Date:         Thu, 2 Dec 2004 21:15:06 -0800
Reply-To:     jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         jbange <hfinn@INGRATES.NET>
Subject:      Re: Replace trans oil cooler? 90 Vanagon automatic
In-Reply-To:  <20041202185505.96595.qmail@web90002.mail.scd.yahoo.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"; format=flowed

At 10:55 AM 12/2/2004, you wrote:
>Should I heed the warnings out there, and have the transmission oil cooler
>replaced before it breaks and causes mayhem? The ORIGINAL battery on this
>van lasted a whopping 13 years. I don't expect all the parts to be so
>tough. Again this is a 1990 Automatic trans water-cooled Vanagon. I've
>read that this part should be replaced every 10 years. True?

I also have a 90 automatic. Of course the darn PO didn't have a single
scrap of documentation, so I've essentially had to assume that EVERYTHING
is possibly original (except the engine-- 167000 miles, it's surely been
redone once). The one and only time I took it to the local VW stealership
they pressure tested the cooling system. I too had heard about the infamous
tranny cooler failure (from reading the GoWesty site) and managed to
actually speak to the VW mechanic about it. The idiot PO was running
corrosive green crap and tap water in the cooling system, so he said it'll
PROBABLY be ok so long as I keep the coolant non-corrosive, but there is
(unfortunately) no way to know. The blue stuff will keep it from getting
any worse, but I don't think there's any way to tell if the damage has
already been done and the cooler is on the verge of losing it. I've just
been depending on my good fortune up till now, but I suspect that when I
get around to doing the head gaskets (stupid weeping things!) and have the
coolant out already, I'll probably shell out the 250-odd dollars for a new
cooler (owning a Vanagon is a vow of poverty, it seems...).

So I guess the answer to replacing the cooler is....maybe? The VW mechanic
indicated the coolers fail because of corrosive coolant , so I guess it all
comes down to gauging how much time it's spent with bad coolant in it (and
they all came filled with bad coolant from the factory, as I've heard). I
guess it comes down to how detailed a service history you have, and whether
you believe a mechanic working at the dealership who's possibly trying to
sell a new cooler.

Anyone else have any ideas on the matter?

John Bange
'90 Vanagon "Geldsauger"