Date: Thu, 18 Nov 1999 18:50:03 -0500
Reply-To: walt spak <wnsopc3@3RDM.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: walt spak <wnsopc3@3RDM.NET>
Subject: Antifreeze and general
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
Hey list,
I just thought I would write a few thoughts about Vanagons. A 91 GL is my only car. I picked it up early last spring to replace my 84 GL. I guess that I have been driving Vanagons for about 6 years now and I really love them. Way back when, I also had a 65 split window Deluxe Bus. Since July, I have run into a number of busses that I couldn't pass up. I have been buying them, fixing them, and selling them. Two of the ones I got were parts cars. The rest, 3 Westy's and a GL are sold or for sale. Most have needed engines.
I have dismantled 2 - 1.9 and 1 -2.1 engines during the course of this period. One 1.9 had 85,000 miles and a broken crank shaft (I believe it was lugged a lot). The heads were in very good shape, but with a minimal amount of corrosion. The other 1.9 had a very badly burnt valve and the both heads were cracked between the seats. The corrosion was pretty bad. The 2.1 had 2 broken con rods and 2 holes in the block. The heads were very corroded. In all three cases, the corrosion happened only between the heavy rubber head gasket and the head. There was absolutely no corrosion in any area that anti freeze comes in contact with. All 3 of these engines came to me with green anti freeze in them. I can only conclude that the anti freeze has nothing to do with the corrosion of the heads. None of the studs had any appreciable amount of corrosion either.
That said, I am in the practice of using phosphate free anti freeze and distilled water anytime I drain and flush one of these systems. I just took the green stuff out of my 91 today. The rear heater core was leaking and I replaced it with a new one (Bus Depot) along with a new valve. I also replaced the thermostat and both temp. senders. The 91 has been running cold since I got it. I didn't worry about it too much this hot summer, but wanted to be sure that I was heating up the oil since it has turned cold. The 2.1 thermostat housing works very well and I think it is a big improvement over the 1.9's with one exception. My 91 is very clean and the body is totally rust free underneath. The engine is clean and the air tubes on the fuel injection are still about 90% painted. However, the bolts on the thermostat housing were completely rusted. The 4 that hold the cover on were rusted to the point that a 10 mm, six point socket slipped around the hex. The 2 bolts that hold the housing to the head were Allen socket heads. They were so bad I could not get the Allen wrench into the holes even after I scraped all the loose rust out. I ended up using vice grips to remove the housing and then the cover. Where is the good German engineering in the fasteners in the engine compartment?
The end result is great though. I now have plenty of heat and I think the car runs better now that it is warming up enough. Tomorrow, I will start into replacing the front heater fan in an 86 GL. That should be fun.
Walt Spak
Pittsburgh, Pa.
wnsopc3@3rdm.net
[text/html]
| 
