Hmmm... .  GoWesty is certainly happy to sell those pipes, as are other
vendors.  But GoWesty is also happy to sell the kits to fix the ends of the
plastic pipes.  The main failure I have heard of with the plastic pipes is
that the ends get out of round and a hose won't properly fit, so leaks.
Mine did that.  I bought the end fix kits, and everything has been fine so
far.

So far as the other things, if its plastic, and I had the parts, I'd
certainly change it, and would get the parts if I could.  The radiator,
well, it is really old, and if you are having any cooling problems when
everything checks out as ok, the radiator is suspect.  It could have
accumulated gunk partially filling it and restricting flow.  I replaced
mine and cooling improved dramatically (1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL
Campmobile, original 2.1 waterboxer.

But I'm no expert, just a camper owner who prefers to trust my vehicle to
the extent I can.  Thirty or more year old plastic parts, subject to
repeated heating and cooling, I don't trust.

mcneely

On Mon, Apr 6, 2020 at 9:31 PM Gabriel Hourtouat <ghourtouat@gmail.com>
wrote:

> This is not related to an engine replacement -- just a Tstat-to-Tower hose
> failure last year that led me to do some reading.  I fixed that hose and
> found out that this same hose had been replaced once before, about 20 years
> ago.  The remainder of the hoses, to your point, Dennis, are original, with
> the exception of the oil cooler and it's small bore hoses, which i changed
> about 6 years ago.
>
> Did I get sucker-punched by the GoWesty doom and gloom scenarios of blazing
> vanagons with failed plastic pipes?   I bought the kit.  Stainless pipes
> and all.
>
> What's a good plan now?  Never mind my investment so far -- there is no
> point throwing away time just because I bought the necessary replacements
> too early -- I would just like to make a sensible choice:
> -Change nothing; wait for leaks and repair as necessary?
> -Change only the stainless pipes?
> -Change only the cooling tower (and "130B") and everything forward of that
> and back to the T-Stat housing, including the T-stat housing?
> -Leave the engine compartment hoses as is?
>
> gab
>
> Miss Betty:
> -1986 Westy 2.1L WBX Manual tranny.
> -160k miles.
> -dearly loved by wife and kids
> -not a rust bucket; drives nice; power steering but no A/C
> Diagnostics (if memory serves me right):
> -engine oil pressure around 18 psig after an hour at 4000 rpm;
> -about 7 seconds on the 30-50 mph test.
>