At 2:16 PM -0500 1/18/2000, Richard C Welsh wrote:

>!@#$ Vanagon! just when i think i have her 'Dialed in', the damn van
starts

>squirting coolant out the rubber head gaskets at start up on these
crazy cold

>mornings.  this can't be good.  Strangely enough once it gets running
and warms

>up, the leak stops.  I  limped home from vermont this way and now am
thinking i

>have to pull the heads, etc, etc.  I can't imagine this is normal, but
has it

>happened to anyone else?

As strange as it sounds Richard, you have the very beginnings of the
dreaded "head gasket leak disease". If it's happening only on really
cold mornings, don't freak out. There's lots written on this in the
archives and various tech pieces written by listers.

This happened to us in VT during January several years ago. Took it by
the VW dealer in Rutland,VT and was given the quick peek diagnosis of,
"its prolly the heads leaking, they do that."

What's happening is one of the mating surfaces on either the heads or
block is beginning to pit allowing collant to seep from the collant
jacket. The cold contracts the sealing surfaces enough for leakage and
when it warms the metals and rubber gaskets swell enough to seal the
leak.  We were willing to gamble that this was not catastrophic and
opted to repair any major stuff at home instead of immediately.

So, sullen, we skiied anyway. Glad we did, cause we ran Vinnie for
prolly a year with it leaking 50 ml's or so at cold startup in the
winter. Got maybe 10-15K more miles out of it. I just kept a
<underline>real</underline> close eye on the expansion tank and one eye
was always looking trained on the temp needle.

Later,

Dave & Sherrie

Williamsburg, VA

           zzzzzzzzzz__

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