Date: Fri, 22 Oct 1999 06:44:26 EDT
Reply-To: kenneth d lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: kenneth d lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
Subject: Re: 1st Most important specialized waterleaker measurement device
Tom;
I just consulted with the National Fear Monger society and they
want to know if you have considered the dangers of introducing
pressurize, heated coolant into the cabin? I guess it's OK if you keep it
behind the dash board.
How about teeing off the heater hoses under the dash?
To reduce leaks, I have been coating the contact area on the
inside of the coolant hoses and the corresponding contact area on the
nipple where that hose attaches. Just a very lite coat of Permatex Super
Gray. Then attach hose and let it dry overnight. It works GREAT! The
clamp only needs snugging up instead of continuously tightening the
clamp until the hose is deformed beyond recognition trying to stop those
nuisance leaks.
Drive Safely & Good Luck
Ken Lewis<Kernersville,NC>86 VW crewcab;60 T-5 Coupe
On Thu, 21 Oct 1999 20:15:54 -0700 "Tom L. Neal" <jneal@NETCOM.COM>
writes:
>...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
___________________________________________________________________
Get the Internet just the way you want it.
Free software, free e-mail, and free Internet access for a month!
Try Juno Web: http://dl.www.juno.com/dynoget/tagj.
| 
