a failed (closed) thermostat?

On 7/20/07, John Goubeaux <john@ucsb.edu> wrote:
> I have a situation where my 90 vanagon, after running for a few miles
> began to exhibit "cooling system problems":
> The temp needle went to the top and the red light began to flash. I
> drove a little while longer and idled downhill home.
> Coolant was leaking out of the (it looks like top of )  pressurized
> coolant reservoir and as well as being under what looks like higher
> pressure than normal. The car did not appear to be overheating. After I
> stopped the engine I could hear pressure noises (what sounded like fluid
> shifting around as the engine cooled off)
>
> Does this point definitively to a head gasket leak? If not what are the
> other possibilities?  My coolant reservoir  had signs of leakage around
> the top where the sensor fits into it prior to this and this was pointed
> out to me by a mechanic.
>
> Thanks !  -john
>

--
Neil Nicholson. 1981 Air Cooled Westfalia.

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