Date:         Tue, 21 Sep 1999 19:28:21 -0500
Reply-To:     William Wedenoja <waw105f@MAIL.SMSU.EDU>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         William Wedenoja <waw105f@MAIL.SMSU.EDU>
Subject:      Expansion tank leak
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;

There was coolant under the left rear of the engine so I took a look.  White powdery substance on a coolant pipe.  The coolant looked to me to be coming from the top of the expansion tank, around the sensor.  Took it in to a shop.  The mechanic says there is a leak on the side, where the two pieces of the tank come together, so we ordered a new one.  Straight-forward.  The part should be in today.  We'll get it in tomorrow.  But in the meantime the coolant warning light on the dash has started blinking all the time--even when the engine is stone cold .  Although the temp gauge reads normal.  I thought, ok, we're low on coolant.  Added some to the overflow with no result.  Pulled the cap off the expansion tank, thinking it would be low--but it's full to the brim.  This I don't understand.  Could it be simply a bad sensor?  Does it sound like the coolant flow is restricted somewhere too?  Or do I have excess pressure in the system?  I searched the archives for the past 21 months but didn't find an answer.

We don't see many vanagons around here, so it's probably impossible to find a mechanic that has a lot of experience with them.  Therefore, I'm turning to the list before this mechanic gets too deep into it.

BTW, we took the westie 2300 miles in June from Missouri to South Carolina and back and the gauge stayed steady at just above the warning light.  We then took it 6700 miles up to Canada, across western Canada, then down the coast to San Diego and back to Missouri.  The gauge ran up to 2/3 on a hot day on the interstate heading north.  Was fine in the Rockies.  But we lost a little coolant.  Discovered a leak in a coolant pipe which was replaced in San Diego.  On some steep grades heading to Jerome and Prescott, Arizona the needle went all the way to the top and the fan came on momentarily, but other than that it behaved ok, so I don't know if we have a cooling problem.  I have given some thought to a new radiator, though.  

Any advice on the expansion tank leak and on keeping cool in general would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Bill
'88 westie

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