Date:         Sat, 10 Sep 2011 12:41:29 -0500
Reply-To:     Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jim Felder <jim.felder@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Problem with 1991 Vanagon cooling system
In-Reply-To:  <CAO0-ZAQ-Msbi+rTfjWtJ7_WteMA8i6E2MA4Wwca4wMcOnKTCsA@mail.gmail.com>
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Resolved, I think.

It was worse than I knew, upon inspection. The lip of the plastic pipe had
broken off and was stuck inside the hose, preventing it from going on very
far. I took a dremel tool and made two annular grooves around the pipe about
1/32nd deep each, there is just enough clearance to do that with a dremel.
Then I shoved the hose way up on the pipe and put two clamps, one over each
groove. Then I took a known bad coolant cap (how hard are those to find?)
and attached a pressure gauge to it with a short length of fuel hose and I
filled and fired it up.

I did all the usual recommended ritual, except I do not raise either end of
the car nor park it on an incline, a good way to get hurt working on a car.
I watched the temp rise to normal and saw the pressure rise to six pounds
with the upper radiator cool. Then the pressure dropped to four pounds as
the upper radiator got hot. Temp needle steady during this time. Idled for
20 minutes to half an hour, watched the pressure bounce around between 4 and
5 PPI depending on the fan cycling on and off.

Cooled down, replaced the pressure tester with a known good cap, and did two
cooldowns and test drives.


Everything AOK, no high pressures from leaking heads.

I am so happy with the results of my tester that I am seriously thinking
about a pressure sensor that would display the pressure in the system on my
dash. That would be a lot better than a temp gauge or coolant level light.
The driver would be one level closer to knowing about a problem than with
either of the two more derivative systems that come on the car. As in, you
would know the moment something was going wrong, not minutes later.

Has anyone installed such a modification? Or any ideas as to how?

Jim

On Fri, Sep 9, 2011 at 6:44 AM, Jim Johnston <inmytree1@gmail.com> wrote:

> A few years ago, I had the coolant t/junction piece blowout due to too much
> pressure in the system.
>
> Turned out to be a bad radiator.
>
>
> Jim
> Wilmington, NC
>
>
> On Thu, Sep 8, 2011 at 9:05 PM, Jim Felder <jim.felder@gmail.com> wrote:
>
>> I am no stranger to Vanagon 2.1 cooling problems, but I could use some
>> opinions as how to proceed with my daughter's 1991 GL.
>>
>> She let it get low on coolant a year or so ago (weird leaks, she has
>> actually taken pretty good care of the car). But in a year and a half or
>> so,
>> it is split two primary coolant bottles, popped a hose or two, blew a
>> chunk
>> out of the rear heater valve housing, and blown the big bottom hose off
>> its
>> plastic pipe. There have always been other explanations as to these
>> blowouts
>> and such, but as always those can be rationalizations as much as
>> explanations.
>>
>> It is the plastic pipe problem that I have been dealing with lately. Some
>> time ago the metal end pulled out of the pipe. I did what I have always
>> successfully done which is to epoxy it back in and never think about it
>> again. But today she was driving and it popped loose and drained all the
>> coolant. She refilled with water and got to my house and I put in an epoxy
>> lip around the end of the plastic pipe as I had done many years ago on a
>> 1990, and never had another issue with it. I actually did a better job on
>> hers than I did on my Carat, yet the hose blew off with the epoxy lip
>> minutes after startup.
>>
>> I suspect that I have a leaking head gasket overpressurizing the system,
>> but
>> there are no other symptoms suggesting it. I have not kept coolant in it
>> recently long enough to tell exhaust gases are dirtying the coolant and I
>> have not done the overnight cooldown test where you start it up and run it
>> for 30 seconds to see if that puts pressure into the coolant system.
>>
>> I am going to try this weekend making a wire lip that sits in a groove
>> that
>> I will dremel into the end of the plastic pipe and see if that holds by
>> sheer mechanical force.
>>
>> Any other suggestions? I especially want to hear from anyone who has
>> converted to coolant hose to replace the plastic pipe and has details to
>> share.
>>
>> Jim
>>
>
>