Well,

This morning I took a look at the Van's engine bay and looked at all the
hoses. I then noticed dried coolant that leaked out from the day before
right below one of the large hoses to left of the engine.

I started feeling around and sure enough I noticed this large hose was very
close to transmission and there was a small section that felt like it was
covered with oils and grime, and under that layer it felt really, really
thin, as if it were worn or stretched out.

 I begin to feel that area and sure enough I found a crack that ran about 1
inch long and I could literally press my finger right into the hose!

I went to the Vanagain.com website and looked up the hose as well as the
entire hose map and started to look for any other offending hoses, I could
only find the one but decided to bring it to my VW guys for them to review.

They too agreed on the hose and would give it a thorough review.

Thanks to every one for their feedback.

--
Rob
NYC/Long Beach, NY
88 Wolfsburg, Silver

on 4/19/06 6:09 AM, Dennis Haynes at dhaynes@OPTONLINE.NET wrote:

> Rob,
> For starters, the engine should never be operated without the coolant
> system functional. That mist was the time to shut down and if you
> couldn't locate and fix the leak and refill the coolant, call the tow
> truck. The 5 min drive after what you thought was a cooled down engine
> may have done some damage. Once the coolant is gone, the temp gauge does
> not function as it is located off the engine. If you get any reading at
> all, it is due to steam and that means damage is being done. It most
> likely is just coincidence that something failed after a flush, but when
> that flush was done, a thorough inspection should have been done
> including disconnecting the hoses on the long coolant pipes and
> inspecting the ends of the pipes as that is a common failure item. This
> is 18 year old van. While there has been talk of complete coolant system
> replacements, that may not be reasonable due to cost, but maintenance
> includes thorough inspections and observations of those inspections will
> determine what needs replacing. Since you are a "non mechanic" type, you
> really need to get the van to someone who knows Vanagons to give that
> thing a good inspection.
>
> Dennis
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf
> Of robertmstewart
> Sent: Wednesday, April 19, 2006 1:13 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Silver 88 Wolfsburg with the coolant issue on the highway
> today...
>
> So I am on the highway today, I am doing a steady 55-60mph.
>
> As I am driving my co-pilot says something is coming out of the back of
> the
> van, a mist, looks clear....
>
> Two seconds later, the temp gauge starts blinking on and off. At that
> point
> I am realize that my coolant is gone, and is draining out somewhere.
>
> I pull over and sure enough, all gone. I let it cool down then drive 5
> min
> to gas station and pour new coolant in.
>
> Being a totally non-mechanic type who always goes to the shop for my van
> work, I grew concerned with the technical end of what else could be
> wrong so
> I called Ken Wilford over at Vanagain.com. In 5 minutes he called me
> back
> and talked me through what he thought may be going on, THANK YOU Ken!!!!
>
> As it turned out, I poured the coolant in, turned on the engine and it
> just
> poured out from the what looked like a hose just in front of the engine,
> I
> could see it pouring out onto the pavement from that general area.
>
> I can only assume at this point some hose which possibly runs front to
> back
> may have a crack in, and possibly that during the last 4 days of driving
> since I had a coolant flush that either the pressure of the flush
> equipment
> plus the last couple of days of driving may have stressed it to much and
> forced what little crack that was there to burst after 30 minutes of
> heavy
> highway speeds?
>
> I am going to bring it to my VW guy in Long beach NY and have him look
> at
> it.
>
> Thanks again, Ken for being there when I needed a little advice.
>
> So everyone, what are your thoughts, a hose or a major problem?
>
>
> Rob
> NYC/Long Beach, NY
> 88 Wolfsburg, Silver