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Date:         Mon, 18 Jan 1999 21:51:24 -0500
Reply-To:     Dennis Haynes <dhaynes57@EMAIL.MSN.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Dennis Haynes <dhaynes57@EMAIL.MSN.COM>
Subject:      Re: need help, oil in coolant (bit long)
Comments: To: David Most <most@UCLA.EDU>

Oil in the coolant is often caused by a bad oil cooler. Head bolt failure or the cylinders leaking at the base will cause water to get into the oil.

Dennis

-----Original Message----- From: David Most <most@UCLA.EDU> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM> Date: Monday, January 18, 1999 12:36 PM Subject: need help, oil in coolant (bit long)

>Before you all tell me I've got a serious problem on my hands, let me share >the good news. This problem is not with my gool ol' '87 non-GL camper for >which a few of you last week said that I need a new throw out bearing. >Rather, I just purchased an '87 GL camper on Saturday morning in Portland, >OR and drove it to Los Angeles (1000 miles) arriving here last night. With >some strange case of vanagonitis, I saw an ad on the internet Friday >afternoon, flew up Saturday morning with a one way ticket, and was on my >south by 1pm (after "fixing" a driver's side power window that had been >stuck in the down position since last summer). I'll present the details, >but the bottom line is that I see 1/4" to 1/3" layer of oil on top of the >coolant in the refill tank behind the license plate. > >Before you feel sorry for me, I got a good enough deal on the new vanagon >such that even if I had to replace the engine, it would be worth it. The >body isn't pefect, but there's no rust and the blue plastic is still on the >drain surface over the stove. The appliances were NEVER used. > >Anyway, here are the important details for the current problem. There are >160,000 miles on the original engine. The PO told me that it has been >"sitting" for the last 2 years (I don't if this means that she didn't use it >much or at all, and I suspect that something close to the latter could be >true). She did say that she had the head gasket job done at about 140K, and >as I look, there are no external coolant leaks at the head gasket (or >anywhere else for that matter). The valve covers are HEAVILY coated with >black oil deposits, and the right side leaves a spot of oil on the ground >3"-4" wide after being parked for a while. Before I drove away from >Portland, she told me that she had just added some oil, and the dipstick >read above full. It didn't look too bad though. I did NOT see any oil in >the coolant when I left. In addition, the coolant level in the expansion >tank was lower than I'm used to, but it was in the normal zone (on my other >'87, it usually stays full). The coolant level in the refill tank was normal. > >During the drive down, the engine performed flawlessly. It ran like a top >for all 1000 miles and purred better than my other '87. I was driving for >long stretches at about 65 mph. However, here's when I first noticed the >problem. At about 750 miles, I saw the coolant light flashing. I pulled >over, saw no leaks, noticed that the coolant level was just low enough in >the expansion tank to cause the coolant level warning light to flash AND a >small layer of oil on top of the coolant in the refill tank. > >I decided to add water to the coolant expansion tank, and I filled it to >just above the upper hose. The refill tank was at the max level, so I >didn't add any to that tank. I then drove the next 250 miles without any >more flashing lights or any other problems (but I did drive a bit more >slowly keeping it between 55 and 60). The temp. gauge stayed in the middle >as before, and when I checked the coolant levels this morning, the expansion >tank was at the same level as when filled 250 miles earlier, and refill tank >was full with the layer of oil as described at the beginning of this e-mail. >The oil does not appear to have changed color at all, but I'm not sure if >that's relevant. > >So, my question is what's going on here? I know that this can't be >diagnosed for sure without seeing it, but the list wisdom always seems to >figure things out nonetheless. Is it possible that some seals dried up from >lack of use? Is this something that has a chance of being repaired with >anything significantly short of an engine rebuild/new engine? It ran SO >perfectly down here, that it's hard to believe anything's wrong, but I know >better. Had it not been for the warning light, I wouldn't have noticed the >oil until the next time I checked the coolant. > >I have a funny feeling that the answer to my question may be shorter than my >description. In any case, thanks for listening and for any advice. I could >sure use some. > >David > >temporarily with 2 vanagons and no parking spaces >'87 non-GL camper 140k >'87 GL camper 160k


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