Yup, it has those spiral, screw kind of plastic inside.  I think, it has
something to do with the even distribution of the coolant.  Use Right Stuff
to seal the valve.  Sometimes the O ring is not quite enough.
Zoltan

----- Original Message -----
From: "Ray Brubaker" <rayandmerle@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Friday, April 01, 2011 12:20 PM
Subject: Plastic noodles in cooling system, '90 Wolfsburg TDI

> Hi,
>
> I had a leak at the rear heater that turned out to be the o-ring where the
> control valve is bolted to the core flange. When I opened it up I found
> pieces of white plastic caught in the control valve that look like twisted
> flat noodle about 3/16" wide. Where could this have come from? Is it of
> any
> concern? The pieces are very brittle so I don't think it would hurt the
> pump
> if it got that far. This van has an ALH TDI diesel engine.
>
> Thanks for any advice, a great list,
>
> Ray
>