Coolant pipe ends...salvageable or junk...?

[SirIvor70]

Hi there.

Searching for a steer here. Am in the middle of a AAZ diesel transplant to my 2.1 87 Westy. One job I have to do is take care of the coolant pipes. The pic below shows the state of the engine bay ends.....so my question is are they shot or a candidate for the GoWesty repair kit?

Appreciate your thoughts. Many thanks

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[GrindGarage]

i used them and my pipes looked kinda the same. is the top one missing the metal peice? one of my pipes had the metal peiece mia and installed repair kit and has been going good for 2 yrs 20k + miles
_________________
-cliff

91 Vanagon AUTO
97 Single Port EJ22 all smallcar.com

[campism]

"...in the middle of a AAZ diesel transplant to my 2.1 87 Westy. "

No words of wisdom but a request; a thread on the conversion when finished would be informative and inspirational. Thanks!

[tclark]

[purplepeopleeater]

I cleaned mine up really good and JB welded it back...didn't know about the gowesty repair kit at the time.

[funagon]

On the top pipe in your picture, the metal insert and end of the plastic pipe have both broken off. If you clamp a hose on there it is likely to come loose at a bad time because there's no ridge on the pipe to stop a clamp from sliding. This could ruin your new engine when all the hot coolant dumps out onto the highway.

In this case I'd say forget the gowesty fix and spend the coin on some new metal coolant pipes, available from all the usual vendors. Many people have devised various fixes: rivets, epoxy/jbweld etc, but all have the potential to come apart again. As long as you're putting the time and effort and money into a new engine, spend a little more on some metal coolant pipes and check that one off your list. Seems worthwhile to me.
_________________
1990 GL 7-passenger
2.2 liter WBX

[purplepeopleeater]

Also, One of my other vanagons the PO had replaced an entire section of pipe with marine exhaust pipe.

Not sure if thats cheaper though, worked fine for about 50k till I sold it.

[Rocky Mountain Westy]

Great to hear your doing a Diesel conversion. In many ways it is the perfect power plant.

So we manufacture Stainless coolant lines. Here is the link to the ones we make specially for TDI or inline VW conversions. It brings the coolant pipes into the engine bay. About 5 inches past the firewall in the location where the plastic coolant tower used to be. Can help eliminate rubber hoses and multiple connections.

Here is the link,

http://www.rockymountainwesty.com/Stainless_Steel_Coolant_Transfer_Tubes_TDI_p/rmw-ctttdi.htm
_________________
Rocky Mountain Westy Inc.
www.rockymountainwesty.com
970-310-3441
[email protected]

The Splitzgauer build (when I have time to work on it and update the thread)

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=497133

[?Waldo?]

Don't bother with the GoWesty coolant pipe repair kit. It's a scam, albiet possibly unintentionally, and does absolutely nothing to keep your hose clamped onto the coolant pipe.

[connorsvw2]

I just had some experience here which might help.

I had to trim off the end of one of the plastic pipes during a modification to my Subaru transplant cooling system. Surprisingly, both engine bay ends were perfect, including the metal inserts-minimal corrosion. I cut out the metal insert and fitted it back into the remaining plastic pipe as far as it would go, which was not very far. Carefully, using aluminum sheet metal heat shielding (remember, you have fuel lines in this area!) to isolate the single pipe end, I heated up the plastic pipe end with my propane torch, moving around the end of the plastic pipe to partially melt/soften it. I was then able to hammer the insert into place, and with further heating was able to get the metal lip inside the plastic. Additional heat to melt the plastic and pull over the metal lip to anchor it inside plastic and create a small lip (use small flat blade screwdriver or Mechanix-gloved fingers to pull and form the plastic) and lock the metal lip in place with a ring of plastic, let cool off and install the hose.

I had to repeat the same procedure up front, where I found one of the hose ends had broken off. Worked just as well. Might be worth a shot.

YMMV.

[Terry Kay]

While your monumetal creativity is quite an amazing undertaking, there comes a time where common sence would have to kick into overdrive, bite the monetary bullet, splerge, ad buy a new set of pipes.

If the coolant pipes were just a secondary afterthought--I'd do the hokey pokey too--

But seeing as they are an essentual required item, I'd forget about the detour to just making it work, and do this job right.

To answer the OP's question;
Get a new set of pipes--yours are all done.
_________________
T.K.

[SirIvor70]

Thanks for the replies folks. Guess a new set of steel pipes are in order.

Re the engine transfer, had not occurred to me to document the project but might not be a bad idea.

So, the story so far....when moving back to Ireland from the US four years ago, I brought back my 87 Westy 2.1. Have used it around the Irish coast, big trip to France last year and a shorter one to the UK this year.

