Interesting Vanagon (82 diesel) mystery SOLVED..

About five years ago, the Vanagon was "sold" by a family member.  The
owner-to-be brought it to a mechanic to get it evaluated, and the
owner-to-be returned saying "no deal, the block is cracked".

Soo, the engine ran fine, no smoke from the exhaust (I know, how would
you ever know with a diesel, right?) and has run fine ever since (5
years 30K miles).  For years we were mystified.

Finally figgered it out last month. The oil fill and the coolant fill
are next to each other. Some wingnut poured oil in the coolant
resevior. The mechanic saw the oil residue in the resevior, and wisely
cautioned his client away.

I love mysteries...

Matt Drahzal