Date: Fri, 14 Sep 2012 11:55:31 -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: No Coolant in Small Tank Behind License Plate
In-Reply-To: <CALGCdoUHTtENNR8J-kBu49DJmQVn6kj3px=eYC8ET+X-ax_UzQ@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
one suggestion..
fill your license plate bottle with whatever coolant mixture you use.
another is ...in my world, it takes up to 4 warm-up-cool down cycles for
air to get out, coolant to get in ..
I 'know' proper bleeding should make that not be so ..
but it is anyway, in my world.
I would never give someone a van back after touching the cooling system
in any way until I had seen it go through several warm-up cool down
cycles. Period.
re the smell...
it's always a good idea to smell in the left upper vent every time you
park the van, as any smells...like coolant, raw gas, or burning oil will
be readily apparent there.
At least LOOK around in the engine compartment..
there is always some 'residual burn off' affect...
coolant spilled on exhaust or the engine ....it shouldn't take 'too
long' though for that effect to go away.
When you have a vanagon worked on ...
it's not like 'oh, it's fine now, I don't have to think about it' ..
No ...it's the other way around...
"It was just worked on ..nothing counts until I see several successful
sorties go by ..
AND I've looked at the area worked on ...for tools left there, for loose
things not tightened ...etc. etc. etc. "
you know the old saying ....sometimes there isn't time to do it really
right the first time..
but there's always time to do it right later.
top up your license plate bottle to the full level line ...
look around the engine and under the van for any drips .
and really ....
the smart thing to do is check the cooling system for a few days after
having it opened up or coolant changed.
I always tell people..
it is normal that it may pull coolant out of the license plate bottle at
first ..for a few warm-up cool down cycles..
and guess what else..
what the shop explains to the customer to empower them to operate their
van successfully ..
is MORE IMPORTANT than the work itself !
in my world anyway.
< after all..........someone pays, they expect to get what they paid
for. There is no excuse for any shop to not produce that.>
Scott
www.turbovans.com
On 9/14/2012 9:59 AM, Donna Skarloken wrote:
> Happy Friday - I just picked up my 87 Syncro last night from a reputable
> garage where I had the coolant system flushed and replaced. It was late
> and dark so I didn't check the coolant before I left the garage and had to
> drive about 25 miles home. All seemed well, except when I parked and shut
> off the motor I could smell coolant VERY strongly.
>
> This morning I was all set to go to work but decided to take a look at the
> coolant level behind the license plate because that strong coolant smell
> bothered me and I was unable to check it the night before. I discover NO
> coolant in the tank behind the license plate. I had to go to work so could
> not do a further inspection, and it was still dark out.
>
> Any suggestions?
>
> I have not had any problem with low level or no coolant in this bottle
> prior to taking it to the shop to have the coolant flushed. (I left a
> voicemail for the mechanic; he is quite busy so I am not sure what time
> today that he will get back to me and of course I am stressed out about
> this since I spent a whole bunch of money at that shop this week. The shop
> does specialize in Vanagons, otherwise I would not have taken there).
>
> Thanks, and have a great Friday and weekend.
>
> Donna, 87 Syncro
>
