This is about my '84 Vanagon, water cooled.

Thanks to earlier discussions in this group, I was pretty sure that I had
a leaking head gasket--the air-in-the-coolant symptom.  But it was a very
tiny leak, and the only place it happened to me this Summer was in
Denver, so I sort of wonder if the altitude was involved somehow.  Anyway,
I asked my local mechanic about it and he suggested retorquing the
head gaskets.  He checked it out and said yes, there is a very tiny leak, so
he did the retorquing.  This is an idea someone may wish to consider.
We'll see.  I'll post again if anything develops.

He also insists that VW coolant is no better than other coolant, that
nowadays all coolant is designed to be tolerated by aluminum parts.  So
I'm not sure what to believe in that area.

Will Self
Billings, Montana