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Date:         Thu, 18 Nov 1999 18:00:04 -0800
Reply-To:     "T.P. Stephens" <doktortim@ROCKISLAND.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "T.P. Stephens" <doktortim@ROCKISLAND.COM>
Subject:      Re: Antifreeze and general
In-Reply-To:  <020401bf321f$a35b2e20$c484fea9@waltspak>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM

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.

Good background and experience.

>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).

In the owners manual this will be identified as verboten.

>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.

Ok, good data, with green non-spec. anti-freeze the results are major failures.

>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.

Don't know how you can conclude that, but mine is a biased opinion. My experience shows sleight pitting on these head studs on first teardown and cracked studs on second teardown, if they weren't replaced the first time. I think we may have a different view on the word "appreciable". Dem pits look a lot bigger under a Zeiss lens. And down on the atomic level where the stress risers appear as casms, trouble awaits at the next torquing.

>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.

More data, green non spec. and another leak.

>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.

Very DM. Clean motors promote low coorosion. Same for chassis.

>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?

I find it simply amazing how long this stuff lasts with non stock fluid. It rusts away before it fails. Good data. Non spec. fluid = high coorsion rates.

>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.

Yes, get things back in spec. and results accrue with the sense of a job well done as bonas.

Isn't it amazing how two individuals can obtain completely different conclusions for the same data??

Doktor Tim Maintenance Repair and Restoration of European Vehicles San Juan Island, WA


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