Vanagon head gaskets do not show failure by letting coolant into the oil.
Loose lower head studs will. Are you sure it is coolant.

Engines make a fair amount of water vapor. Engines that are rarely used or
used for short trips or idled while being stored will have a lot of
condensation and this will accumulate in the valve covers. Actually we
should call these rocker covers. But anyway, you may be worrying over
nothing.

To be sure go for an oil analysis. This will tell you if there is any
glycol in the coolant.  Glycol in the crankcase in any quantity is a bad
thing. It is very corrosive and will eagerly destroy the bearings and make
the rings stick.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Cecil Eastman
Sent: Tuesday, August 05, 2008 11:07 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Leaky valve cover tip of iceberg

This is from that Pampers-wearin' 85 Westy again.

Good news: I seem to have fixed the annoying drip of ATF from the tranny
by adding some thickener to the fluid.

Bad news:  The power steering lines are still leaking like a sieve,
regardless of the viscosity of the fluid.  I'm thinking I'll have to try
Ken's replacement hydraulic lines for the rusty metal ones.

Worse news:  The oil leak at the valve head still leaks after replacing
the gaskets, at least on the driver's side.  I did notice a small hole
rusted through the valve head right at the gasket, so that may be the
culprit, but that ain't all.  Turns out that the leaking fluid is a
mixture of oil and coolant.  So am I looking at a cylinder head job here,
or hopefully just some seals?  I don't know what other criteria I should
be checking to see if the heads themselves are bad.

All guidance is gratefully appreciated.

Cecil
'85 Westy