Here's an update.   Last night I worked on the van.  Removing the AC belt
was a problem
as I could not get it off of the main engine pulley.  Turns out there was
an obstruction that
I could not remove to save my life.   I cut the AC belt and tried all kinds
of ways to push this
obstruction out but no-go.   I finally threw in the towel and gave up.   I
had the camper towed
to Lonnie's University VW in Durham.   He ordered all three belts and had
them installed and
the van ready to go at about 1:30PM.   When I got there I paid the bill and
checked the engine
compartment.  The belts looked good and the oil dipstick tube was secured
with..... tie wraps.
I will have to keep an eye on those.   There was no coolant in the overflow
and the evaporation
tank was down about 1.5 inches.   I added coolant up to the max line on the
overflow.  And drove
it about 8 - 10 miles to my work.  No undue temperature indications from
the temp gauge.  No drama
lights.   Everything seemed normal.   When I got to my work  I peaked
through the license plate
access and saw that the coolant was down only a little in the overflow.
I'll check it again before
I drive home.

It seems to run okay and I didn't see any drips.   Definitely keeping an
eye on it for a while
and find a better solution for the dip stick holder.

Thanks all for your extremely valuable input.

BTW.... the obstruction was a strange small piece of pressed wood
fragment.   I have no idea how
it got in there.....

Steven
91 Westy

On Mon, May 15, 2017 at 10:13 AM, Steven Johnson <sjohnso2000@gmail.com>
wrote:

> Well, it happened, the patient is a 91 Westfalia.  I had left a rag in the
> engine compartment
> after topping of the power steering reservoir with the Castrol Dextron
> ATF. So, in the short
> term, it knocked out the bracket holding the dipstick.  At the time that
> was the only damage
> done.   So I fixed this by tie-wrapping the bracket out of the way of the
> moving belts.
>
> Fast-forward to yesterday, I took a road trip from Durham, NC up to
> Laurel, MD without issue.
> But on the way back my battery/alt. light came on steady and shortly after
> the coolant light
> began to blink and the gauge went up toward critical red.  I took my foot
> off the accelerator
> and was able to coast off on a exit and right into a gas station.  By the
> time I got out
> and took a look behind I could see coolant spurting out.  Looks like I
> lost maybe a quart
> or so.   I could not tell where it had sprayed from at all.   The
> alternator/waterpump belt
> was completely shredded and the power steering pump belt was off but looks
> okay as
> is the AC belt.
>
> I thought about getting the spare belts out but I had a long way to go and
> by the time I got it
> done I don't think I could have driven back without some sleep time.   So,
> I opted for
> a AAA flatbed home. (Especially since I had to go to work Monday.   I was
> covered for the
> first 100 miles but the second I had to fork out $4.00 per mile.   I ate
> the deal and was dropped
> off at 1:00AM this morning.   All because I left a rag in my engine
> compartment and neglected
> to fix the bracket like I should have.
>
> Any suggestions on how to better secure the bracket?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Steven
> 91 Westy
>