Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2007 14:02:32 -0800
Reply-To: Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Old Volks Home <oldvolkshome@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Coolant leak diagnosis tip
In-Reply-To: <20071211032743.982C61E82AE@tc2.main.nc.us>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1
Edward & The List, et al-
In this age of aftermarket parts mergers, consolidation and the internet,
REAL Auto Parts Stores of the genre are sadly becoming a thing of the past.
I began my "professional" automotive experience in a FLAPS just as you
describe just over 30 years ago with a combined concrete, linoleum and
creaking wood floors with catalog racks literally overfilled with parts
catalogs from all of the major manufacturers and warehouses (thankfully much
of that reference material before being tossed resides in my "reference
library"), a few worn pistons turned upside down on the counter acting as
ashtrays (when smoking was allowed), gondolas filled with the latest
products from Valvoline (my favorite), Pennzoil (ugh), Quaker State,
Castrol, Kendall, Gumout, Sta-Lube, Wynn's Products, Justice Bros (whadda
rip), McKay Carb Dip, Dorman Products and the list goes on and on.
Computers weren't even a blip on the radar and the Triad Systems used in
most FLAPS introduced several years later were woefully inadequate
and "clunky" at best, already obsolete when introduced. Some of these are
still being used today in some of the Mom & Pop FLAPS. I can now count on
one hand the number of REAL Auto Parts Stores within a 30 mile radius of
Ventura and I usually frequent those before I HAVE to go to a Kragens, Pep
Boys or AutoZone.
--
Jim Thompson
84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
73 K Ghia Coupe "Denise"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
***********************************
On Dec 10, 2007 7:27 PM, Edward Maglott <emaglott@buncombe.main.nc.us>
wrote:
> I reached my destination the other day to find a pretty good trickle
> of coolant coming from the area of the coolant distributor on my
> '86. I drove back home and parked until I could work on it the next
> day. When I went to work on it, the engine was cold and not leaking
> and I couldn't really tell exactly where the leak was from. I
> thought about running the engine until it leaked, but then it would
> be too hot to work on. I needed to pressurize the cooling system and
> didn't have the gadget to do that. Got the old noggin working and
> realized I could push air into the expansion tank cap through the
> tube that goes to the overflow. I took out the little compressor I
> carry which has some attachments (for inflating rafts and such) that
> are cone shaped. I put one on the pump and hooked a spare piece of
> hose to the cap. Now I ran the pump and put the cone gently into the
> hose leading to the cap on the expansion tank. You have to be
> careful because the pump could put way too much pressure into the
> system . I just pushed it in briefly a couple times and let excess
> pressure come back out of the cap. Coolant immediately began
> squirting from the leak. So there's your tip and keep reading below
> if you want to hear some FLAPS rambles.
>
> I found that I needed a new hose "H" on
> here: http://www.loam.org/vw/Vanagon/VWtoNapaHoses/ and called my
> local NAPA to see if they had a hose 7990. They didn't, it would
> have to come several hundred miles and I'd have to pay shipping and
> it is 13 inches long. The hose I need is only about 6" long. Maybe
> you lop the extra off the 7990 and it is what you need? Anyway, I
> decided to try a FLAPS that is real old timey. They have no
> computer, to look things up they use the enormous horizontal stack of
> mysterious books all combined in one big rack so that it is like a
> single 6' thick book. There are 2 dogs and a cat roaming
> around. Various stock that appears to date back a couple
> decades. Only one older woman has the key to the register, and only
> opens it when there is a sale. The younger woman looks through all
> the books for a while then takes my hose and disappears. While she
> is gone, I notice all these cabinets of drawers in front of the
> counter. The drawers are about 18" square and 3 or 4" deep with
> little dividers holding small parts. They are labeled things
> like: brass fittings, fuel line fittings, wheel studs, snap rings,
> cotter pins, etc. While I'm waiting I count and do math and see that
> there are 240 of these drawers. The woman finally returns with a
> hose that has a section that pretty much matches what I need. I can
> cut off the extra part. I take it for about $10.
>
> Edward
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