Date: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 11:25:29 -0700
Reply-To: "Backus, Brian G" <Brian.Backus@PSS.BOEING.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: "Backus, Brian G" <Brian.Backus@PSS.BOEING.COM>
Subject: Re: Leaking head hell..
Content-Type: text/plain
I won't say that I told you so...Sorry I had to say it...the same thing
happened to me but I was a whole lot further from home (750 miles) and
had my family with me too. It cost me a whole lot of canadian currency
to get it back home.
> ----------
> From: ChuckKuecker[SMTP:ckuecker@MCS.NET]
> Reply To: ChuckKuecker
> Sent: Sunday, April 05, 1998 8:38 AM
> To: Vanagon@VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Leaking head hell..
>
> I got the rebuilt steering gear back into the '91 yesterday. Had to
> cut and
> braze the hydraulic lines, but everything is back together and running
> fine.
> Got the toe-in set up, and it handles nice and tight again, due to the
> new
> tierods..
>
> So I took the family out for the day, to visit my Mom in Tomah,
> Wisconsin,
> about 200 miles away. I had put Aluma-Seal in the coolant last week,
> and it
> seemed to have fixed the head seepage.
>
> When we stopped in Janesville for lunch, I checked fluid levels. No
> leaks in
> either the head gaskets or the power steering. Got to Tomah without
> incident.
>
> At 8:30 PM, we started home. 17 mileso out of town the temeperature
> guage
> light started blinking, so we stopped at a truck stop. The coolant was
> down
> an inch in the expansion tank, but no apparent leaks. I guess the
> coolant
> evaporated, and the leak stopped when I opened the cap on the tank.
>
> The store there had Bar's Leaks, so I put two small bottles into the
> engine,
> along with more antifreeze. Idle testing showed no leak, so we
> continued
> driving.
>
> 100 miles later, the rear window misted over, and the blinker came on
> again.
> The leak in the head had let go with a burst. Again, there was little
> evidence of coolant on the engine, but the whole back of the car was
> wet. I
> topped off with antifreeze and limped to the next exit, and another
> truck stop.
>
> This one only had Prestone stop leak. It was now 12:30 AM, and we were
> still
> 90 miles from home. So I took the chance and put the Prestone leak
> stop in.
> This made two bottles of Aluma-Seal, two of Bar's Leaks, and 8 ounces
> of
> Prestone stuff, total. Topped it off again.
>
> We made it home with no more trouble, but now I dread seeing how messy
> the
> cooling system will look when I pull the engine to do the ehads
> properly...
>
> Chuck Kuecker
>
> ckuecker@mcs.net
>
> '83 Scirocco (Katy's car now)
> '58 Ghia Convert
> '75 Bug
> '67 Bug
> '63 Bug (*still* for sale)
> '91 Vanagon
>
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