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Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned
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kjono09
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 12:01 pm    Post subject: Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned Reply with quote

Thought it would be nice to have a "Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned" thread for quick trouble shooting of coolant issues. This will payback to the community and ease future headache on this issue.

Please briefly add to this thread your experience, i.e.

CAUSE:
SYMPTOM(S):
SOLUTION:
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dobryan
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 12:03 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

The most excellent FAQ section has this pretty well organized under the 'Engine Cooling' section.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6236044#6236044

Very Happy
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kjono09
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 12:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

CAUSE: Air Trapped in Radiator, not front heater core.

SYMPTOM(S):
1.) When at highway speeds, high RPMs, or when thermostat was open and using radiator heavily can started to very, very quickly overheat.

2.) Turning of engine or lowering rpm/load dropped heat quickly.

3.) Engine never overheated during around town driving in Monterrey, where it is pretty flat and cool.

SOLUTION:
1.) Through various PITA methods bleed the system.
A.) I filled system with nose of van up hill and radiator bleeder open. I ran the van on high RPM to drop level in fill tank inorder to add more coolant.
B.) I drove down hill with radiator bleeder valve slightly cracked and rear engine bleeder open.
c.) repeat, till air out of system, have all heater on full blast.
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kamzcab86
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 1:13 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

SYMPTOM(S): Fan turned on high while freeway driving (2 miles from home so no overheat or flashing light). Parked in street while unloading... lake's worth of coolant drained onto pavement. Mad

CAUSE: Dead water pump.

SOLUTION: Replaced water pump (along with a slew of hoses while the system was drained)... good for a few new curse words.

-----------------------------

SYMPTOM(S): Constantly topping off coolant. Finally saw a small wet spot under the left side of the van. Eh?

CAUSE: Leaky rear heater.

SOLUTION: Ripped the rear heater out and replaced the T-fittings with straight fittings. (Desert dweller who doesn't generally camp/travel in frigid conditions and never used the rear heater; prefer having the storage space... rear heater removal is not for everyone.)

-----------------------------

SYMPTOM(S): Pulled into a parking lot, got out and saw coolant pouring onto the pavement. Rolling Eyes Pulled the lid to find...

CAUSE: Cracked coolant tank (relatively new one at that).

SOLUTION: Replaced coolant tank (for the second time).

dobryan wrote:
The most excellent FAQ section has this pretty well organized under the 'Engine Cooling' section.

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6236044#6236044

Very Happy


It doesn't have a whole slew of problems listed, however. Will add this topic into that section. Cool
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 6:19 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Symptom: After replacing all heater hoses from engine to front, and relocating the (new) meyle front heater valve to the cab directly under the heater core, found coolant dripping in the driveway from the passenger side door step area an hour after the first drive around town. Further investigation revealed the passenger side floor mat was saturated with coolant.

Cause: Brand new meyle heater valve leaking already. Confused

Solution: Replaced with a 15 dollar ford heater valve in the same place. Dry as a bone still months later. Cool
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volkswagenguru
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 9:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Symtom: Pull into doctors office to see all coolant leaking out.
Cause: blown coolant hose from thermostat to distribution tower
Solution: replaced hose.

Symtom: driving down the highway start to see small puffs of smoke next thing you know a smoke screen James Bond would be proud of.
Cause: Blown waterpump
Solution: new waterpump

Symtom: coolant overflow out of the overflow bottle only after driving in on the highway.
Causes: Bad pressure cap and blown headgasket.
Solution: replaced headgaskets on both heads new pressure cap thermostat.
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vegpedlr
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 9:52 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

Symptom(s):
Playing whack-a-mole with leaks: radiator hose clamp X2, fan switch, bleeder valve plug X2
Cause: Leaky head gasket allowed combustion gases into cooling system, over pressurizing the cooling system just looking for a weak spot...
Solution:
Head gaskets replaced and resealed
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Vanagon Nut
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 04, 2015 10:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

replaced ~ 90% of cooling system on an '88 WBX.

symptom: coolant loss but mostly at sustained highway speeds.

two causes:

failing O ring at coolant level sensor
failing O ring at rear heater valve.

