John,

    On my 84 the center console under the center of the dash pulls straight
out and off.. Then you will see two hoses that have formed curves going from
the heater down through a rubber seal to the area behind the radiator that
you get to by lowering the spare tire. One goes to a valve and the other has
a metal coupling. From the valve and coupling back to the t's going to the
rear heater it's 5/8" heater hose. On the return line to the engine it's
also 5/8" however the supply from the left cylinder head  to the t it's a
special molded hose with one end bigger and the small end being 5/8". For
that you can get the same hose from a 85-92 golf/jetta for about $9 that has
different formed curves but has the correct size ends and works fine for me.
I got 2 new plastic replacement t's from vw that require special hoses. I
was able to get only 1 hose to rear heater and for the second I'm going to
find a plastic maybe nylon t that will work for 5/8" hose and save the cost
of another $29 with shipping 18" hose!

Joe
----- Original Message -----
From: "John Schaper" <JSchaper@SCHSA.ORG>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Sunday, October 29, 2000 12:44 PM
Subject: Maple syrup from the front

> Last winter I had that smell of maple syrup from the rear heater, which I
> removed and replaced this summer.  Now, I get a really faint smell only
when
> the front heater is on.  I looked in bentley for a schematic of any heat
> exchanger or hoses for the front and couldn't find any.  Looked at Ken's
> hose diagram for my 85 1.9L and no hose for a front heat exchanger.  For
> those that have had this problem, where might it be coming from, how do I
> troubleshoot it, and how to repair?
>