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epowell
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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 Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:05 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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Great advice, all! thanks...
Got the other side wheel off and brakes inspected... all is well on the other side. Same deal.... most of that rust will have to be properly dealt with slowly slowly into the future > so for now a lot of it will have to be wire brushed and sprayed with wax once a year until I can get round to it... ...finally there is a lot of surface rust but the integrity of everything down there is actually still really good. I think I found this van just in the nick of time before the slippery slope of cancer took too much toll.
Now to inspect the rest of the underbody.
My main concern at the moment is a serious coolant leak from an insanely rusted pipe... I am considering just draining all coolant for the winter since I won't have time this visit to patch up the pipes.... we don't want coolant drilling for the next 11 months!
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epowell
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Sat Sep 07, 2019 5:37 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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...just checked out the coolant situation and it is not good. I wouldn't mind some feedback. The coolant expansion tank is almost totally empty - so clearly it has been leaking all winter (poor earth   ) > so looks like I should just open it up and drain the remaining - rather than have it leak onto the ground.
I have not yet inspected the leak in detail but one of the SS pipes is horrendously rusted so it won't take a genius to figure out that most likely this is the culprit - especially considering that the leak is happening right there...
My main concern is that I will need to start the van and drive it 5 meters park it away from the parking pad (which I must repair), then drive the van back to it's pad... I'd say I will have the engine running for less than 3 minutes each time. IS IT OK TO RUN THE ENGINE FOR 3 MINUTES WITHOUT ANY COOLANT? (not "driving", just reversing and parking).
Otherwise, concerning the repair, which I most likely will leave until next year... my guess is that the easiest medium-term solution will be to cut out the rusted section of SS pipe and replace that with hose??
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dobryan
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Joined: March 24, 2006
Posts: 16503
Location: Brookeville, MD
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Abscate
Samba Member
Joined: October 05, 2014
Posts: 22641
Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:01 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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30 seconds with no coolant
3 minutes, no.
Those pipes aren’t SS if you mean stainless steel, of course.
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epowell
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 6:18 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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The leak is not so fast - but it is significant. So for now I will keep a bucket under it and not drain it... just B4 start up I will fill with dist.water. Moving the van shouldnt take more than 30sec..
Probably when I leave here I will keep it full of dist.water - put a large bucket under the leak 4 the winter - and leave the coolant exp.tank's cap loose so that the system will not be pressurized to give some room to move in case of a big freeze. That way next year I will still be able to start up a bit.
Perhaps if I can pinpoint the leak I can epoxy wrap it for now also....
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Wildthings
Samba Member
Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50338
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 6:56 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| For the cost of a gallon or two of anti freeze I would make darn sure there was enough antifreeze in the system so it couldn't freeze. |
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MarkWard
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Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17118
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 7:06 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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Yes 3 min is a long time. Drive it to where you want to drain and flush the cooling system. Fill with conventional water and drive it back. Then drain the water out. You are good for storing.
Somewhere there is a thread where they used a ShopVac to empty the cooling system. I’ve not done that, but it sounded like a clean way to do it.
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epowell
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 8:16 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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Yeah.... better to store with empty system. THX
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epowell
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 11:33 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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Got the front dr.side wheel off and checked out the brakes... the rotor would not turn and the pads wouldn't come out. I know you are not supposed to get any oil on the rotor/pads but there was no other way to slowly slowly slowly free up the rotor and pads, and finally actually remove the pads.
Right now I am not really sure what to do next.... I guess the thing to do is to clean everything up best I can and reassemble for now >>>> BUT WHAT I'M THINKING is perhaps to coat the rotor and pads with a tiny tiny film of light oil to prevent this seizing from happening again over the next 11 months of storage.
Perhaps I should:
- clean them up now and de-grease > reinstall
- just before leaving Vancouver (after moving the van all I need to) put a tiny film of oil on the rotors to keep them from seizing again
- then when I return remove the pads again and degrease everything again before driving.
Sound good?
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Jeffrey Lee
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Joined: February 04, 2014
Posts: 1488
Location: Wisconsin
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 1:47 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| epowell wrote: |
The leak is not so fast - but it is significant. So for now I will keep a bucket under it
Probably when I leave here I will keep it full of dist.water - put a large bucket under the leak 4 the winter |
If setting a bucket or other container beneath the van to catch coolant drips (a good idea, BTW), be sure it has some sort of funneled cover, so that wildlife and neighborhood pets cannot drink the poisonous and attractive fluid you've collected. If possible, empty it out periodically to limit the amount an animal can drink.
https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/pet-safety-tips/...poisoning/
Also, leaving the expansion tank cap off will not prevent damage from freeze-expansion. When water freezes, it does not simply expand back 'upstream' within it's pipe/hose. It expands outward within whatever component it is in: water pump, head, delicate radiator fins/tubes, etc., and will easily burst them. Even a stout engine block can be destroyed (sometimes nearly invisibly) by expanding water.
