Hi All,

Last month I drove my 1987 Vanagon Syncro from my home in the
northwest corner of Oregon (at sea level) to Carson City, Nevada in
one day (660 miles). Half way I pulled off the road for lunch at
5,000 ft. and discovered coolant pouring from the overflow bottle
(behind the license plate) Nervously, and watching the temp gauge I
drove on to the next town. (the temp gauge stayed almost at the
coldest point) the folks there said "is that a foreign car?" So I
kept on driving. Occasionally stopping to check the coolant level. It
never overflowed again, but the flow going into the bottle was
bubbling a few of the times that I checked it. I made it to J&J VW
Vans in Reno. They checked out the cooling system for leaks
(pressurizing the system). He checked the thermal switches, etc.
finding nothing wrong, except the pressure release valve of the cap
on the back side of the overflow bottle did not let out over
pressure. The cap was replaced. So I drove on to my final
destination, and back home, another 1,400 miles. The temp never
climbed above the white line at the bottom of the gauge. And the van
didn't seem to have any loss of power, or did I loose any coolant.
(J&J suggested I watch the coolant level) Now that I'm home I have
noticed the coolant level had dropped (very little) So I topped it
off, the next day I checked it, and now the coolant is too full. Also
I have noticed at times the heater will warm up then suddenly get
cold, and doesn't get warm again. Its been into my local shop and
they could not find any problems.

Any thoughts?

Deon Reynolds
1987 Vanagon Syncro
1985 Golf
1963 Land Rover IIa 88 (For Sale)
http://www.deonreynolds.com