Dan, replacing the hoses & plastics is a good thing to do, given your
vehicle is, by year, now 14 years old. It's unreasonable to just keep trying
to run our vans with those old hoses.

I mean , 14 year old hoses.....give me a break.

I replaced mine last year when I had my engine change. I had the misfortune
of an engine failure at about 90,000 miles or so, and at the time really
didn't think about the hoses, but after looking at them during the rebuild,
realized "Hey, these things are old, old, and rot is showing. Failure is not
far away." So I changed them out. Best move I could have made as it turned
out. Got it done with a new engine, so timing for ease of installation
couldn't have been better.

Go for it. It will save lot's of grief later.

John Rodgers
88 GL Driver.

Daniel Schmitz wrote:

> Like that transition in my Subject Line? It's meant to be an
> eye-catcher.
>
> My '87 Westfalia is ushering in the new millennium by reminding me of my
> ongoing, never-ending obligation to support it no matter how expensive
> or inconvenient.
>
> This morning, I blew another coolant hose, the second one in about three
> months. I was backing out of my space in the supermarket parking lot
> when I noticed a steam cloud forming directly astern, accompanied by the
> attendant, familiar maple syrup smell of glycol. Upon examination, all I
> could see underneath was coolant dripping out on the right-hand side of
> the engine, below the cylinder head. Of course, panic set in, as I
> immediately assumed the worst-case scenario of having blown a head
> gasket or cracked something.
>
> Anyway, I managed to limp the half-mile or so home (temp needle on the
> high side), and upon further research I discovered a nice steam jet
> issuing from the aforementioned hose while the engine idled. Since this
> is my second hose failure, and since I CONTINUE to suffer from random
> and perplexing overheating, I'm going ahead and replacing all hoses,
> plastic pieces, water pump, temp sensors, etc. What better way to spend
> $500? It's either that or pay my PG&E bill next month (I'm live in
> Utility-Challenged California).
>
> Anyone have any wisdom to impart on replacing all the hoses and stuff? I
> am assuming at this point that most, if not all, of my hoses have never
> been replaced, since they seem to be rather fragile. And this may not
> even solve my overheating problem (though I think it's related). I plan
> to purchase the Hose Kit, water pump and "T" housing from a list vendor.
>
> I'm really glad I got my Porsche 914 smogged and registered. Looks like
> I'll be driving it for awhile.
>
> Dan
> 1987 Westfalia
> (nothing says "I love you" to your Vanagon like dumping copious amounts
> of cash into it!)