Date: Mon, 6 Aug 2007 11:17:02 +0000
Reply-To: kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Head leak
Ben,
I used to think this way until I got a 90 Carat with over 250k miles and it had never had head gaskets done! I asked the original owner how he had accomplished this great feat and he told me that since it was new he dumped a thing of Bar's Leak in it every year. So I continued his tradition and the engine lasted me until around 300k miles without doing the heads and I finally couldn't take it any more and pulled the engine and put in a rebuilt one (it still ran well but I wanted to be able to take the van on long trips without worrying). I have had no issues with the radiator or any of the heater cores not working properly. Also when I pulled the engine I was all set to replace the long plastic coolant pipes (they were original as well). They looked like brand new inside and on the ends! I think part of the secret is that along with the stop leak in Bar's Leak there is also a corrosion inhibitor that restores your coolant. This kept the steel end pieces in the coolant pipes
from ever rusting and therefore the plastic ends didn't break up (like they almost always do in something with this vintage).
So I give customers the estimate for the head work. If the van is a nice later model Westy they almost always want the work done. If it is an older van that is kinda beat up anyway they usually go for the Bar's Leak treatment. It lasts about a year if you just have seeping at the heads, and it really doesn't seem to hurt anything. I am just trying to keep some vanagons on the road :-)
Hope this helps,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
www.vanagain.com
-------------- Original message --------------
From: Benny boy <huotb@VIDEOTRON.CA>
> Sorry to say... but stuff like "Bars Leak" are pure crap! they clogued rad
> and heater core with time. It's like putting a bandaid on an infected wound.
>
> If outer gasket is failing, the inner one will to soon.
>
> Ben
>
> On Sun, 5 Aug 2007 13:54:33 -0500, Wesley Alden Pegden
> wrote:
>
> >If all you have is a drip here and there, why not try some "bars leak"
> before pulling heads? My understanding is that the gaskets can "seep" for a
> long time before they need to be replaced, and you can prolong this time by
> stopping the seepage (for example with bars leak).
> >
> >-Wes
> >'83 1.9l westy
> >'84 1.9l gl
> >
> >
> >On Sun, Aug 05, 2007 at 09:38:18AM -0700, Brendan Slevin wrote:
> >> Ok, so I think Totoro may need a head gasket soon. I've noticed a drip of
> >> coolant here and there and when I try to find the source it seems as
> >> though it's the driver's side head. This is the side that can be done
> >> easily (!) with the enigne in, right? Anything I should be ready to
> >> change at the same time? How long do I have until it absolutley must be
> >> done? I have no coolant in the oil and no hydrocarbons in the coolant and
> >> no apparent loss of performance. Hmm. . .
> >>
> >> Brendan
> >> 84 GL Totoro
> >> Bend, Oregon
> >>
| 
