Date:         Thu, 30 Jul 2015 19:51:57 -0300
Reply-To:     Roy Nicholl <RNicholl@NBNET.NB.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Roy Nicholl <RNicholl@NBNET.NB.CA>
Subject:      Re: Coolant leak - it was bound to happen
In-Reply-To:  <6A377667-F314-48D4-BD92-6E6DAADB2579@NBNET.NB.CA>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

So life has been just crazy and the Hyena ('88 WBX) has sat in the drive and dripped about 1/2 litre of coolant over the past three weeks.  This week the 4-yr old has been on my case about going camping (our adventure from Calgary to New Brunswick started 1-yr ago this weekend), so I made time this evening to crawl under the van, de-gunk the engine, and find my leak.

Unfortunately, Dennis was on the money and the leak is coming from the seal around the shaft on the water pump.

I had a look at the Bentley and replacing the pump looks fairly straight forward (like maybe an hours effort?), but of course, the manual never tells you those things which frequently go astray - like what are the chances any of the bolts/lugs will be damaged?

I've started checking around for a pump.  The Bentley gives part number "025 121 010 C", my local auto parts place has "025 121 010 D" and "025 121 010 F" available to them, but could not tell me the difference ... I have asked them to find out the brand/manufacturer before ordering one.

In addition to the pump, o-ring, gasket for the crossover, should anything else {any of the hoses} be replaced as a matter of course since I'll be spilling coolant and need to bleed the system.

On the matter of spilling coolant ... is there way do do this without draining the reservoir ... or should I be draining it and rinsing it to remove any debris before re-filling the system?  Also, is there a way to pinch-off or plug the lines from the pump to minimize coolant loss?

Roy


On 11-Jul-2015, at 00:12, Roy Nicholl wrote:

> Thanks Dennis ... things were so much easier with the '66 Westy ... I didn't care if coolant leaked ;-)
> 
> On 10-Jul-2015, at 23:57, Dennis Haynes wrote:
> 
>> Yes it can! They can also tend to leak from lack of use. Leaking pumps also
>> add the chance of the coolant contaminating the pump bearings. Sudden
>> bearing failure means a tow home and some creative epoxy or welding work to
>> repair the volute in the case from the damage the impeller does when it
>> turns into it. If the damage is bad enough you can end up with an engine
>> that overheats at idle or low speeds as it won't push enough coolant through
>> the radiator to get the fan to turn on. Especially automatics that also have
>> the ATF cooler as part of the radiator circuit. 
>> 
>> Dennis
>> 
>>