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Date:         Thu, 17 Jul 1997 07:06:57 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Dan Fleming <ddf@pacbell.net>
Subject:      Re: Cooling System Opinion

I don' thinks so Mark: An annode would have to be an undissolved piece of metal that is sacrificed by dissolving instead of something else. I am familiar with the concept, as Alfa-Romeo used the same concept in their engines, with a replaceable sacrificial annode that screwed into the cylinder head or block. What's wrong here is that there is no such replaceable piece.

I think that VW has short-life, special coolant and obsure rules and guidelines cause they were new at the water-cooled game at the time, and the questionable design of the Vanagon motor was turning out to be a problem. This way, they can insist that we broke the rules when engines fail right and left. "Use our stuff or else" they can insist, and when we have problems, VW can blame some previous owner who put in Kmart coolant.

They never did get it right, either. A Subaru for mine when this happens.

DDF

mark keller wrote:

> I have read and read about the coolant corrosion problem and wanted to > add > my thoughts since I not had heard this type of comment. > > My feelings on the coolant issue are because of the propriatary nature > of > the manufacturers formula, I bought the Autobahn stuff. I feel if I'm > gonna > pay an extra $15, it is cheap insurance against a hedge in replacing > heads > et al. Also I'm going with the distilled water too. > > It seems that the corrosive nature of this system could use every > possible > precaution. On this feeling, I have a hunch,and it is without proof, > that > the factory coolant may have a "sacrifical anode" ingredient. On salt > water > marine engines which suffer the corrosive engine problem, a sacrifical > > anode, usually a piece of zinc about 3lbs in weight is attatched to > the > engine. I guess the metalugical deal is that since zinc's atomic > number is > closer to lead, the base, the "corrosive" action prefers the zinc to > the > alloys in the 2 stroke engine. > > It would be a smart thing IMO to add this type of scarificial anode to > the > VW coolant. I repeat that I do not know for sure they have it, > everybody's > so cloak and dagger about what is in their stuff. But I'm going to go > that > way. The "clue" for me was that the factory stuff has a "short" life, > replace every two years. When manufactures are making long life > coolant > why place the short limit? My guess is that since all sacrifical > anodes by > design are depleted, that the 2 year life is to replinish the anode. > I'll > post this mental meandering for others to comment and refine. I > mentioned > this topic once and got no response. > > I've heard on the list of several motors that used either distilled > water > or the original stuff go well past the service life of non such > systems. I > realize that since water around the world varies greatly that it alone > > could be variable in whether say an owner used Autobahn, and local > water, > but still had a head leak. Back to my original feeling. This system > needs > every possible precaution done to help it. > > Mark Keller > 91 Carat WLE


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