Date:         Tue, 7 Oct 1997 09:04:44 -0700
Reply-To:     bachmanb@SMTPGW1.PLK.AF.MIL
Sender:       Vanagon mailing list <Vanagon@Gerry.SDSC.EDU>
From:         bachmanb@SMTPGW1.PLK.AF.MIL
Subject:      Vice?; Ideas on "missing"; a coolant leak discovery
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

     First my apologies if you who count yourselves the "Queen's Subjects"
     actually do use the "vice" spelling for clamping functions as one
     listmember indicated - 'course this is the "Vanagon" list (vice the
     "Caravelle" list - he he).  Indeed my "Webster's" does list it as a
     variant.

     Second, pardon me for a little chuckle: if one's "pistons" are firing,
     that's a problem; this is a job normally reserved for the spark plugs.
     Sorry!  Now for the help.  Since you've checked spark (but did you
     actually pull the suspect plug and verify that it was sparking?), I'd
     recommend taking another look at the fuel injection, the compression,
     and then back to the ignition.

     Is the injector getting a signal? (Pull the wire and hook it up to a
     VOM set on 12VDC and see if the reading cycles).

     Is the injector working?  (What's the test for this?  Pull the
     injector, hook it up to the wire, and start 'er up to see if the fuel
     sprays?)

     Do you have a valve and/or compression problem on that cylinder?  (Do
     a compression check).  Can an intake lifter fail so miserably that the
     valve won't open?

     A final warning.  I have gotten the impression that the wasserboxer is
     very finicky about plug wires, cap, and rotor.  More than one person
     has said that non-OEM parts here are problematic, even to the point of
     causing failure on emission tests, etc.  I know that after I replaced
     my wires (Autolite, courtesy of the PO) with OEM, I passed.

     Now for my coolant leak discovery.

     I (well, the car, really!) had been leaking coolant from the overflow
     tank (not the fill tank).  Poking around there, I couldn't see
     anything catastrophic, but there was a gash on the tank between the
     sensor and the cap (which turned out to be cosmetic - no leak).

     Since there was some coolant around the sensor, I decided to replace
     the o-ring seal.  I went to pop the electrical plug off the sensor,
     and the entire top of the sensor came out instead (it had cracked
     almost completely around the base between the hex head and the
     threads; my attempt to remove the plug finished the job).

     I removed the tank, and managed to get the threaded remnant out.
     Picked up a new sensor (dealer said $64 - less than $15 at Foreign
     Aide - what gives?) and so far, no leaks.

     BTW, I kept the old one, superglued it back together, and filled the
     internal recess with epoxy - it was good enough to get me the 10 miles
     to the FLAPS - I think I'll keep it in the tool box just in case . . .
     .)

     -Blaine