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Date:         Sun, 12 Jul 1998 17:31:09 EDT
Reply-To:     EBeighley5@AOL.COM
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Jason Beighley <EBeighley5@AOL.COM>
Subject:      '84 H2O pump swapped; more questions
Comments: To: vanagon@VANAGON.COM
Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII

Spent the entire day yesterday replacing the water pump on my van. I was a little over the three or four hour time estimate (like 10-12 hours total), but I learned a lot and had fun. Ended up removing tha A/C motor and alternator (and both their mounts) to make for an easier reach for some things, but it wasn't too bad. I broke off one of the bolts that joins the two halves of the thermostat housing together, and had to find someone to tap it out and then replace it with a heli-coil(?). I was convinced that since I did it on Saturday there would be no one available to fix me up, but made some phone calls and it worked out OK. When it came time to raise the front and commence the refill, it was fast approaching dark and I was anxious to get finished. We actually only shut off the motor twice but had added two gallons of coolant (walmart tech 2000-only $3.50 per gal here in NC, BTW) plus about the same amount of water. Had a nice stream of bubble free coolant coming out the screw on top of the radiator, and after shutting off the last time and restarting, added an additional gallon plus of mixture (part of the above total). The engine was quite warm when we finished and I had a fifteen mile drive home in 80 degree heat, and didn't run any hotter than usual. Does this sound like I covered everything? Prior to the swap, I'd been adding coolant to my overflow tank to it's max line every week at least. Too early to tell for sure if that problem will persist but probably so. I guess what I'm getting at is since I was most likely low on coolant at least some of the time anyway, was my refill procedure sufficient? And does anyone have any ideas on where I'm losing coolant? There aren't visible signs of a leak. I don't recall how many times the bentley says to do it, but I remember Darrell saying he did it five times once. Also, I'm not sure I opened the correct valve on the aux heater under the rear seat. There's a lever on the nearest side to the sliding door that swivels and I put it where it wasn't before. According to bentley page 80.16, this lever is on the heater under the rear seat, so I think it's the right one. There's also a white circular knob on top that turns to open, but my friend said he wouldn't mess with that one, but I did anyway, and got coolant all over the back of my van. Then I didn't mess with it anymore. :-I I read on this list last week that it's okay to pour water-coolant mixture down the drain because it's harmless when it reaches the treatment plant anyway. Is this true, and what about if you live out of town where there are no treatment plants and it just goes to a septic tank? What about the amount that ends up on the ground? As long as it's rinsed away sufficiently so animals can't drink it is it OK?

Sorry this was so long. Thanks to all who gave me advice and encouragement, and TIA for answers to any of the preceding.

Jason '84 GL


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