----- Original Message -----
Sent: Tuesday, September 21, =
1999 5:28
PM
Subject: Expansion tank =
leak
There was coolant under the left rear of the =
engine so I
took a look. White powdery substance on a coolant pipe. =
The
coolant looked to me to be coming from the top of the expansion tank, =
around
the sensor. Took it in to a shop. The mechanic says there =
is a
leak on the side, where the two pieces of the tank come together, so =
we
ordered a new one. Straight-forward. The part should be in =
today. We'll get it in tomorrow. But in the meantime the =
coolant
warning light on the dash has started blinking all the time--even when =
the
engine is stone cold . Although the temp gauge reads =
normal. I
thought, ok, we're low on coolant. Added some to the overflow =
with no
result. Pulled the cap off the expansion tank, thinking it would =
be
low--but it's full to the brim. This I don't understand. =
Could it
be simply a bad sensor? Does it sound like the coolant flow is
restricted somewhere too? Or do I have excess pressure in the
system? I searched the archives for the past 21 months but =
didn't find
an answer.
We don't see many vanagons around here, so it's =
probably
impossible to find a mechanic that has a lot of experience with =
them.
Therefore, I'm turning to the list before this mechanic gets too deep =
into
it.
BTW, we took the westie 2300 miles in June from =
Missouri to
South Carolina and back and the gauge stayed steady at just above the =
warning
light. We then took it 6700 miles up to Canada, across western =
Canada,
then down the coast to San Diego and back to Missouri. The gauge =
ran up
to 2/3 on a hot day on the interstate heading north. Was fine in =
the
Rockies. But we lost a little coolant. Discovered a leak =
in a
coolant pipe which was replaced in San Diego. On some steep =
grades
heading to Jerome and Prescott, Arizona the needle went all the way to =
the top
and the fan came on momentarily, but other than that it behaved ok, so =
I don't
know if we have a cooling problem. I have given some thought to =
a new
radiator, though.
Any advice on the expansion tank leak and on =
keeping cool in
general would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Bill
'88 westie