Cooling System

[morymob]

DAIZEE= sorry about your 'burnout', been there, in '92 on my 1st one. spent about all yr in 'learn mode' and stopped on the road steaming ,etc. After finally doing my own fix (2) i ran a cople yrs and 2nd one came along in '96, sold a yr ago and has passed 350k now. On my 5th, '88 westy,road testing . I do all my own work so that kept price low, but never was concerned about the wbx engines reliability, many miles, trips and not let down. I wont say 'sleep on it for awhile', i usually park and do something for awhile/and finances. Good luck, another may just show up later.

[GrindGarage]

I had bad experiences with my cooling system as well. Most of the problems for me occurred when the weather was below freezing. I would have to bleed my cooling system at about 300mi. Did this at least 5 times until I tried to go to vt on xmas eve. Never made it out of NJ and after breaking the bleeder bolt and inching my way almost 100mi home I parked the van and let it be for a couple of weeks. When I finally rolled up my sleeves to figure out what was going on I found that the rubber hose that goes from expansion to overflow tank had small pin holes in it.

Seems like that explained why the expansion tank was always overflowing when it came time to bleed the system. I guess that as the motor cooled after driving instead of pulling coolant back into the system it was moving in air. Anyway 3,000+ mi later and still going good.
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-cliff

91 Vanagon AUTO
97 Single Port EJ22 all smallcar.com

[SteveVanB]

Go for it! The journey is 1/2 the fun, right? I'm taking my reletively untested van up to D.C. in Nov.........All of the sudden, I'm gettin' nervous.....
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91 CARAT

[snowsyncro]

Wow, sorry to hear that, Z. After all your work...you must be shattered.

Maybe something to consider for next year...

I have a couple of Westies here, both 1990 Orly Blue Metallic (sounds like you are partial to blue). One full camper, one Multivan. Both off the road right now for repairs, but I should have at least one fully rebuilt by next year. If you can get yourself and your dog down here, you can take it to Nfld., and get that month Newfoundland portion in anyway. Heck, you may even decide you like Nova Scotia so much you will do the whole month here! You could easily spend a month touring here and not see it all (ask Ben), and it keeps you closer to me for repair calls.

Think about it.

RonC

[xoo00oox]

There is no reason that this van you have spent tons of time and money on can't be made to run with a good amount of reliability. Don't thow in the towel yet. Maybe try to find another small vw shop you can send it to and have them do what is needed and not returned until they have road tested it on a highway for a couple hour run. The engine in you're car is very reliable. I think there is just something still being missed as others have suggested. The coolant cap should blow off excess pressure before blowing hoses if they are in good shape. I would make sure the overflow vent is not plugged, replace the pressure cap and radiator if you have not already done so.

[bridgetroll13]

I would second everything that xoo00oox said. I have been where you are (last year transmission self destructed 1 week before 1200 mile round trip vacation right after installing rebuilt motor; it cost twice what was estimated to get each fixed (made huge dent in savings)).

You have put a lot of time and money to get to where you are now. Look on VWdiesel.net for info and maybe someone near you who is familiar with the engine and putting it into a Vanagon.

Don't give up!

Erik

'82 Westy, AAZ, AAP 5 spd

[funagon]

[DAIZEE]

Thanks all. That is my plan to take it to another diesel Vanagon expert. My funds are just real thinned out but I promise no decisions yet. If I can get it all taken care of and if I have some $$$ for travel I will most likely still put it up for sale, waiting for the right person to come along. I will probably sell it with all the outfitting I've done BUT I still want to do Vt, Ma, N.S., PEI, Cape Breton and Nfld. I'd like to say I've been to the furthest east place of North America. Sorta kidding but as a person who has lived Mtl thru B.C, and now seemingly a permanent resident of Central Canada, its a dream that I would like to fulfill. If I get to do it in SB it will be okay that it is the fall, it has a automatic thermostat furnace and I prefer fresh air, than hot and humid.
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[DAIZEE]

OK I picked it up at the distant VW Dealer today. Re the cooling system as far as they are concerned I need to order one angled hose asap. Today was extremely hot and muggy! On the city streets (up there) it immediately went to 180 degrees. I didn't like that and I was nervous but went to Cdn Tire to buy the 50/50 coolant. Oh yes it started on the first try with the glow plugs on for about count to 10.

Now they also replaced all the glow plugs and the joiner bar. When they phoned me long distance they told me I needed a new battery, asked their price = over $300.00. Said no thanks I'd get one down here. Well when I came out of Cdn Tire turned the key and NADA, not even a whine let alone a crank! Tried several times. Hooked up my Eliminator and NADA, not even etc... So a fellow came over and asked me if I'd like a jump. I said sure I have very long cables. NADA, not even a whine, not even a crank. I looked and the date on the battery was April 2010 but I don't have the receipt.

The fellow said it had to be something else because when he took the cables off his truck and put them together lots of sparks. Besides me being very hot and muggy and sweating profusely and being "scared" I said what the heck and put the glow plugs on a turned the key and it started up right away!!! So he said not to turn it off until I got home. I'm wondering if it is the ignition which I've been asking for for some time. Temp up to 190 idling at 1000 which I think is kinda high for idle in neutral.

Phoned the VW Dealer several miles down the street and he reminded me that these old vans often had to be driven to cool them off. So I thought, heck I'll go for it.

I came back country paved roads with lots of curves and hills (which is the way I would have driven home before the breakdown 1 week ago today). Mostly stayed at 195, sometimes less and sometimes a very slow creep up to 210. I'm nervous but decided to keep going (I'm doing about 50 mph) I see that the temp goes down and up very gentley repeatedly so I'm gaining confidence. Yes I had checked the fluid levels BEFORE I left the VW Dealer.

So I'm home and SB is in the parking lot. I am going to phone an experienced long time Vanagon mechanic and make an appt for a complete go over (& to get that hose) before I make my decision re trip. What I want to do is get a GREAT BIG FAN for that bl**dy cooling system!!! Even if he has to drain the new coolant I want the fan and radiator REALLY REALLY checked out!

So all future posts will be back on Scooby Blu's post. Keep tuned for my ultimate decision and check up. Wonder how cold it gets in Nfld in October? See you on Scooby Blu's thread!
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)