Who has Stainless Steel Coolant pipes in their van?

[BlueNorthWesty]

I recently started a rebuild of an '84 Camper and removed my old steel pipes last week.

They were in great shape on the inside, but rusty on the outside from where they entered the engine bay to about 1/3 the total length of the pipes:

If I had known how good the steel ones were I might have reconsidered the stainless purchase. However I ordered the SS pipes months ago with the Subaru conversion kit from RMW. They fit very well and will be a good compliment to the new engine. I have to fabricate a couple of hangars but that's easy stuff.

I'm not concerned about interaction between dissimilar metals. I understand the concept, but the effect of adding these pipes has not been proven to cause adverse effects in the Vanagon. Poor grounding is more likely to cause corrosion and premature head gasket failure than the composition of the coolant pipes.

[insyncro]

TKs are very close to an exact copy.
I have been able to get "other" vendors pipes to fit into the the factory metal clips, BUT the middle junctions do not line up perfectly and put pressure on the silicone junctions.

One of the "others" also labels the pipes wrong so if you dont know better you will be trying to get them to fit in the wrong orientation.

[Terry Kay]

Thanks guys for the thumbs up on the fit.
I take the original pipes and make pretty sure the duplicates are as close as possible so they will fit back into the hangers.

I don't know where or how the other pipes are made that the other purveyors are selling so they won't fit as was mentioned in a prior post.

That seems pretty strange to me, you would think they should fit.
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T.K.

[GMByers]

I have a TK 2 piece stainless kit we bought a few years ago. Installed by a local garage in Pennsylvania while I was living in Texas. The original wire holders were reused with no issues. Oh and as expected, no leaks.
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And then there were two...downsized to 83 Doka &
74 Thing.

[kalispell365]

[Terry Kay]

Makes sense for that tad of extra gripation --no fouls on this being careful move.
"A Little Dab Will Do Ya"

The silicone hoses are plenty tight though---I can't see them wiggling loose on at the most a 16th inch gap--
Yea they could leak if a guy didn't tighten the clamps down.
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T.K.

[insyncro]

TK, I prefer the silicone unions.
I use silicone in many different locations now, cooling system, intake and vacuum lines.
I like your description of the finger trap, they really do hold on tight when sized properly.
I use the Loctite 518 as it will allow the hoses to be spun during installation to get them seated just right and it creates an excellent seal for added protection, just incase the clamps loosen a tad.

[Tomasz]

For ease of fit (and installation) go with two piece construction over the one piece, which being made out of steel does not have any flex/give and unless manufactured perfectly to match replacement pipes while installed (not likely) will not fit in exact spots/brackets.

[Terry Kay]

The silicone hose splices are very much like Chinese finger handcuffs.
Once they are on, it's real difficult to work them loose, compounded by the bead roll, I haven't had any reason to seal this area with anything.

Pretty much a bullet proof union.

Perhaps with the plain old rubber hose union the loctite sealer would be a good idea.
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T.K.

[insyncro]

I have lost count of the total number of stainless and aluminium pipes I have installed.

Not one set has had any issues at the center junction when properly tightened band clamps are used and Loctite 518 was used to seal the mating surfaces.

[Terry Kay]

The biggest issue here is the shipping costs of the continuous length pipes, plus with the two piece you can install the tubes without completely dropping the tank.
The slice in the middle of the two piece pipes in my application is only 1/16th" wide, so the danger of losing the splice connection is real small.
Especially if you chose to use the silicone splice hoses.
You'd have a heck of a time shaking that connection loose.
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T.K.

[rotaecho]

I'm looking to upgrade my 1982 1.6na diesel Westy engine to a 1.9na.

However, I need to upgrade the radiator first, and I was thinking I might as well update the coolant lines at the same time. I'm leaning towards Stainless Steel, just because it's more durable for protection against elements hitting the line from underneath.

I've looking at RMW, BD, VC, GoWesty, and TK's websites regarding pipes to use on the 82 diesel.

Only BD mentions fitting a 82/83 diesel pipes with reference part: 251121397FPR

http://www.busdepot.com/251121397fpr

The single pipes sound more appealing since there's no center leak spot, but I'm not seeing compatible mention of those with he 82. I'm hoping to avoid removal of the gas tank.

Thanks for any insight to any others with a 82 diesel with an upgraded radiator. I'd love to hear what / how you decided to do on your 82 diesel.

Thanks!
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-Will
1982 Westfalia mTDI (50deg) aka Betsy Bertha
http://www.tdivanagons.com

[240Gordy]

[thummmper]

mike at gwr is right about water conductivity and mineral content.
I used to wash trucks and rinse them with deionized water. the sensor that reports purity works exactly opposite to the burp tank water sensor.
if I ran absolutely pure water from a process similar to what sparklets deems too pure,[ adding minerals back in to add taste,] would the coolant level sensor work at all? It would fail to sense conductivity
hypothetically, that is, without the antifreeze solution added.
maybe the antifreeze has conducive properties... a built-in irony?

I have clouded the subject further. all I know is that older vans had rotten steel pipes. the pvc pipes crack eventually. would it be cool to get a magnesium coating inside the ss tubes?
impractical but different. that's how I roll

[syncrodoka]

[vanaguy]

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.

[240Gordy]

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?
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Tencentlife said,
"So, now that you know what you're doing, go to town."
2010 GOLF TRENDLINE 2.5
1985 GL now with more! a 2.1L
H&R SPORT(RED) Springs FRONT , SLAM SPECIALTIES RE6 AIRBAGS REAR

[jyl]

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.
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1988 Westy, Bostig v2.0
Portland, OR

[dobryan]

[Tomasz]

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.
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'56 - Wolfsburg Kombi (1200)
'74 - Type 181 (1600)
'85 - Westy Mosaik Joker Hightop (1.6 TD)
'87 - 16" Syncro High Top (1.9 TD)
'88 - Westy (EJ25)
'14 - Jetta Sportswagen (2.0 TDI)