Your best bet is going to be replacing the pipes. A number of vendors are
selling the stainless steel replacements. They can be changed without
dropping the fuel tank with some effort. The front clamp is the most
difficult to deal with especially to re-install it. At some point you can
save money for now and use that for the tow home and the inevitable engine
replacement. Once they start to crack they can fail in places not just near
the ends. As for "glues" these pipes do a lot of expansion and contraction
with the temperature changes. This makes patching even more of a challenge.
There are some Devcon epoxies that I have had success with. The pipes
failing can also be a sign that you are experiencing cooling system
problems. They don't take overheating well.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
John Goubeaux
Sent: Thursday, November 7, 2013 6:39 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Coolant Pipe repair

90 2.1L

Does anyone have any advice on coolant pipe repairs ?

I was about to change out the two large hoses that feed the radiator and
noticed that where the return hose clamps to the return straight pipe there
appears to be a small crack that is allowing the coolant to weep past the
clamp. I was hoping to not replace the pipes just yet but realize the
plastic gets brittle and will fail SO thinking that with maybe epoxy and or
fiberglass the end could be repaired ?  Not sure what will adhere to the
plastic ?  Are the original ones made of PVC ?

-john