TheSamba.com :: View topic - Who has Stainless Steel Coolant pipes in their van?

Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:07 pm

Terry Kay wrote: <<my 85 had new ss pipes when i got it.they where replaced about 3-4 yrs ago.i havnt had any problems with the and the outside is still shinny new.dont know where he got them though.>>

Is your 85 GL white, and you bought it from Mike Popovich in Johnstown PA?

I know where the pipes came from.
Thats funny my family is from Johnstown PA and I think I have heard that name come up.

Thu Feb 04, 2010 12:26 pm

Better known in Johnstown as the "Tube Guru".
Re enjoys working on old tube radio's---

Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:36 am

thats exactly where i got it TK,real cool guy,has a nice mexican beetle too.he took awesome care of this van we love it and it runs like a top.

Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:43 am

Mike is a nice guy, and lives close to a good friend of mine in
Johnstown.

He took good care of that Van-- & an excellent deal for you--

He loved the stainless pipe update--

Have fun with the Van---

Sun Feb 07, 2010 10:51 am

we already took it camping and got it dirty.probably for the first time.i have to admit my poptop bay was jealous.only problem im having is a slight power loss when pulling a hill but only for a moment then it recovers.never gets worse and is always predictable.as in same hill or hills all the time.any pointers.im thinking TPS.off subject but what the hell what was it anyway?

Sun May 09, 2010 9:47 pm

Sorry to dredge up this thread again(since it became a bit of mudslinging) but I do have a comment to make about the RMW SS pipes.
I picked up my set of 1 piece RMW SS coolant pipes this weekend at SDM and was able to compare then side by side with a NEW set of OEM VW coolant pipes and the are a great reproduction of the original. The bends are really close to OG and they look like better quality than the 2 piece german kit that I installed in the truck a few years ago. They are a little longer(2"?) but that length can be easily be fudged from the rubber hoses- I see 2" less rubber hose as a benefit if anything. I just wanted to put in some unbiased input on a really nice product. 8)

Mon May 10, 2010 3:36 am

i have read with great interest all the posts (even the shite thats been thrown about) seen all the links etc etc. i'm in Perth west Aus, so getting SS pipes may be a difficulty, i think i can make my own, so 2 questions.

1, if i make my pipes a larger diameter say 2" instead of 1.5" will this have a better or wosre effect on my 5cylinder diesel audi motor. i need it to run cool as the air temp here gets up abit!

2. has anyone tried or thought about the electronic rust preventors? i think that fitting one to the head and to the SS pipe will virtually stop any corrosin issues.

cheers jon

Mon May 10, 2010 5:14 am

I don't see why larger wouldn't be better... Might add some to the radiator's cooling to have big pipes full of coolant under the van while you're flying down the road?

See other threads on the forum on electronic rust preventers. I think the general consensus (and, as an electrical engineer I agree) is that these things are not really effective on vehicles. There are two reasons for this: vehicles typically have poor electrical connections from one panel to the next (paint, rust, etc...) and vehicles don't have a true connection to earth ground. If you were to make a pretty ground connection strap between each metal piece on the vehicle and then connect this to a copper rod in the ground these things might work well.

Cheers,
-Bill

'89 Syncro

Mon May 10, 2010 5:19 am

i planned on fitting the ERP jsut to the head of the motor and the stainless pipes only, as it is these items which appear to be an issue.
i guess failing that a zinc cathode correctly grounded will help out.

Mon May 10, 2010 3:58 pm

Quote: if i make my pipes a larger diameter say 2" instead of 1.5" There is a hole in the frame that the pipes pass through just behind the passenger's side front wheel that would have to modded for the larger pipes to pass through. The SA vanagons ran our same cooling system with their 5 cylinder 2.6L gas motor. I don't have any idea of how much hotter a deisel motor runs though.
Good luck

Mon May 10, 2010 5:38 pm

My guess is that small amounts of stainless steel does not present the same galvanic problem as the long great area SS coolant pipes. And keeping the pipes insulated from the body may help as well as electrical conductivity is one of the three requirements for galvanic corrosion.

A zinc bolt bung sounds like a great idea. Maybe get a couple people to test them out. Or perhaps a zinc anode in the coolant pressure tank would work.

Or how about this: Flex-a-lite 32060 Zinc Anode Drain Plug Kit
http://www.amazon.com/Flex-lite-32060-Anode-Drain/dp/B001GR09S4

Found this:
"Galvanic Corrosion:
Because corrosion is an electrochemical process involving the flow of electric current, corrosion can be generated by a galvanic effect which arises from the contact of dissimilar metals in an electrolyte (an electrolyte is an electrically conductive liquid). In fact three conditions are required for galvanic corrosion to proceed; the two metals must be widely separated on the galvanic series, they must be in electrical contact and their surfaces must be bridged by an electrically conducting fluid. Removal of any of these three conditions will prevent galvanic corrosion."
http://www.azom.com/details.asp?articleid=1177#_Galvanic_Corrosion

And this: Diesel Engines - Report on Aluminum Cooling System Component Failures
http://www.yachtsurvey.com/diesel_engines.htm

And this: Avoiding Galvanic Corrosion
http://www.lytron.com/tools-technical/notes/Galvanic-corrosion.aspx

Wed May 19, 2010 9:15 am

Problem with my set of SS pipes (initially one later two piece construction) is that they do not flex as do the plastic ones and as a result do not fit in original wire breackets. I do not understand why some of the fabricators bend them exactly same way as plastic ones. I had to customize my so called "perfect fit" pipes with the blow torch and a tree in the backyard in order for them to fit properly in the original locations/brackets.

