Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2016 22:37:09 -0700
Reply-To: Scott - IMAP <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott - IMAP <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: 1991 2.1 - Oil Cooler coolant line blown...
In-Reply-To: <6e6e2ea4-8444-f7c0-3739-50f4ef94d7f3@williamsitconsulting.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8; format=flowed
Hi Steve,
yes it's true ...there are a million things to do and 'it's never over' ..
seems to be the nature of life these days.
'all coolant hoses' ..sure.
it's not just the hoses though ..
it's Very Much the plastic parts.
It is common for the metal insert ends of the plastic main pipes to fail..
metal insert slips out of place....usually happens at the forward end of
one of the main plasitic pipes above the spare tire.
Though I've seen at the rear too.
There are repair kits , or you may not have an issue there, and a whole
new pipe, or in stainless, is the rear repair.
Your Plastic Coolant Distribution Tower ..
imagine ..Hiding a complex 4 or 5 connection PLASTIC cooling system
where you'd never know it's there normally.
( right front of engine compartment, behind the firewall..like forward
side.
These just crumble sometimes, especially on a heater hose fitting.
Same for the plastic thermostat housings. I've seen about half a dozen
of those failed..
melted, warped, just broken.
There is a metal reproduction from Van Cafe possibly.
Syncro's use that part in cast aluminum ...very desireable to have.
anyway ...All the Plastic Parts too ...
either check carefully now and then ...or at least invest in a spare new
one I'd say.
I find the hoses last so extremely well ..
( not oil cooler coolant hoses tho ! ) I just carry some spares. Never
had trouble with the large hoses, just the small ones.
And I challenge you to come up with what the total number of ALL coolant
hoses in your rig is ..
from engine, to radiator, to front and rear heaters, to the bleed rail
small hoses in the engine compartment .
Must be 30 at least.
also ..coolant pressure bottles fail.
Blue pressure caps are iffy and nebulous ....carry two spares.
Rear heater cores leak too ... correct action is to either keep its
valve on 'some' full time to keep fresh coolant circulating through it,
or disconnect it from the cooling system.
Yeah ..I gotta laugh when I hear a shop say 'you need all new hoses' ..
hell, I doubt they could even FIND ALL the hoses ..never mind get the
correct ones..
never mind that replacing the big ones isn't needed very often in my
opinion.
I don't think you have an automatic ..
but those have a hose that goes over the torque converter/bell housing
area ..
they get blasted with hot air and ATF fumes ...they go out easily.
They need a heat shield too, or replace with a section of metal pipe.
The pipe that a Syncro uses there works perfectly ( after cutting two
joined-by-brackets' pipes apart ) .
Vanagons have more individual cooling system parts spread throughout the
entire vehicle ...more than any other car I can think of. But they're
worth it of course .
I have not heard of silicone hoses for vanagons but they must exist
i'd think.
what fun !
On 7/3/2016 10:21 PM, Steve Williams wrote:
> Hi Scott,
>
> Fantastic! Thanks for the quick response.
>
> I appreciate all your input on the list! I read the list faithfully and
> try to mentally file away anything that might be useful.
>
> I'm thinking it might be prudent to just do a complete coolant hose
> replacement. It's been on my "todo" list since coolant failures are so
> catastropic to engines, but sadly, there are only 24 hours in the day &
> I can't get everything done.
>
> Cheers,
> Steve W.
>
> On 03/07/2016 11:15 PM, Scott - IMAP wrote:
>> that's fine ..you run 'forever' without coolant flowing through the
>> coolant portion of the Oil Cooler/Heat Exchanger.
>>
>> Just block off both hoses, or rig a hose around the whole affair
>> temporarily.
>> The hoses are surprisingly fiddly to deal with, even though they are
>> right there in plain sight.
>>
>> that's a Standard VW Trick' ..hoses that are different sizes on each
>> end.
>>
>> re :
>> Had to pull the oil filter off to get to the
>> hose & was overjoyed to find that the entire crankcase didn't empty
>> out :)
>>
>> Surprising how many people think the oil sump will drain if the oil
>> filter is removed.
>> It won't, as you found out.
>> Oil has to be pumped to the oil filter fitting for that to be a way
>> for all oil to get dumped.
>>
>> yeah just block things off,
>> or get some hose and bypass the whole coolant portion of the oil
>> cooler/heat exchanger until you get home.
>>
>> Scott
>>
>>
>> On 7/3/2016 9:54 PM, Steve Williams wrote:
>>> Hi,
>>>
>>> <posted to Facebook VOG as well>
>>>
>>> I've got a 1991 Westfalia stock with a 2.1 L (stock) engine.
>>>
>>> Heading home today, I got the blinking low coolant light. Heart attack,
>>> but the temperature was fine.
>>>
>>> Pulled over immediately and sure enough the tanks were low. Topped up
>>> with water as I only had 50 km to go to my gf's place in Lake Louise
>>> and
>>> I now knew my low coolant sensor is working, I wasn't too stressed.
>>> The
>>> temperature needle never wavered a bit.
>>>
>>> Tried the parking lot repair and if it hadn't started raining, I
>>> probably would have gotten it fixed. It is what I believe is the
>>> return
>>> line for the oil cooler. Had to pull the oil filter off to get to the
>>> hose & was overjoyed to find that the entire crankcase didn't empty
>>> out :)
>>>
>>> Other than a brain fart, where I got impatient removing the hose,
>>> thinking I had a spare piece that would fit... I cut the old hose off
>>> the oil cooler. Only when I got the hose cut, could I see that the 2
>>> ends of the hose are different sizes :(
>>>
>>> I had cut a slit lengthwise & if I was WAY more patient (or stranded up
>>> a logging road, like I could have been if it happened yesterday!), I
>>> could have fashioned a repair using the silicone repair tape that I
>>> carry with me due to the great recommendation of this list.
>>>
>>> Like I said, it started raining, so I went inside & had a shower and
>>> pondered the situation.
>>>
>>> I seem to remember reading on this list that the unit isn't so much an
>>> "oil cooler", but an "oil pre-heater"... but I could be wrong which is
>>> why I'm coming back to the list.
>>>
>>> I'm 175 km from home on relatively flat roads. It's not that hot out
>>> here in the Canadian mountains.
>>>
>>> On page 19.14 of the Bently, the hose that is blown is the one on the
>>> oil cooler line on the "To Thermostat".
>>>
>>> I'm thinking to block off the host at the thermostat end as well as the
>>> hose coming from the water pump.
>>>
>>> Am I totally out to lunch?
>>>
>>> Thanks,
>>> Steve Williams
>>
