Date: Fri, 23 Sep 2022 18:29:41 -0700
Reply-To: Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Alistair Bell <albell@SHAW.CA>
Subject: Re: cooling system hose clamps
In-Reply-To: <719E0392-C3F5-4D88-96E4-0532561C1A3F@markmcculley.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=utf-8
Good work, good finish
Ab
> On Sep 23, 2022, at 4:42 PM, Mark McCulley <mark@markmcculley.com> wrote:
>
> Richard's suggestion of renting a pressure tester from Autozone was a good one and led to two important discoveries today!
>
> First, the pressure cap I was using, the one that came with the GW metal tank, was defective and not properly relieving pressure when it went above the rated 16psi. I could take the pressure up to 20 and it would take a minute or more to bleed down and stabilize at around 16. I purchased a new 13psi cap and when tested it, it would quickly bleed off excess pressure above 13. The van has likely been operating with a high coolant pressure in some situations.
>
> Second, after pressuring the system to 15psi I finally found a leak. The short hose that connects the metal pipe from the water point to a metal elbow on the right head was leaking. The drips were landing on the syncro's protection plate under the engine.
>
> I'm a bit piqued at my mechanic for not changing this hose when they did all the coolant system work, it clearly needed to be replaced and I requested that any hose that was at all questionable be replaced. It's not an easy one to get to, I'll say that, but now I'm faced with draining and replacing the coolant to fix the one hose. Not cheap or easy to do. I'll probably contact the shop on Monday and see if there's anything they can do.
>
> -Mark
>
>> On Sep 22, 2022, at 7:58 AM, Mark McCulley <mark@markmcculley.com> wrote:
>>
>> About a year ago I had my cooling system revamped with a new radiator, water pump, stainless steel pipes to the radiator, and many new hoses. Since then I can smell coolant outside the van after driving it. I took it back to the mechanic, said they pressurized the system and found no leaks. There is no evidence to be found of any coolant dripping on the pavement beneath the van, only the smell. On a recent 200 mile trip the van depleted most of the coolant in the overflow tank. The rear heater core is bone dry, that isn't the problem.
>>
>> The coolant smell is strong on the right rear side so I've been looking at the hoses and connections in that area. I suspect the leak may be at the hose connection on the front of the right head. This connection is above the exhaust outlet so any coolant that leaked would be vaporized and never reach the ground. This connection is a new silicone hose with a new screw-type hose clamp.
>>
>> My question here is whether an ear clamp (Oetiker style) would be better than a screw-type clamp for this application.
>>
>> Also part of the revamp was a new aluminum coolant reservoir with a 16lb pressure cap. I've also wondered if the cap might be defective, causing the system to run at a higher than designed pressure.
>>
>> I spent a lot of $$ so that the all important cooling system would be robust and I wouldn't have to worry about it, very dismayed to have to keep troubleshooting this. I appreciate any observations or comments.
>>
>> Regards,
>> Mark
>> '87 syncro
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