Wed May 19, 2010 10:17 am

kombijon wrote: i have read with great interest all the posts (even the shite thats been thrown about) seen all the links etc etc. i'm in Perth west Aus, so getting SS pipes may be a difficulty, i think i can make my own, so 2 questions.

1, if i make my pipes a larger diameter say 2" instead of 1.5" will this have a better or wosre effect on my 5cylinder diesel audi motor. i need it to run cool as the air temp here gets up abit!

2. has anyone tried or thought about the electronic rust preventors? i think that fitting one to the head and to the SS pipe will virtually stop any corrosin issues.

cheers jon Waste of time stock is fine.

Wed May 19, 2010 10:46 am

Shipping one piece pipes is a big problem, and I warn folks about this when they order them.

Tomasz was warned at least three times--he had his own agenda..

You have to depend on whoever is carrying them to top load them so they don't get tweaked en-route--they are 115" long and if they get a bunch of crap loaded on top of them --they do get screwed up.

It's happened more than once.

I shipped a set of oil burner pipes a week ago, and I almost begged the kid to scratch the idea of getting them in one piece--I don't have time for the hassle.
Nupe--gotta have it his way--one piece.

I haven't heard anything yet--maybe they are OK, I'm waiting.

I have never had two piece pipes get messed up in shipping.

It's the buyer descision on how he wants to proceed--not the guy that's building them.

And on the other hand , I recently made two sets of one piece pipes for a local Vanagon guru for a Carat he restored from top to bottom and for his air cooled single cab which he is converting to Subaru Power--and I delivered them direct to his garage door.

I was under the Van after he got all done and the wires are all dead nuts on the pipes--they fit perfect and followed each other from front to rear real nice.

And --if you aren't going to take my word on this-perhaps I can have him take some time outa his busy day to pencil in his findings / opinion.

I wouldn't take the chance on this shipping crap shoot on the pipes--they should be shipped in two pieces just to save some time & aggravation.

Wed May 19, 2010 1:40 pm

I would appreciate any/all feedback from anybody who has installed SS lines (1 or 2 piece) in their '86-'91 Vanagon and their fit with respect to two original wire brackets and middle cross member they go through.

As noted above, neither of two different sets I had/have would fit properly as original ones would, due to lack of flexibility preventing them from runing side by side.

Wed May 19, 2010 1:56 pm

Tomasz wrote: I would appreciate any/all feedback from anybody who has installed SS lines (1 or 2 piece) in their '86-'91 Vanagon and their fit with respect to two original wire brackets and middle cross member they go through.

As noted above, neither of two different sets I had/have would fit properly as original ones would, due to lack of flexibility preventing them from runing side by side.

I have used both the one-piece and two-piece designs and have not been able to use the original wire brackets for either. They were always close but not quite. I think it is very likely due to some slight bending during shipping. I fashioned alternate means of fastening to the body. Not really a big deal. I had no problems with going thru the cross member. YMMV.

Wed May 19, 2010 2:21 pm

I don't want to re-ignite the whole "will steel tubes lead to corrosion" debate - but can I ask, if the tube were made of brass or copper alloy, would there be any concern with corrosion?

Edit: Never mind, I looked up the galvanic series and see how far apart cooper/brass and aluminium are.

Wed May 19, 2010 2:29 pm

what about making them out of aluminum, same as most rads are nowadays and same material the heads are made of. Seems like a no brainer to me. But what do I know?

Wed May 19, 2010 3:21 pm

I installed a set of the BD 2-piece pipes in a syncro. These are the ones that give you a pipe at either end pointing sort of off to the side. They fit through the cross member & wire brackets perfectly.

Tomasz wrote: I would appreciate any/all feedback from anybody who has installed SS lines (1 or 2 piece) in their '86-'91 Vanagon and their fit with respect to two original wire brackets and middle cross member they go through.

Wed May 19, 2010 3:41 pm

Quote: I would appreciate any/all feedback from anybody who has installed SS lines (1 or 2 piece) in their '86-'91 Vanagon and their fit with respect to two original wire brackets and middle cross member they go through.
I stuck in the Rocky Mountain Westy one piece SS colant lines in last weekend and they worked fine. The two piece german units that are in the truck needed a little help to fit in the wire brackets. I like the one piece SS pipes better than the 2 piece, but I have no experience with installing them in a 2wd though.