I wonder if tightening all clamps and such would make a difference. Don't
things shrink during cold temps? And expand during hot?

One solution I've thought of is to use BOTH the spring clamp and  screw
tight hose clamp next time I do coolant servicing. I'm wondering if the
spring clamps would naturally tighten when colder temperatures cause
shrinkage. I have both types of clamps on my expansion tank. Redundant? I
wonder?

Anyone know if this would make a difference?

William Polowniak
1989 Vanagon GL
1988 Mercedes 300 SE

----- Original Message -----
From: "Eric Peterson" <Peterson390@AOL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, January 07, 2002 12:37 PM
Subject: Clutch slave cylinder and leaking coolant

> 1989 Vanagon 2.1L  2-wheel drive 125k
>
> Hello all - I have two issues:
>
> Issue 1 - I have a leaking clutch slave cylinder and I am planning on
> replacing it. The clutch master cylinder was replaced 10k ago. I have read
> numerous posts on the archives emphasizing the importance of replacing
both
> slave and master at the same time. My question is...is replacement of both
> master and slave at the same time only necessary when both have numerous
> miles on them? Since the master is relatively new (10k), I was hoping I
> didn't have to replace it. I know it is my risk, just asking. If anyone
has
> replaced only one with the other being fairly new and has information to
pass
> on, please do!
>
> Issue 2 - I recently completed a cross-country trip (approx. 5000k) from
> fairly warm northern CA to cold NY. I constantly checked my coolant level
> during the trip (every stop). The coolant level never went down. Upon
> arriving at my destination (Cold NY) I noticed the coolant level in the
> refill tank was maybe an inch lower than usual. The next day I looked
under
> the engine and noticed a coolant leak. The leak was not bad, just droplets
> forming beneath the engine. There was no noticible loss of fluid from the
> refill tank during the time the van was sitting (3 days) so the leak was
not
> bad while sitting.  I thoroughly inspected the engine and could not find
any
> leaks. I inspected the rear heat exchanger and found no leaks at the
valve. I
> have not yet tested the expansion tank for cracks but will do so
eventually.
> Today (still very cold) I looked underneath and...no leak, no visible
> droplets forming. I have researched the archives and understand that the
cold
> weather could cause problems with hoses, clamps, shrinkage of head gasket,
> etc. I wish I could be more specific about where the leak is coming from,
but
> I don't have the facilities to do a thorough inspection. Mechanic is
looking
> at it tomorrow. Anyone have thoughts on this? If it was a head gasket
> problem, wouldn't the leak continue in cold weather while the van was
> sitting? My thanks to all that have replied to my earlier post and
apologies
> for repeating myself.
>