Greetings, I have reviewed some of the archives and the vanagon web page
concerning head leaks.  I am still confused about whether my next repair
nightmare is going to be gasket and/or head replacement.  As the wet whether
has cooled into the 40's here in Juneau, my 86 vanagon is pumping out lots
of white water vapor for several minutes after each startup.  As soon as I
drive for a mile the emissions turn clear.

I do not see any sign of coolant in my oil.  I am only driving 10 or 15
miles a week, but do not notice any loss of coolant.  The engine idles and
performs fine. I've had 2 pressure tests in the last month, and the VW
dealer and other repair shop have not mentioned the possibility of a head
leak.  My local garage says that Vanagons are notorious for producing lots
of vapor in cool weather, and they did not notice anything unusual. I do not
see any coolant dripping under the engine, but maybe I am not looking in the
right places. Also, it has not stopped raining for the last month so
everything is constantly wet anyway.

My questions are: Most importantly, how do I verify whether I have a leak?
Where precisely do I look for leaks? How quickly does a head leak drain
coolant? If I do have a head leak, what next?  The vanagon web page talks
about a type of leak that just produce lots of vapor which can occasionally
be remedied by retorquing heads.  Should I try this? Are there more specific
archive addresses that I should review?

Also, thanks for the advice of many that directed me to taking my newly
replaced but still leaking rear heater core back to the repair shop.  Sure
enough the oring was crimped and had to be replaced.

Appreciate the help
Jeff Hartman
Juneau,AK
jhartman@ptialaska.net
Jeff Hartman