Date:         Mon, 23 May 2005 13:13:02 -0600
Reply-To:     Aaron Pearson <Aaron.Pearson@GXT.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Aaron Pearson <Aaron.Pearson@GXT.COM>
Subject:      Re: Joy Hecht's problem's solved?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

that makes sense, though i'd expect the temp sensor to measure the temp
with some accuracy.

so... since the catastrophic failure, i've put on ~300 trouble free
miles.  the oil and coolant look fine, and engine sounds and runs
properly.  is there something i should check for?  am i running on
borrowed time?

aaron
'87 syncro gl

-----Original Message-----
From: Don in North Carolina [mailto:Don_Dixon@BELLSOUTH.NET] 
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 10:30 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Joy Hecht's problem's solved?

Aaron,

It is the overheating that kills the engine.  Unfortunately, once the
coolant is gone, the temperature sensor has no way of knowing what the
temperature of the engine is, since air doesn't conduct heat as well as
the coolant!  So even if your gauge reads normal, you can overheat the
engine and destroy it with no indications of problems (other than the
load noises it may start to make), that is why a sudden catastrophic
loss of coolant is such a bad thing, and why you need to pull over and
shutdown as soon as it happens.

The coolant tank level sensor is supposed to warn you of this issue, but
in my experience it doesn't work very well at this - be warned!

Don in Reidsville, NC
1986 Kawasaki Concours
1988 Vanagon GL (Sylvia)
"I reject your reality and substitute my own." - Adam Savage
----- Original Message -----
From: "Aaron Pearson" <Aaron.Pearson@GXT.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Mon 23 May 2005 12:02
Subject: Re: Joy Hecht's problem's solved?


why does coolant loss cause engine damage?  i had catastrophic pipe
failure, but stopped before the engine temp went up.  i knew my pipe was
close to failure, and stopped as soon as the light started to blink.  i
had to run the engine a few times before the coolant went back in (to
manuever it to the tow truck, and to get it in the garage), but the temp
gauge never went above normal.

aaron
'87 syncro gl


-----Original Message-----
From: Dennis Haynes [mailto:dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET]
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 3:40 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Joy Hecht's problem's solved?

There is no buzzer for the cooling system. She lost the coolant and
continued to drive until the engine was so hot it also lost oil
pressure. Major coolant loss will always cause some engine damage.
Check-inspect hoses and belts regularly and check coolant and oil levels
at every 1-2 fill ups. Look for and fix slow leaks. If you are adding
coolant, you are adding corrosion.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
Of Rocket J Squirrel
Sent: Saturday, May 21, 2005 5:25 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Joy Hecht's problem's solved?

On 5/19/2005 11:38 AM Joy Hecht wrote:

<snip>

>Unfortunately yesterday I had an old coolant hose leak on the highway
in Indiana, and by the time the buzzer alerted me to the van overheating
I'd blown my engine.
>
<snip>

Poor Joy. Is she having trouble, or what?

In the interest of learning from the experience of others, is there
anything a fellow can do if his Vanagon springs a major coolant leak
like that? Her buzzer (does my 84 have one? I don't think so) sounded
too late to prevent conversion of engine into scrap metal.

--

Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott
71 Type 2: the Wonderbus
83.5 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana") KG6RCR