Date: Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:36:06 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Ohh those VW gods...billowing blue smoke.
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hi,
re
"Personally, I've been
pretty good at not adding water to the coolant - I can't speak for the other
POs though."
Just adding full strength anti-frz is hardly any sort of taking care of the
coolant or cooling system.
For one thing ......................
stronger concentration is not 'better'.
you want close to 50/50 ..........which provides freezing protection
o -32F ..
and removes heat well.
next..if every vanagon in existence had their coolant changed once a year
from now on ..
it would not be too often or too much.
You never get all the old out anyway.
It would just be adeqate to prevent corrosioin in the cooling system..
from one end to the other, in the whole van.
aluminum corrodes 'nicely' with a very old coolant mixture.
the chemicals that give it anti-corrosion properties wear out.
And ..really ..
changing it twice a year would 'maybe' be adequate...since they often have
old yucky coolant in them anyway ..
and not all the old comes out when you change it.
So even once a year would not be too often.
personally ..I get very, very good results using 50/50 mixture of whatever
high quality anti-frz you beleive in and a small amount of machinist's
cutting oil added..
like a small cup in the whole system..
it's a water soluble oil that is a water pump lube and rust inhibutor.
Have used it in thousands of cars and vanagons, for decades, always with
excellent reuslt.s
I get rather nervous about waterboxer heads that have not been off for years
and years.
I have spent up to 3 hours on one cylinder head nut..
getting it to unscrew cleanly .... ..since it felt like it wanted to break
the stud off at the bottom. ..
'corrosion is the main enemy.'
If one is really taking care of a vanagon ..
lots of time and energy gets invested in treating and preventing corrosion
in the whole van..
the electrical system, paint/body ...
cooling system , suspension etc.
most vanagons should have a shallow WD-40 trough to drive through before
parking.
So many of them get so badly corroded , from within, and on the outside too.
I see shiny new parts, shiny new tune-up parts screwed onto filthy rusted
engines, transmissions etc.
'someone' needs to address rust and corrosion..
or things just get ....evenually, not serviceable , roadworthy, safe, or
repairable.
awesome vehicles, so worth taking care of.
If well taken care of, one with last indefenitly.
and it's not that hard to do at all really. Child's play quite often.
Clean, squirt, clean some more, squirt some more etc.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Bruce Todd" <beeceetee@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 7:14 PM
Subject: Re: Ohh those VW gods...billowing blue smoke.
> |it's not that likely that all 15 of the other studs are fine,
> |wonderful, and not corroded..
> |some of them have to be having some of the same syndrome one
> |would think.
>
> Yes Karl & Scott that dark cloud has crossed my mind. I hear corroded
> studs
> are most likely to snap on tightening than when under power...but my
> situation sort of blows that theory out the window. Personally, I've been
> pretty good at not adding water to the coolant - I can't speak for the
> other
> POs though.
>
> anyway -things that make you go hmmmm....
>
> On Mon, Jul 18, 2011 at 5:05 PM, Karl Wolz <wolzphoto@q.com> wrote:
>
>> Yeah. My first engine did the same thing; my adding water and my wife
>> adding water kinda diluted the coolant till it was corrosive. Mechanic
>> pulled it aprart and all the studs were toast. New engine time.
>>
>> Karl Wolz
>>
>>
>>
>> |-----Original Message-----
>> |From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]
>> |On Behalf Of Scott Daniel - Turbovans
>> |Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 2:02 PM
>> |To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> |Subject: Re: Ohh those VW gods...billowing blue smoke.
>> |
>> |and.....
>> |of course,
>> |it's not that likely that all 15 of the other studs are fine,
>> |wonderful, and not corroded..
>> |some of them have to be having some of the same syndrome one
>> |would think.
>> |
>> | might even want to start with a whole other case that's not
>> |so corroded in the cylinder head stud department..
>> |if one is going to repair the current engine, that is.
>> |
>> |I have about 6 or 7 'core' or need freshening-up, 1.9 wbxr engines.
>> |
>> |Scott
>> |www.turbovans.com
>> |----- Original Message -----
>> |From: "Bruce Todd" <beeceetee@GMAIL.COM>
>> |To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
>> |Sent: Monday, July 18, 2011 1:03 PM
>> |Subject: Re: Ohh those VW gods...billowing blue smoke.
>> |
>> |
>> |> Jack got it right...a corroded head stud packed it in - the stud
>> |> between #
>> |> 3
>> |> & 4 cylinder failed and which needs to be drilled out. If I
>> |had money
>> |> for a prize I'd send it to Jack but I have to use my cash for the
>> |> repair...perhaps Jim can donate another haiku.
>> |>
>> |> BT
>> |>
>> |> On Sun, Jul 17, 2011 at 3:07 PM, Jack Botts
>> |> <johnnyjewel43@hotmail.com>wrote:
>> |>
>> |>> I have had 2 things happen to my 2.1 that cause your symptoms,
>> |>> neither of which would I wish on any Vanagon owner. 1.) a head/case
>> |>> bolt gave up -- corroded right thru., and 2.) a crack developed
>> |>> between the valve seats on the head, pumping coolant into the
>> |>> combustion chamber. Hope your problem is less severe than either.
>> |>>
>> |>> Jack
>> |>> '86 (Go)Westy Weekender
>> |>> '05 Jetta diesel wagon
>> |>>
>> |>>
>> |>> > Date: Sun, 17 Jul 2011 13:43:03 -0700
>> |>> > From: beeceetee@GMAIL.COM
>> |>> > Subject: Ohh those VW gods...billowing blue smoke.
>> |>> > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>> |>> >
>> |>> > So I just finished climbing a short hill and felt the
>> |power of the
>> |>> > 2.1 in
>> |>> my
>> |>> > Westy decline slightly...a heard a honk and then saw people from
>> |>> > the sidewalk staring. I glanced out the rear view mirror
>> |and there
>> |>> > was a very large cloud of bluish smoke behind me. I
>> |quickly pulled
>> |>> > over and turned
>> |>> the
>> |>> > ignition off. Nothing leaking - oil or water but the
>> |coolant refill
>> |>> > tank was bone dry - previously at the max level a few
>> |days ago when
>> |>> > I checked.
>> |>> > The smoke smelled of burning oil.
>> |>> >
>> |>> > I quickly restarted the motor just top see if I could see or hear
>> |>> anything.
>> |>> > Motor sounded fine but was blowing blue. The temp guage was fine
>> |>> throughout
>> |>> > this ordeal. Anyway just about to get her flat bedded to
>> |a shop for
>> |>> repair.
>> |>> >
>> |>> > Theories, thoughts, words of wisdom?
>> |>> >
>> |>> >
>> |>> >
>> |>> > BT
>> |>> >
>> |>> > Freshly painted 86 Syncro Westy.
>> |>>
>> |>>
>> |-----
>> |No virus found in this message.
>> |Checked by AVG - www.avg.com
>> |Version: 10.0.1390 / Virus Database: 1516/3772 - Release Date:
>> |07/18/11
>>
| 
