Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 12:12:56 -0700
Reply-To: DAVID MOST <most@UCLA.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: DAVID MOST <most@UCLA.EDU>
Subject: Re: Oil slick in expansion tank
In-Reply-To: <8625679F.004DCEDA.00@ramilwsmtp01.ra.rockwell.com>
Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII
I had a similar problem with an '87 that I had just purchased. I was
driving the vanagon home on a 1000 mile trip, and the blinking red light
started after 750 miles. I topped off the main tank (never really figured
out why this was a littlw low) and saw the oil slick in the expansion
tank. AFter posting the list, I thought that it was highly likely that
the oil cooler was the problem. I used the vanagon sporadically for a
couple of months after that trip and the oil slick grew to be about 1/4"
thick. The new oil cooler finally arrived in the mail, and since its
installation (and replacemtn of the coolant), the oil slick hasn't
returned nor ha the blinking red light appeared. I've since taken this
camper on a 1500 mile trip though southern Utah, so I figure that if the
oil was going to reappear, it would have happened already. The oil cooler
has some internal seals that can go bad which permit oil to get into the
coolant but not vice versa. There are other ways that oil can get into
the coolant, but apparently this would result in other problems that I
didn't notice.
I'm still learning, and I'm not a mechanic, and in fact, a number of
mechanics said that "those oil cooler almost never go bad". I figured I'd
take a chance with replacement (based on list advice) as my oil looked
good (indicating that there was not coolant in the oil). It's been
working fine since.
There are a couple of things that I've noticed, however. There was
probably some oil left in the system even after getting rid of the old
coolant (I don't know how wellit was really flushed), so I've notice only
the very slightest discoloration (slightly more cloudy) of the orange
(Texaco) coolant. Second, my temp. gauge stays below the mid point now
almost all the time. I think,however, that this is due to the improper
ratio of coolant to water. The mechanic put in all 3 bottles ofcoolant
that I provided for the change. Surely some was lost in the bleeding
process, but the ratio is still off. I believe that too much coolant can
cause this problem, but perhaps someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
I hope some of this helps.
David
'87 non-GL camper 143k
'87 GL camper 162k
(need to sell one of them)
On Tue, 29 Jun 1999, James Morris wrote:
> I drove my wifes 87 Vanagon to work yesterday to investigate "a blinking red
> lite" . It did blink and I started thinking about the cause. I thougt I would
> try to bleed the system to see if air may be evident, as I did this I had the
> expansion tank cap off. As the engine began to heat up the coolant started
> bucking and spewing from the tank. I then saw a little oil slick in the
> expansion tank . What does this mean ?
>
> I turned off the engine and removed the t-stat housing and found that there was
> NO thermostat ! The PO must have taken it out and never replaced it. (that
> explains limited heat last winter) Could the t-stat have any effect on the red
> led temp lite? What else should I look for ?
>
> Thanks in advance
> james b morris - Dallas, TX
> 69 Bug
> 73 Bus
> 87 Vanagon
>
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