Date:         Fri, 31 Dec 1999 00:18:18 -0800
Reply-To:     Björn Ratjen <bratjen@DIRECT.CA>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Björn Ratjen <bratjen@DIRECT.CA>
Subject:      another coolant leak and solution
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"

Hello Listvolks,

The last couple of days another coolant leak has kept me busy carrying an
extra water bottle for my vanagon. I noticed that after driving at high rpm
coolant was missing. The usual signs were noticed like the blinking coolant
light and temperature indicator going up suddenly. Of course it happened
when the car was fully loaded. Oh what fun it is to unpack everything on
the side of the highway in the fog...

I could not find the leak at first. I sniffed in vain for the sweet scent
of steaming coolant. The engine seemed dry. I had a friend keep the rpm at
4000 while I was checking - to no avail. Occasionally it was even sucking
the overflow reservoir dry overnight. 

When I finally baught a bottle of coolant at a VW dealership in Nanaimo to
keep the car safe for winter I asked for some ideas about the location of
the leak. The service manager looked at me and said: "in the rear". 

Today I finally found the culprit: a loose clamp on the hose connector
between the long return pipe from the front and the plastic manifold. The
location is just in front of the right rear driveshaft. No wonder the
engine was dry. Some drips were coming down on the right crossmember of the
frame where they mixed unobtrusively with the moisture from the road. Maybe
they should use a stronger color. Oh well,  just another one of those
puzzles that keep you wondering for a couple of days...

Björn



Björn Ratjen
Mill Bay, B.C.

1987 Vanagon est alia (self camperized, TDI wannabe)
1978 VW Bulli (self camperized)
1995 Passat TD Wagon (hers)
1970 VW Beetle (son's)