Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 04:16:20 -0500
Reply-To: Marshall Ruskin <mruskin@PANGEA.CA>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Marshall Ruskin <mruskin@PANGEA.CA>
Subject: Re: 1st Most important specialized waterleaker measurement device
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
What an excellent post!
Where to hook into the coolant system - here is my idea - and the rationale:
I suggest that there are two main aspects to consider when doing the hookup.
1. Convenience and accessibility. Should not have to crawl under the van to
do the hookup, should be able to see if new connection is leaking;
2. Non-invasiveness. Should not damage existing hoses;
Therefore, I suggest that a good place to do the hookup is right at the
expansion (not overflow) tank.
Here is my hypothetical procedure:
I suggest removing the hose clamp at the tank, specifically the clamp that
secures the return water path from the engine to the tank. Then:
Clamp a new and very short hose to the expansion tank, where the old hose
was connected - and the other end of the new short hose and old return hose
should be connected at a "tee".
The third arm of the "tee" should then be connected to the pressure testing
apparatus.
If others find complications with this procedure, please share them, I
wouldn't want idea to be passed off as "expert advice", it is just my first
thought.
Regards,
Marshall Ruskin
>...continued from "2nd most important specialized waterleaker measurement
>device" (Digitool). A couple of days ago Darrell posted his belief, and
>here's my reasoning to support it.
>
>1st place most important specialized measurement device for a waterleaker:
>
>The name says it all. These "suckers" don't suck, they leak. My van has
>had at least 25 leaks and many of those leaks happened at very
>inconvenient times, of course. This unreliability is not particularly
>surprising for a cooling system with well over a hundred parts, and
>may be the most complicated one ever put into a passenger vehicle.
>
>On the days that some list member isn't describing a fuel injection
>problem that the digitool would probably identify quickly, someone else is
>describing a coolant heating, light blinking, dribble leak, blown
>pipe/cap/connection/headgasket/etc type problem. These are sometimes
>difficult to troubleshoot, since they tend to happen on the road more than
>sitting still at idle. Many of these problems can leave an unprepared
>person stranded, and can cause a lot of hassle even for a prepared person.
>The cooling system is the most unreliable subsystem in a waterleaker, even
>worse than the notorious fuel injection system.
>
>So, what is the best way to identify leaks? Darrell insightfully
suggested,
>"a water pressure gauge", and after thinking about it a while I agreed,
>with one addition: a coolant system pressure checker. With the
>combination of these two tools, the owner has much more ability to
>identify early, and diagnose correctly, many coolant system problems.
>
>A coolant system pressure checker is very effective for precise driveway
>testing of coolant system integrity for a wide variety of problems: slow
>leaks, fast leaks, water pump, defective caps, expansion tank cracks,
>leaky connections, heater cores, and others. It has already identified
>six leaks or incipient leaks on my van after using it only a few times. I
>even carry it on trips. At $100+ it costs more than the average tool, but
>I would have saved that amount many, many times due to the pricey
>inconvenient problems my coolant system has had.
>
>However, the static testing of the coolant system pressure checker doesn't
>monitor real operation. That's the job of Darrell's coolant pressure
>meter. It will point out big and little water leaks as they occur,
>compression leaks into the system (haven't proven this, but it makes sense
>that the pressure should go up erratically since the tank cap may not
>respond quickly enough), defective caps, and most importantly when the
>little blinking light comes on it will help the quick diagnosis of the
>type of problem indicated, directly. Idiot lights tell you to either
>"stop now" or "slow gradually down and find a convenient repair place to
>fix a problem" and it's hard to have enough information to know which
>choice is being indicated. The pressure meter helps.
>
>Darrell has provided us with valuable insight and I finally agreed with
>him. The combination of these two tools is the most important specialized
>measurement capability for maintaining a water leaker since they allow
>quick identification of problems in the coolant system, the waterleaker's
>most unreliable subsystem.
>
>Does anyone have a coolant pressure gauge mounted? Darrell suggests the
>Overton unit, which I haven't started looking for yet. The latest
>Princess catalog has some 0-30# gauges on close out, 1 1/2 inch for $3,
>and 2 1/2 inch for $6 and I've ordered some to try them out.
>
>Any ideas for the best way to hook into the coolant system? I'm
>thinking of hooking into the front heater lines with a T and an on/off
>valve which leads to the meter mounted under the radio.
>
>Any other thoughts on valuable measurement techniques? I really like
>JP's digital panel meters.
>
>Cheers, Tom Neal '87 syncro waterleaker, at least 25 times
>
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