Better to keep antifreeze/coolant in the system, and better yet to bandage the leaks until you can fix them properly.
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Wildthings
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Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50338
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 3:49 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| MarkWard wrote: |
Yes 3 min is a long time. Drive it to where you want to drain and flush the cooling system. Fill with conventional water and drive it back. Then drain the water out. You are good for storing.
Somewhere there is a thread where they used a ShopVac to empty the cooling system. I’ve not done that, but it sounded like a clean way to do it. |
I would recommend to never fill the system with water and then drain it hoping to make it through the winter. There is no guaranty that the water will not be trapped somewhere and break something when it freezes. |
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epowell
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Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Sun Sep 08, 2019 4:25 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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It would be easy enough to buy 5 meters of good rubber hose and just fix it in a couple of hours. I think I'll do that....
One question/observation: I think it is very common for the steel pipes to rust right back there at the downslope... but it seems like only one of the pipes rusts - the other not so much. I wonder why just one pipe, and why at the downsloping part? My guess is that the pipe going TO the RAD (much hotter water) must be the one that rusts.
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Abscate
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Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 4:12 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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Once you remove the black rust trappingmatwrial, you’ll find the other justice as rusty
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Gizmoman
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Joined: September 10, 2011
Posts: 1554
Location: Nevada
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 5:28 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| epowell wrote: |
It would be easy enough to buy 5 meters of good rubber hose and just fix it in a couple of hours. I think I'll do that....
One question/observation: I think it is very common for the steel pipes to rust right back there at the downslope... but it seems like only one of the pipes rusts - the other not so much. I wonder why just one pipe, and why at the downsloping part? My guess is that the pipe going TO the RAD (much hotter water) must be the one that rusts. |
That would do it. A short piece of exhaust tube and a few rubber couplers from the home depot waste-pipe section would do it as well - maybe even some 1-1/4 or 1-1/2" abs for a temp fix.
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Wildthings
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Joined: March 13, 2005
Posts: 50338
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:46 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| epowell wrote: |
It would be easy enough to buy 5 meters of good rubber hose and just fix it in a couple of hours. I think I'll do that....
One question/observation: I think it is very common for the steel pipes to rust right back there at the downslope... but it seems like only one of the pipes rusts - the other not so much. I wonder why just one pipe, and why at the downsloping part? My guess is that the pipe going TO the RAD (much hotter water) must be the one that rusts. |
You can get marine coolant hose to do this. The problem is if you want to run it the whole way, its diameter is larger than the original steel pipe and you will have to do some clearancing of the crossmembers. |
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Igeo
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Joined: September 25, 2018
Posts: 888
Location: Oakland, CA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:51 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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The stack of cut-offs that you are using for a jack stand is unsafe.
Getting squished under your van would severely hinder your progress.
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epowell
Samba Member
Joined: September 23, 2015
Posts: 4733
Location: Czech (mostly) Vancouver (sometimes)
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 9:53 am Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| Wildthings wrote: |
| The problem is if you want to run it the whole way, its diameter is larger than the original steel pipe and you will have to do some clearancing of the crossmembers. |
Good point.... I did this job on my Czech van with both hoses/pipes, and finally I didn't have to grind away anything, but if I remember correctly I ran one of the smaller heater hoses thru a different path (I only had 3 hoses bunched together).
From this thread: https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=...mp;start=0
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Abscate
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Joined: October 05, 2014
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Location: NYC/Upstate/ROW
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 12:53 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| Igeo wrote: |
The stack of cut-offs that you are using for a jack stand is unsafe.
Getting squished under your van would severely hinder your progress. |
I missed that. Thanks for calling that out. Ed, please take note.
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Wildthings
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 1:58 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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| Abscate wrote: |
| Igeo wrote: |
The stack of cut-offs that you are using for a jack stand is unsafe.
Getting squished under your van would severely hinder your progress. |
I missed that. Thanks for calling that out. Ed, please take note. |
Wood cribbing is actually very safe as there is a lot of friction between the blocks themselves and between the blocks and the metal of the car, they also offer a large bearing area if you are not working on concrete, which I seldom ever have the privilege of doing. I detest jack stands as you can slide a car around on them too easily. The only time I ever had a car fall was when I had two tires removed and was working underneath and slid the frame on the jackstands, fortunately my policy when using jack stands is to lay a tire underneath and block it to the frame which kept the car from coming down much at all. I will take wooden blocks any day over jack stands. |
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Igeo
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Posts: 888
Location: Oakland, CA
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| Posted: Mon Sep 09, 2019 2:15 pm Post subject: Re: Hammering on brake drum with axle nut loose? |
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To each his/her own. That condition of the wood being unknown, from a distance represents to me a very possible risk of a piece splitting and a subsequent accident. A frame firmly supported by a jackstand is safer with less liklihoiod of toppling. I know- they raise houses on wood cribbing. That wood is selected for the purpose.
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