Are you sure it is coolant? How much are you loosing. Most internal
leaks will cause havoc by allowing the combustion gasses into the
cooling system. It is normal for a healthy engine with the correct fuel
mixture to expel some water out of the exhaust. The water vapor
condenses in the cool muffler and then come out in droplets, sometimes
big droplets. As the muffler warms, the water will stay in vapor form
and remain invisible.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of Craig Oda
Sent: Wednesday, May 07, 2003 3:35 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: head internal leak. Any chance of sealer working

I've got a small amount of coolant coming out of my exhaust when I first
start a stone-cold engine.  The leaking occurs about 20 seconds after I
start the engine.  No white cloud initially.  Also, the coolant temp
guage is about 3mm right of center.  Used to be dead-on center with my
previous 1.9L.

I've got 2 spare working heads in my garage as well as new head
gaskets.  But, I wanted to save these for my rebuild of a different
engine.

I also don't want to spend a day swapping the heads if I don't have to.

is there any chance in hell that I can run a ceramic block sealer like
Moroso and seal the head?  I'm not talking about Barrs leak stuff.  I'm
talking about the stuff where you flush the system with water, add the
block sealer, then flush again.   Is there anything that can repair a
hairline leak in a head with the head still in the engine bay?

Or, should I just say "screw it," throw in the towel and swap the heads
out?  Camping season is coming and I plan to travel far and wide with
the family.

Regards,
Craig