On a wonderous trip across a few thousand miles of deserts my radiator
hose ruptured.  I made it home and replaced a few hoses.  I didn't
heat the engine too much.  However, now it appears that I have
billowing white smoke (smells like coolant) when I start my engine
cold.  The van still moves and drives fine.

Is this a head gasket leak?  Or is there another possibility since I
just added coolant to the system and probably didn't bleed it
properly?  I can't see any coolant leaking around the heads, but I
heard that there's an internal seal.

If this is a head gasket leak, I'm going to try and replace it myself
with some seals from VolksCafe.   But, I'm wondering if I'll be able
to do this.  I want to do it with the engine in the van.  Do I need to
put the van on jackstands?

-- Craig

--
Craig Oda   craigoda@communitybuilders.info
VW Info: 1983 VW Westfalia, water-cooled, automatic