Cause to former: aside from time, unknown.
cause to latter: during new heater hose install, wrestled hose onto upper nipple at heater. This may have hastened failure of O ring at valve. Fasteners at valve to core were not tight.

Of note, coolant loss at expansion bottle (level sensor O ring) was somewhat insidious. At times, coolant evaporated at bottle recess area before it would drip down.
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 4:38 pm    Post subject: Re: Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned Reply with quote

Question:

SYMPTOM: Coolant level in pressure bottle is very high after driving
CAUSE: bad cap?
SOLUTION: replace cap?
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Terry Kay
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PostPosted: Thu Jan 14, 2016 5:41 pm    Post subject: Re: Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned Reply with quote

Symptom ;
Can't identify anything behind the van while driving on expressway at 70 mph, large cloud of white steam permeating from rear of van.

Cause;
Obvious leak /hole on outside coolant pipe behind R/H rear wheel.

Cure;
Stop on shoulder, loosen expansion tank cap, get the van to friends house, replace lost coolant with water, drive back to work, manufacture stainless coolant pipes out of 1.25" Caterpillar D-8 hydraulic tubing, drive back home with a tight system.

( Note; This was the first set of replacement stainless replacement pipes ever made for a Vanagon)
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 6:42 am    Post subject: Re: Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned Reply with quote

When returning from a vacation trip, 50 miles from home, glanced in outside mirror and saw steam coming out of air louvers at rear of van (89 Campmobile).
Found coolant level sensor in expansion tank broken.
Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.



Made a plug with a blue nitrile glove and a metal soda bottle cap found at side of road. Proceeded to city down the hill. The VW dealer had closed 15 mins before. Bought a 3/4" pipe plug at NAPA store. Pipe plug with another nitrile glove sealed better. Replaced sensor from spares when I got home.

After that carried a spare sensor and socket to turn it. Replaced sensor failed within a year. Was in a parking lot so installed onboard spare. Refilled system.

Later the first failure of the sensor lead to failure of the metal ring gasket between the cylinder and head. So had to remove engine and replace gaskets. As others have mentioned, this over pressurizes the system and coolant is lost out of the vent on the recovery tank. If driven that way overheat will cause more engine damage.

Thought about buying aluminum expansion tank. Some years later copied Intrepid Overland's idea and used a generic aluminum tank from Summit racing. Tank with cap was under $100. No level sensor to give false alarms or fail to warn of low coolant.

Image may have been reduced in size. Click image to view fullscreen.

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atomatom
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 7:33 am    Post subject: Re: Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned Reply with quote

Quote:
No level sensor to give false alarms or fail to warn of low coolant.


given how common coolant leaks are, i'm not sure i could live with that.

perhaps you could put a more durable coolant level sensor inline on one of the hoses.
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xflyer
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 3:56 pm    Post subject: Re: Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned Reply with quote

In a past life I repaired vehicles for 3 decades. Very few had coolant level sensors. They get by OK. I found that the VW coolant level sensor system in the Vanagon to be accurate about 20% of the time. It would signal that I was low on coolant when I was not, and worse, signaled that coolant level was OK when it was low.

On another note, the current replacement plastic tanks are TOP quality.
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?Waldo?
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PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2022 5:15 pm    Post subject: Re: Consolidated: Vanagon Coolant Lessons Learned Reply with quote

xflyer wrote:
In a past life I repaired vehicles for 3 decades. Very few had coolant level sensors. They get by OK. I found that the VW coolant level sensor system in the Vanagon to be accurate about 20% of the time. It would signal that I was low on coolant when I was not, and worse, signaled that coolant level was OK when it was low.


I've run multiple vanagons for a couple decades and have found the coolant level sensor to be solid.

I wouldn't run without a level sensor on any Vanagon, but doing so on a 2.1 WBX is particularly ill-advised. If you get a catastrophic coolant loss (which is known to happen) the 2.1 temperature sensor will no longer be submerged in coolant and the temperature will read normal until the engine melts from overheating. You will literally get zero warning if you happen not to see the initial coolant loss.
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