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Date:         Mon, 2 Mar 2009 22:28:43 -0800
Reply-To:     Andrew Martin <campahvan@EARTHLINK.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Andrew Martin <campahvan@EARTHLINK.NET>
Subject:      Stainless Steel Coolant Pipes from Van Cafe
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Shortly after my 85 Westy’s September ’08 head reseal job, I had a big coolant hose slip off the plastic coolant pipe and dump it’s contents in my driveway. Fortunately I saw the clouds of steam coming off the exhaust and shut the engine off before it could overheat. The plastic pipes are cracked at the ends and the steel inserts have been rusting and creeping out slowly for years. I’d been double clamping them but this time the end of one of the pipes broke off and there wasn’t enough left in the engine compartment to get even one clamp on. I finally broke down and ordered the two piece stainless steel pipes from the Van Café. After I’d ordered them on-line, Peter called me to tell me he didn’t have the pipes I needed for my ‘85 in stock and that he would have them dropped shipped directly to me from his supplier asap. As usual with the Van Café, they arrived when he said they would (though the shipping company driver tried to deliver them to my neighbor’s house).

My brother and I worked together to install them and it went pretty well. I used a Saws-all to cut the old pipes in half and the rear sections came out easily. The front sections took quite a bit of pulling, twisting and swearing to get them out from over the fuel tank and make things more interesting, I have BA6 furnace installed just behind the fuel tank. After pushing and pulling from opposite sides we discovered there were two plastic zip ties just out of sight and reach holding the pipes together and to the frame rails. I clamped a fine toothed hack saw blade into a pair of vise grips and using gentle pull strokes I was able to reach in and cut the hidden plastic ties. After that the pipes came out with just a little more twisting and swearing. We lined the new and old pipes together on the shop floor and made reference marks on the new pipes so we know if we’d mated them together correctly.

Getting front sections in over the fuel tank was difficult. We had the van’s body up about 6 inches (on 4 jack stands) and that certainly helped with the open space needed for manipulating the pipes. The first section went in with some twisting and pushing but after it was in place we couldn’t get the second section in beside it for love nor money. In the end we pulled the first section ½ way out then gently pushed and twisted both pipes in at the same time alternating twisting and gently pushing each pipe. Just when we thought one side was stuck, a slight twist would more it in another 6 inches. The rear sections of the new ss pipe went in easily though one side seemed to point a bit downward. This was confirmed after we’d finally gotten the front section in place. The rubber connector hose would fit but it didn’t look right.

After some pizza and a beer we decided to use the horn of my bench vice to straighten the last two bends a little. The pipe is very stiff and it wasn’t easy but after three trial bends ‘n’ fits we were satisfied with how the pipes sections met. Perhaps the end of the pipe was slightly bent out of its original shape in transit. The wire straps that held the original plastic pipes to the underbody would not fit around the new ss pipes (except at the end in the engine compartment) so we used 10 or so heavy plastic zip ties through holes the frame rails to hold the new pipes to the underbody. We also used zip ties to re bundle the heater hoses and coolant pipes together and it look neater than original. The rubber connectors and ss clamps that were included with the pipes were of excellent quality and fit perfectly.

I’m very satisfied with the stainless pipes from the Van Café and their customer service is second to none.

Andrew

Bainbridge Island WA

Ps. Since I wrote this I read (on this list) that lowering the fuel tank a bit will make installing the front sections easier.


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