Date:         Thu, 2 Apr 1998 21:41:43 -0500
Reply-To:     Erik O <koesel@UAKRON.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Erik O <koesel@UAKRON.EDU>
Subject:      Re: Statistical Survey re Head Gasket Failure
Comments: To: "Steven X. Schwenk" <sxs@concentric.net>,
          "Vanagon@VANAGON.COM" <Vanagon@VANAGON.COM>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

I think you are going to find the warm up part before driving critical.
Instead of just a yes or no, I would suggest asking how long or how far
the needle moves before zooming off.

It's my opinion that the different thermal expansion properties of the
three metals that hold the engine together (block, heads and head bolts)
allow coolant to get under the gasket sealing surface when cold at high
RPMs. Then no matter what kind of coolant or water you use, the corosion
will start as the fluid under the gaskets will quickly be depleted of
it's anti-corosion properties. Then it continues....

I have an interesting idea that would solve this problem and allow one
to begin driving right after starting, but it's probably not a good idea
to test it out. Warming up a vehicle properly is still the best thing to
do.

_______________________
Erik O        Akron, Oh
82 GTI Westfalia
http://ebyte.com/gl
http://ebyte.com/wow