could lose all my coolant and
>screw up the fairly fresh engine.  (11k on the rebuild from 5 years ago.)
>
>
>
>Any advice on what/how to check into this further?
>
>
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>
>Damon