All fine and dandy except the cost of gasoline over here is, well...mad. Therefore I had two options: install and LPG kit or go the diesel route. LPG is cheap and plentiful in the UK and mainland Europe but not so in Ireland, so that left me with the diesel.

I sourced a 95 VW Vento(Jetta) that had been t-boned in a wreck but the engine, a 1.9 AAZ with only 50k miles, was perfect. Bought the lot for 500 euros.

That was three years ago. In the interim I have been gathering the necessary parts to make the conversion a go. To that end I also sourced a pretty beat up 88 VW panel van, 1.6JX TD. The engine was toast, but its the bits around it I was looking for...namely
-Transmission bell-housing
-Diesel starter (which I got rebuilt)
-Inlet manifold (which I need to alum weld to get the ports to match on the AAZ)
-Exhaust manifold
-JX turbo KKK14 model...turned out to toast as well but that is another -story....
-Alternator
-Belt pulley: keeping the V belt setup of the JX rather than the serpentine setup of the AAZ
-Sump
-Engine mounts and bars
-Air box filter and mounts

I have sourced a few other bits directly from Brickwerks in the UK (the guru for all AAZ conversion related items):
-Throttle arm for the diesel pump (bespoke item they make)
-Engine cover patch: The AAZ pump does require a small hole cut in the engine lid, but it does not actually protrude into the cushion. Again a bespoke item that Simon in Brickwerks designed.

Only things left were to get a new turbo from Germany (which was lost on a DHL truck from Germany to Ireland when the whole truck went up in flames...awaiting a second one). And a diesel dash cluster from eBay in Germany.

So that is where I am at. Plan is to get the AAZ working and debugged in the 88 panel van before transplanting it into the Westy. Putting the engine together at the moment and it was a good time to replace the timing belt, water pump, oil pump etc...

When the engine goes in, I will take some pictures and post them.

The end result should be a van that is more fuel efficient, tad more reliable in the longer term, though the 2.1 has never let me down. I will have to insulate the vehicle a little bit better, particularly around the engine bay...the diesel will be that little bit louder. The battery will be repositioned from the passenger seat to the engine bay also. As for AC, well I think I will be loosing that functionality, though in truth, its never a big need in temperate Ireland. Oh yes and running a wire to the glow plugs from the dash....don't believe there is one in the loom.

Sorry for rambling on there, but that about sums it up.

[?Waldo?]

The crank nose/crank timing gear interface on the AAZ is notorious for failure. Although the same interface was used on the 1.6 engines without issue, the AAZ had the addition of the serpentine belt system and small pulley (high rpm and high inertia) alternator fitted. The result of the added stress on the crank nose most often results in timing failure and destruction of at least the valve train. If you are planning on using the AAZ serpentine belt setup then have the crank nose machined to accept the later TDI D-style crank sprocket and install the one-way ratcheting alternator pulley. The combo eliminates the crank sprocket failure. Lots of info on it at www.vwdiesel.com. If you are using the earlier 1.6 brackets and accessories, then it shouldn't really be an issue.

[BushChicken]

[simd0ggie]

I can't see how that is in any way different than just pounding the end back in and clamping the hose on. You can add all the pieces you want, it's not changing the fact that the lip is gone...

I say pound it back in and double-clamp it. That being said, I replaced the hose with a bit longer piece for a little more room for the clamps.

_________________
-Matt
'85 Westfalia w/EJ25, '14 Tiguan R-Line 4 Motion

"There are two possible outcomes: if the result confirms the hypothesis, then you've made a measurement. If the result is contrary to the hypothesis, then you've made a discovery.”

[BushChicken]

What do you mean the lip is gone? The whole point of pounding it back in is to preserve the lip.

If all you do is pound it back in and double clamp it, the barb will still work it's way out again. That is why the GW fix exists, to keep the barb from coming back out.

[16CVs]

On my Syncro ,I replaced them with GW split tubes . No regrets for money spent and tine to install them .
On my Dad's 89 TD he used a GW repair kit and it works great . They are a work of genius and well crafted.
If I were to do it again ,I would probably put a set of pipes in my dad's truck ,but I have a feeling they will be functioning long after my Dad is gone.

Stacy

[sbclayton]

Wish I could remember who posted a neat fix - pound the metal back in, then drill through the plastic and metal and secure with stainless steel (?) pop rivets. The rivets keep the metal secure and give a nice raised area for the hose to clamp on to firmly.

Haven't done mine that way yet, but it is a genius idea!
_________________
Steve - Tampa Bay Area
Original Owner (12/1990) of
NavDog, a 91 Carat

Enlightenment came when I realized that any time in my life I was having fun, it was somehow connected with owning a Volkswagen.

[?Waldo?]

[BushChicken]