Hi,

Just a quick follow up.  I had some high pressure fuel line with me &
did a bypass from the water pump up to the thermostat housing, bypassing
the oil cooler completely.  A 20 minute repair once I stepped back and
thought about it.  Spent about 2 hours trying for a "proper" fix with
silicone Rescue Tape in a crazy awkward spot, gave up and then had the
idea to do the bypass.

Weather was favorable... rain and 7C in Lake Louise when I started
driving.  90 km/hr with a tail wind!  Stopped a few times to let air out
of the front radiator & the pressure tank since I had lost about 2
liters of coolant in the process of my messing around.  By the time I
got 200 km, everything looked 100%.

Thanks for the wisdom everyone!

Cheers,
Steve W.

On 03/07/2016 10:54 PM, Steve Williams wrote:
> Hi,
>
> <posted to Facebook VOG as well>
>
> I've got a 1991 Westfalia stock with a 2.1 L (stock) engine.
>
> Heading home today, I got the blinking low coolant light.  Heart attack,
> but the temperature was fine.
>
> Pulled over immediately and sure enough the tanks were low. Topped up
> with water as I only had 50 km to go to my gf's place in Lake Louise and
> I now knew my low coolant sensor is working, I wasn't too stressed.  The
> temperature needle never wavered a bit.
>
> Tried the parking lot repair and if it hadn't started raining, I
> probably would have gotten it fixed.  It is what I believe is the return
> line for the oil cooler.  Had to pull the oil filter off to get to the
> hose & was overjoyed to find that the entire crankcase didn't empty
> out :)
>
> Other than a brain fart, where I got impatient removing the hose,
> thinking I had a spare piece that would fit... I cut the old hose off
> the oil cooler.  Only when I got the hose cut, could I see that the 2
> ends of the hose are different sizes :(
>
> I had cut a slit lengthwise & if I was WAY more patient (or stranded up
> a logging road, like I could have been if it happened yesterday!), I
> could have fashioned a repair using the silicone repair tape that I
> carry with me due to the great recommendation of this list.
>
> Like I said, it started raining, so I went inside & had a shower and
> pondered the situation.
>
> I seem to remember reading on this list that the unit isn't so much an
> "oil cooler", but an "oil pre-heater"... but I could be wrong which is
> why I'm coming back to the list.
>
> I'm 175 km from home on relatively flat roads.  It's not that hot out
> here in the Canadian mountains.
>
> On page 19.14 of the Bently, the hose that is blown is the one on the
> oil cooler line on the "To Thermostat".
>
> I'm thinking to block off the host at the thermostat end as well as the
> hose coming from the water pump.
>
> Am I totally out to lunch?
>
> Thanks,
> Steve Williams