So, I should do the head gaskets, or not?  It's very expensive, but I
want a reliable van (or no van at all).  Thanks, Dave Mc

On Wed, Dec 16, 2009 at 6:48 PM, mark drillock wrote:

> This is a typical failure mode. Leaks in cold weather, stops when
> warmed
> up, leaks worse as temps drop. May go on this way for years depending
> on
> you and it. Mine has. On more than one van.
>
> Mark
>
>
> Dave Mcneely wrote:
>> So, I've done about everything I thought I should to make my '91
>> camper
>> as reliable as it could be, including lots of cooling system fixes.
>> Just replaced all coolant hoses, since so many think that should be
>> done.
>> .......
>>
>> Head gaskets are leaking. The question: I find it difficult to think
>> the gaskets just all of a sudden turned loose (I'd even removed the
>> tins
>> to look for evidence of leaks when I did the hoses, and saw none).
>> Could it be that the heads and or gaskets were already loose or
>> whatever, and the cold weather made them looser and so they leak? If
>> I
>> run the engine a little while, the leaks dry up, suggesting to me
>> that
>> temperature plays a role -- expansion, contraction ..... . So, could
>> the heads be sealed better even with the temperature difference
>> between
>> normal fall temps and the quite cold temps we've had lately? I'm just
>> trying to understand why this suddenly showed up, and wonder if it
>> being
>> coincident with the cold weather is more than a coincidence.