The rubber O-ring on the oil cooler is between the case and the cooler,
where an oil would be without the cooler. It seals oil, not coolant.

Oil leaks near the oil cooler are either the hoses or the water pump. Water
pump leaks that leave puddles need to fixed ASAP. It does not take long for
the coolant to foul the pump bearings and can lead to sudden pump failure
leaving you stranded and damaging the engine case as the impeller quickly
eats the aluminum.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Bob Stevens
Sent: Monday, April 05, 2010 10:28 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: 2.1 puked coolant near oil filter when hot

Sounds to me like it's the rubber O ring at the oil cooler?
bob

On Mon, Apr 5, 2010 at 8:14 PM, Edward Maglott <emaglott3@gmail.com> wrote:

> I had driven for maybe 100 miles this morning, the last 20 or so on
> the interstate.  I stopped at a rest area.  I usually let the engine
> idle at least a minute in that situation because  I know it hates
> that hard running then engine shut off scenario.  Well, I was in  a
> hurry and shut off the engine.  I looked underneath to check for the
> leaking ATF situation I've been having and to my horror there was
> coolant dripping/running off of the oil filter and the oil
> cooler.  It was probably a few ounces total.  I came back from the
> restroom and set about finding what was up.  Looked from the top and
> saw nothing.  Crawled under with flashlight and still could not see
> anything in the way of a source of the leak.  started the engine and
> revved it bit-  still nothing.  Coolant level was fine in both tanks
> and the hose between them was secure.  I thought I heard what might
> be water pump noise, but didn't take the belt off to check for play
> in the shaft.
>
> Drove the rest of the way (about 160 miles of interstate, including a
> mtn climb) home with eagle eye on the gauge and light and frequent
> stops to check for leaks.  Nothing.  I'm guessing that the temp
> spiked when I didn't let it idle after the highway running and maybe
> had a pressure spike.  What in the area above the oil cooler and
> filter might cause this intermittent leak?  The weird part is that
> after that one time it didn't continue leaking.
>
> Edward
>