Date: Wed, 28 Nov 2012 14:45:37 -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: coolant leak story
In-Reply-To: <CAHTkEuLF3kyzEgrwev5aTkhu8WsyWipiS=FyHb2dkAiOm3Cujw@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
Hi Don..
let's put it this way ...'You don't want to know what is involved with
removing a syncro gas tank."
It's a very intense not-fun job.
Inline four VW engines are put in Syncro vanagons all the time. Very
common conversion.
90 % or so of them are TD or TDI diesel - not too many inline four ( or
5 ) gassers that I know of.
On this coolant leak story ..
one lesson to be noted is that *when something is worked on* ...
the work is not really complete and 'certifiedas successful' until there
has been a few more miles put on.
Just working on something ..it itself ..
increases the liklihood of a problem occuring.
Such as that small air bleed hose on Alistairs right cylinder head.
That hose hipple btw ...........he probably has a metal one. Early 2.1's
had plastic ones..
and they break.
And that little hose ..when very old ...is kinda hard to get at or see ...
I'm sure it's not the first time that hose has cracked afterother work
on the van.
Here's a Successful Coolant Leak story -
I'm driving northbound on I-5 ...north of Weed, south of Yreka, bound
for the Rogue Valley, in my 87 Wolfsburg.
Basically stock engine configuration ..( just happens to be a 1.9 wbx
with all 2.1 stuff on it ) .
I'm on the freway near Grenada Ca ....going 65ish to 70. My coolant LED
starts flashing.
The temp needle is reading right in the middle, perfectly normal.
I probalby checked front heater function - got warm air coming out of it.
So I figure ..
it 'could' be a genuine low coolant level warning ..and temp is still OK
as there's enough coolant to cool the engine still.
So ..I could have pulled off at little 'no where' Grenada..
but I decided to go the next 8 miles or whatever to Yreka where I know
there are parts stores etc.
For some reason I went all the way to the north end of Yreka ( and
there's a NAPA Flaps at the southend too I think.)
I pull into a resturant parking lot ..
SPOOSH ! ..coolant all over the place underneath in front ..
A metal insert has gotten out of place on one of the main plastic
coolant pipes.
This is a 'standard' failure on 86 and later vanagons btw. I've seen
it quitefew times. Sometimes at the rear end, but more commonly at the
front end.
I eventually got it fixed well enough to get home over thepass with the
various back-up parts I carry ..
took more than one try , but I got it finally. ..
and ..
the system worked just like it should ..
it told me that temp was normal, but coolant level was low.
It never got over 55 % on the gauge ...didn't hurt anything ..
it was just a little inconvenient is all. No big deal though.
A 2WD vanagon is a very simple machine comparedto a Syncro. I work on
Syncro's all the time..
do engine covnersions to them ....
they 'like money' believe me ..they Perform Fantastically ..
just kinda demanding at times to keep them working happily.
One current project is a 91 Syncro tin-top .....it's that
no-vent-windows, metal bumbers, rubber floor mats model..
I always like unusual and stripper model cars ..
it's got a 3.0 EZ30six cylinder engine from a2000 and somthingSubaru
Outback ..a timing chain engine too ...
very compact . It's getting a clutch re-do and trans rebuid,
and maybe a slight mod to top gear ...and the rusted away fuel tank
straps repaired..
someting that never happens to2WD vanagons that I've seen ..but always
seems to happen to Syncro's.
what fun though ! ( I hope people can read or skim fast ! )
Scott
www.turbovans.com
On 11/28/2012 8:04 AM, Don Hanson wrote:
> On Tue, Nov 27, 2012 at 9:43 PM, Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca> wrote:
>
>> I'm not so sure. I have driven a '91 syncro with one and somehow it didn't
>> impress as much as I thought it would. Don't get me wrong, it is a very
>> nice engine and makes this particular van probably the nicest I have
>> driven. What surprised me was the relative lack of power below 3k. From 3k
>> up I like it a lot.
>>
>> Ah but it is all academic, 2.5 subie to expensive forme right now.
>>
>> alistair
>>
>> I don't know what all is involved in moving or modifying a Syncro gas
> tank to work with an inline VW motor, but seems like that combo might be
> worth doing. It is a relatively inexpensive way to eliminate some of the
> problems you mention... If that gas tank is not a huge deal.. You might
> have mentioned that you already had the diesel parts around....Discounting
> the gas tank, you can easily swap in an inline VW gas motor for under a
> grand (at least I did)....My ABA was $300 bucks off Craig's list and a
> couple of hundred for a new clutch and some gaskets and an exhaust
> system...Lots of the WBX systems can remain in use with the digifant.
>
> I have the 2.0l ABA block (93 Jetta) with a 1.8 8-valve head (92 Jetta,
> etc.) running Digifant injection in my 84 tin top chassis. Mounted with
> all the diesel vanagon stuff including a 5sp. My coolant bottle is
> accessible from the license plate door. I've used the older non-dynamic oil
> pressure warning system with a simple low oil pressure warning light and
> an oil pressure analog gauge. I also have an oil temperature gauge which I
> use to double-check my coolant temperature and level. If I should ever
> feel cold air from the heater and see normal coolant temperature on my dash
> gauge I have the oil temp and pressure gauges to confirm whether I might
> indeed have a coolant level problem.
>
> Both the oil temperature and the oil pressure readings are very consistent
> with my motor...I did have a hose leak/'coolant problem a few years ago.
> The coolant temp gauge showed cooler than I thought it should. The oil
> temp began to climb a bit higher than it should have been. I opened the
> heater valve and felt cool air.... I knew then that I might be having a
> coolant problem, not just a gauge problem, so I checked the overflow tank
> level and found I was leaking coolant. The hose from the 'front' of the
> inline head to the heater Y has a small split, which I quickly repaired
> with Rescue tape and continued on my trip.
>
> I like having gauges that function sort of in parallel. Over the years
> I have had a couple of different German vehicles with faulty overly
> complicated and finicky warning systems screw me up big time. I no longer
> trust, completely, the instruments and gauges and lights. These 'widgets
> that sometimes flash at me (or in the case of my P-car..they put the engine
> into 'limp-home mode' suddenly, during a competitive event, causing a
> moment of high drama) without any real problem other than a loose wire or a
> faulty circuit...and other times, they don't flash or beep at me when there
> is a problem, which can cause Big Problems. I now install my own gauges
> to keep me informed on what might be happening inside my vehicles' systems.
>
> I'd bet there are a lot of blown up German vehicles that are the result
> of the "Cries Wolf!" functioning of the warning systems. We see it quite
> often here on Vanagon List...."Oh, the oil light started flickering, but I
> only had 50 miles to go, and it often flickered anyhow....." Or...."My
> blinking coolant light went off but I kept going, because it goes off all
> the time"..... A couple of the right gauges and all the 'guess work"
> about whether that warning actually means something, that is gone.
>
> Don Hanson
>
> I spoke once with a Syncro guy I met in the desert SW who had an inline
> powered syncro he liked a lot. I certainly like my 2wd.
>
