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Date:         Sat, 17 Nov 2012 17:16:23 -0800
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: Arggh! Cooling system woes.
Comments: To: JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
In-Reply-To:  <50A82953.2090708@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

Do you suppose he meant the "T's" at the rear heater hoses ?

those are plastic on most vans...roughly84/ 85 and later . the deterioarate 'very nicely' with age.

offhand , to me sounds like maybe it seemed like a simple 'hose issue' . worked on that ... and either disturbed something else on it's last legs, or it was not that hose, or that hose plus something else.

it's rather normal for the metal inserts to slide out of position at the ends of the plastic main pipes .. look for that for sure. it's a chronic and common failure .. at either end of the plastic main pipes.

on the other van .. 'forward of the crank pullyey' .. allthat comes to mind is the water pump or oil cooler hoses (oil cooler itself extremely unlikely, unless it is completely corroded on the outside., which I have not seen ever ) ...

either the water pump or the oil cooler hoses are a 'lot of run'to replace. Like you wish it was a lot easier.

Needless to say .. on any waterboxer vanagon 'the system' which iscritcally important *and* like to have issues when 20 + yearsold. Lot of plastic parts in the 86 and later vans.. for example.... both your plastic thermostat houising and your Coolant Distribution Tower ( conveniently hidden behind the firewall on the right side where you'd never know it was even there almost ) .. those both just crack or fail from heat and age.

At the age of these cooling systems.. need to be more proactive in replacing original cooling system parts, expecially the plastic ones, or ...just take your chances and deal with it when something happens. - which is not always at a convenient time and place of course.

At my shop I email the customer a bright detail digital photo of the offending part/s .. Then they know exactly what is going on .. no doubts at all.. I often send them pics of the shiny new repaired new stuff too.

on your first van .... I'm going with either main pipes or rear heater T's so far... and 'somebody' has to be sure the heater hoses are not getting by the shift linkage on all watercooled vanagons. Somebodytaking care of or working on the van has to catch stuff like that. That's just normal careful care.

Scott www.turbovans.com

On 11/17/2012 4:18 PM, JRodgers wrote: > Ran over something recently, then noticed coolant light come on > somewhere down the road, miles beyond the impact. Stopped, looked in the > expansion tank - and coolant was low. I always keep some in the van, so > topped it off, and drove on. After getting home, I could see a drip, > drip, drip underneath a bit forward of the engine. I figured a plastic > coolant pipe had been damaged. Had it put up on a rack in a reputable > garage for better inspection and the drip was diagnosed as coming from a > rubber hose that the tranny shifter had rubbed through. I left it with > the shop to replace the hose, and after getting a call that it was > ready, went to pick it up. When my transportation service dropped me > off, ,my van was parked out front, and I immediately saw the van sitting > in a puddle of water that had run out all over and down the drive. I > thought - uh-oh! About that time the mechanic came out - and not seeing > the van - pronounced again it was ready to go, and I pointed to the > puddle. His initial remark was "That must be water from the rails etc, > when we opened it up underneath to replace the hose. I said I have never > seen that much coolant before and I want it checked. About that time the > owner cam out and took one look and told the mechanic to get it back on > the rack and have another look. Later in the day, I got another call, > and the owner asked - do you you have any of those plastic pipes? I > think we are going to need one or both. > > So - I've no van for the weekend - it's in the shop - and I'm still not > convinced about the pipes. I haven't seen this bogey-man for myself, and > until I do, I'm not buying pipes. But I do suspect that is the problem. > But what is really problematic for me is the direction things have gone. > > Maybe Monday will bring a different perspective. Sure hope so. > > Just had to air this a bit. I'm a little frustrated because I have two > operational "88's and both are down with cooling system problems. > > The second van, while just sitting, began to leak back jut forward of > the crank pulley. It just sat there and coolant slowly drained out. It's > a hose, easy fix with the appropriate short section and a couple of > gaskets for hardware that attaches. Should be easy, right! Not so. My > Fav vendor sent the parts ordered to a wrong address, and it will be two > weeks Monday IF the parts arrive then. > > As somebody said "Stuff happens, and it it always rolls down hill!!" > > Monday represents a new week - maybe things will be better. > > Thanks for "listening" Volks. I just needed to air my frustrations. I > have two operational "88's and both are down with cooling system > problems. > > John Rodgers >


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