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Date:         Mon, 5 May 2008 20:53:34 -0700
Reply-To:     Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roger Whittaker <rogerwhitt1@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: What could have gone wrong?
Comments: To: "P. Brattan" <pbrattan@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <481F504F.2060205@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1

dear brattan

the replacement of coolant ... so it appears ... causes the not knowing to be at a disadvantage... so i learned this year after an engine R & R ... i was traveling along with out any problem and about 7 hours from where we set out ... the buzzer went off at the same time as the red light ... it was snowing and we were in the dallas, oregon... it was late at night ... i called the shop from which we had left and the boss said no worries ..simply bleed it off ... pardon i said ... there is an air lock he repeated ... i limped my way along replenishing the over heated coolant ... with our bottled water... with out making this story longer than it needs to be in the retelling we played with a lot of "fixes" which included replacement of several parts at Scott Shazams shop which i did myself ... just outside oakland oregon we experienced the buzzer again ... with coolant every where on the high way ...

the next morning ... with full reservoir we headed into oakland ... there were hills everywhere well now i had even more info to go on .... like where the blled screw was in the system ... it reminded me of the steam /air relief screw on cast iron radiator heating systems so i loosened the bolt ... let off theair and commenced running up and down the steep hills of oakland ... then parked and relieved the system again ... this i did again and again until we felt the wonderful warmth of heater on the windshield and all has been well since... and to his credit the guy from the shop who did the R & R handled all my whines with a helpful alacrity ... thanks phil of wagen works in garden city/boise idaho good luck with your bleeding problem yours

On Mon, May 5, 2008 at 11:22 AM, P. Brattan <pbrattan@gmail.com> wrote:

> Thanks for all your replies. The coolant, when the van was cold was > about an inch or 2 above the maximum mark in both tanks. I didn't check > it hot because I didn't have a towel or glove at the time. The mechanic > thinks the sensor went bad, and will replace it. I'm not worried about > expense because I managed to purchase an excellent extended warranty > when I bought the vehicle a year ago. It's covered for 3 yrs (2 yrs > remaining) up to 36,000 miles bumper to bumper without a deductible. > Hopefully it'll be in excellent shape before the warranty expires. > > It's possible that the mechanic isn't familiar with bleeding Vanagon > brakes, but he's specifically a German car mechanic, and has been in the > same shop for decades. One of the "issues" I had was that no matter how > I slid the sliders on the front air vents, hot air would come out each > side. I didn't even mention this to the mechanic, but he told me that > he would check for that problem and change a valve if needed. When I > picked up the van, that problem was fixed. I hope he really does know > his stuff, because he's in a very convenient location, and seems to be > very professional. > > In the 70's and 80's I used to work on my own cars because they were > much simpler than today's. Unfortunately, I've become lazy and try to > avoid it whenever possible. I do have the Bentley, though, and also > very much appreciate all of your explanations and help. When the > warranty expires, I guess it'll be time to get gas and oil on my hands > again! > > Patti > *************************** > > Jaap Nauta wrote: > > > Probably bad sensor or contacts. If the needle stays in the middle, temp > > is fine, and the red light indicates level too low. Level was OK, so > > sensor is bad I guess. > > > > Jaap > > '87 Caravelle diesel > > > > > > I just had my radiator replaced by a German car mechanic near where I > > > live. I took it it for a general maintenance checkup, and he said the > > > radiator was bad, although I never noticed any problem with it before. > > > Now, after picking up my Westy and driving only 1 mile, the needle of > > > the water temperature gauge goes to the middle, and a red light starts > > > blinking. I continued another 4 miles to my destination (church) and > > > after the service checked the fluids, and they were fine. I checked > > > behind the license plate, and another reservoir in the engine area. > > > > > > Of course I'll be taking it back tomorrow morning, but I'm wondering > > > what could have possibly gone wrong. I have never before seen that > > > light blink. Could the sensor be malfunctioning? > > > Thanks. > > > Patti > > > > > > > > > > > > > >

-- roger w There are two kinds of jobs in the world: Picking up garbage and telling people things. Successful people do both, with the same good attitude. (riw) ----------------------------------------------------------- View the growing list of video work at: http://revver.com/find/video/?query=LastonLastof&search_on=owners and ... older work at http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7135104650374818257 http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3259745150182742364


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