> > 
> > The heads I've seen with corrosion have pitting all over the inside face of
> > the head wherever the coolant comes in contact. It looked to me more like
> > aluminum deterioration than it did destruction of the gasket. Whatever the
> > case, the antifreeze change (using phos-free like Joel said) has got to be
> 
> Hmmmm... From previous postings about this issue, I was under the impression
> that the concern was about getting air into the system.  If this is not
> true, then why were we fussin' about bleeding the system so much if that
> is not the cause of the head leak problem, eh?  
> 
Sure , if you change the coolant and do not follow the mfr directions, 
you will surely end up in deep trouble. The cooling system unlike most
other systems must be bled just like your brake system. 
This means opening the bleed valve in the radiator in front and make sure
the coolant is filled 100% or else air pockets will remain resulting in
poor cooling of the engine and thus overheating. This
probably is one of the most common cause of engine overheating in the 
vanagon. Also the early version of the vehicle has an inferior water pump
that has a weak bearing  so make sure you order the modified unit
in advance or at least have a rebuilt as spare . Those original pumps
dont last like a Mb or Toyota. When you are on a long trip and it goes
you'll be thankful you had one. You dont pick this up too easily 
anywhere.
terrytan@ritz.mordor.com

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