When my 84 Vanagon did that the alternator belt had broken and I drove it
hot too long.  Luckley nothing bad resulted.  Good luck Jeff
----------
> From: Timeroot@aol.com
> To: vanagon@vanagon.com
> Subject: white clouds behind my van :-(
> Date: Saturday, February 05, 2000 12:06 PM
>
> Hello list, last night I was on my way to the Northwoods for some first
class
> ice fishing and camaraderie with my woodsy friends.
> I was happily motoring along in my '84 when I noticed white "smoke" in
the
> rear view mirror. I pulled off the nearby exit and she was steaming to
beat
> the band.
> At this point I was very happy that It wasn't on fire (it sure looked
like it
> could have been). I got a tow home, (AAA always pays for itself) and this
> morning I am trying to figure out where the problem lies.
> My hope is that it is not the head gasket on the left side which has been
> leaking slightly since I bought this van in April 1999. There was/is
quite a
> bit of coolant on the top/back of the motor, and the top of the tranny is
> wet. There is coolant everywhere on the left back side of the motor.
There is
> coolant on the left axle/CV boots. The expansion tank and overflow tank
are
> still full of coolant. The hoses that run across the front (toward front
of
> van) of the engine compartment look OK, and I have the plastic bleeder
> apparatus out and it looks OK also.
> The engine was running great when this happened, and the white clouds
were
> not coming out of the exhaust pipe. The engine did not get overheated
before
> I shut her down.
> My questions:
> 1. How do I find out for sure if is the headgasket or not?
> 2. Why do I have the plastic bleeder piece (top front middle of engine
> compartment 2 hoses clamp to each side) when it does not show it in the
> Bentley?
> 3. Does anybody know of a reputable wasserboxer rebuilder in south
central
> WI, or anywhere in the upper midwest?
>
> Many thanks in advance,
>
> Tim Root
> Portage, WI
> 84 Vanagon
> 90 Fox Wagon
> 97 Jetta
>