Date:         Sun, 31 Aug 1997 11:26:46 EDT
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         kenneth d lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Subject:      Re: 86-91 coolant flange

Joel:
Here is a hint for less coolant loss while replacing the flange. Parts
needed; new flange(now made of metal), new hose,hose clamps.
First; I attached the new hose to the flange with a clamp. Then I
attached a clamp half way up the hose and tighten it just enough to
prevent any flow. Likewise I attached a clamp to the middle of the old
hose and tighten. I also applied a thin film of RTV to the face of the
flange.
Second; I loosened the top clamp holding the old hose, pulled off the old
hose and attach the new hose. The old hose(still connected to the engine)
can hang down, without leaking, because of the clamp in it's middle .
Third ; I removed the bolts holding the old flange. Luckily it stayed
glued to the head. Using a putty knife I separated the flange and held
the blade against the opening. Then I swapped the blade for the new
flange and bolted it down. DON'T FORGET TO REMOVE THE MIDDLE CLAMP.
Very little bleeding (mine and the trucks) was required afterwards. Upon
inspection of the old flange I realized I" dodged the bullet". It was
warped and very near the end of its life.
Drive Safely & Good Luck
Ken Lewis     <Kernersville NC, The Heart of the Triad>
86 VW Transporter Three Door Pickup
60 Porsche T-5 Coupe
85 VW GL Vanagon<Elvis>awaiting engine

On Sat, 30 Aug 1997 20:55:36 CDT Joel Walker <JWALKER@UA1VM.UA.EDU>
writes:
>on the 86-91 engines, there is a small flange attached to the rear end
>of the engine, over under the alternator. from the flange, there is a
>small coolant hose that runs to the "bleeding ring" ... a pipe that
>runs
>round the engine compartment and helps bubbles get out of the engine.
>well, the original flanges are plastic, and over time they bend/warp
>and
>the little o-ring seal starts leaking.
>
>yup. did it a while back on my 88 bus, now my 87 camper needed it.
>well,
>says i to me, i ain't gonna get coolant in my hair again THIS time ...
>i'm gonna figure a better way to do this. so i sits down and studies.
>
>first of all, the power steering pump is kinda in the way ... so i
>look,
>and there are only three bolts hold the pump on. ok, out comes the
>three
>bolts (the frontmost is kinda hard because of a fuel line; and the
>middle
>one needs the alternator v-belt loosened. and the alternator pushed to
>the
>left ... hey! i didn't say it was "easy"!! ;)
>then the steering pump can be moved over the the right ... you don't
>have to
>disconnect any hoses or anything.
>
>ok. so now the pump is moved over, and the alternator is pushed to the
>left
>and the steering v-belt is moved out of the way. NOW you can get to
>the
>coolant flange real easily.
>
>now, when you start loosening the two bolts holding the flange on,
>there's
>gonna be a LOT of coolant coming out ... about a gallon ... so have a
>wide
>(cause it goes all over) deep pan under there, and move the v-belts
>out of
>the way so they don't get all slimey with coolant.
>
>the new flanges (from vw) are metal, and have NO o-rings ... there is
>supposed
>to be a gasket, but i can never get the vw dealers to send me the
>right one.
>an o-ring will NOT work (it slides all over the place).
>... so i went down to NAPA and got some gasket material ...
>
>part no. STM-1 Adhesive Backed Heavy Duty Gasket Material
>         (look under the thermostats section/area in the store). for
>all
>         gasket uses involving oils, fuels and water ... temperatures
>up to
>         300F.
>         the gasket material has adhesive on one side (which i applied
>to
>         the flange side) ... and i spread some RTV high-temp gasket
>gunk
>         on the other side, just for paranoia. ;)
>
>the flange itself is part no. 025-121-160-D
>         (make sure you get this one ... it's the metal one).
>
>all total, of fooling around, and loosening all that stuff, then
>putting it
>all back together, and going in the garage, then in the house, then in
>the
>other bus to find something ... i guess it took about 2.5 hours. :) i
>may be
>slow, but i do poor work!!!! ;)  i can do it a lot faster next time
>(if i
>get all the damned tools out to the camper FIRST!).
>
>unca joel
>