Date:         Tue, 28 Feb 95 13:13:31 CST
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Joel Walker <JWALKER@ua1vm.ua.edu>
Subject:      Re: Cracked expansion tank

On Tue, 28 Feb 95 12:29:29 CST Richard Lamoreaux said:
>I seem to have a recurring problem with the coolant expansion tank in
>my '87 Vanagon. It develops cracks around the filler neck ...
>I replaced the tank several years ago for the same problem. Of
>course, it was pretty expensive for a plastic bottle.  Is there any
> way to repair polyethylene (most glues don't stick)?
>I see where someone else had this problem a month back. Is this a
>design defect in the tank?

i think it is a case of using the wrong material for the tank. my 88 bus
gets about 35,000-40,000 miles per tank. and i don't believe there is any
way to 'repair' the tank. :(  i suppose you could always replace the tank
with something of your own design and manufacturer, but for my cost of $40,
it's just not worth the trouble to me ... especially since the tanks seem
to last about 2 - 2.5 years.  and, yes, it seems to be a really common
problem: the dealer in atlanta keeps several of these in stock. (unlike the
ball joints, which they do NOT keep in stock).

joel