Date:         Wed, 26 Mar 2008 17:59:07 -0700
Reply-To:     Angus Gordon <birdworks@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Angus Gordon <birdworks@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: this has me rethinking dexcool
Comments: To: gary hradek <hradek@yahoo.com>
In-Reply-To:  <225414.94297.qm@web38902.mail.mud.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

On Wed, Mar 26, 2008 at 8:55 AM, gary hradek <hradek@yahoo.com> wrote:

> http://www.girardgibbs.com/dexcool.html
>

Don't forget this is lawyer talk, not a technical paper of any sort. GM had
a problem with coolant leakage through the intake manifold on these engines,
and I'm guessing the lawyers probably sued the makers of Dex-cool, GM, the
gasket manufacturer and the Detroit water department. The shotgun approach
to litigation seems quite lucrative.

I have a friend with a Buick Century which had this problem a few years
back. I checked it over for him after it had overheated and found coolant in
the engine oil. Some research on the internet revealed the most likely cause
was this coolant leak through the intake manifold. GM had a new, re-designed
gasket available so I, unsuspecting, offered to change it for him. I mean,
how much work is an intake manifold gasket? Ten hours later I knew!

GM in their infinite wisdom runs coolant from one head bank to the other
through the intake, which sits down in the V between the heads. Makes the
waterboxer design with all it's external plumbing look like the work of a
genius. I think the problem is with the design and gasket material, not the
coolant. The "rusty sludge" they talk about in the lawsuit is no doubt the
result of coolant left unchanged since the vehicle was new.

Vanagon content - since working on this Buick I have never again cursed the
myriad of external pipes and hoses VW adorned the Vanagon with. Even the
waterboxer head gaskets are a brilliant design in comparison!


--
Angus Gordon
birdworks@gmail.com