When I bought my 85 Transporter the previous owner had an overheating problem,which turned to be the small steel coolant pipe which had rusted out and was leaking - the small one with a 90 degree bend that bolts to the he engine (head as I remember) and has a rubber hose attached to it. As I remember it is cross over hose to the other bank of the engine (on the rear bumper end of the engine) Cost very little to fix - $30 + an hours labour. Previous owner had overheated it mildly turned it off immediately, had it towed home, left it parked for 3 months and drove his other car. He thought he'd developed the head leaking problem. Over 3 months the hydraulic lifters bled dry, so when he tested it he thought the dry lifter he was hearing was a bad connecting rod and decided to sell. I listened to the engine, using a broom handle to isolate the noise to the head. Told him I didn't know what it was, but was pretty sure it was in the head (van's head not his). I knew nothing much about Vanagons - didn't even know they had hydraulic valves. He said he didn't care what it was, he had to sell and his price was $1,000. So I paid full price. I just wanted a Westy, couldn't afford one and this was the next best thing, a very well maintained one owner Transporter with a nicely made bench seat folded into a double bed. Now six years later it's been made into a Westy, thanks to a good deal on a used roof from the Bus Depot (good people). I've been all over North America and am only on my second engine. Alan Pickersgill Ottawa Ontario Canada 85 Transporter converted to West. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ >> Hello >> I'm buying an '87 Wolfy with 107,000 miles that has an overheating problem. >> The current owner says the engine overheats in about 20 minutes. >> <snip> >> I first plan to check(fill/bleed) the cooling system and then replace the >> thermostat. > >I would definitely go for the thermostat first, this sounds like the thermostat >is stuck, not opening at all. YOu may need to bleed the coolant system after a >thermostat change anyway, so do the thermo first. > >PerL >87 Syncro 112i > Alan Pickersgill Ottawa, ON Canada |
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