Dagbear@aol.com wrote:

> I have an 84GL and had similar problems.  When I rebuilt the engine I
> discovered a crack in the right head between the intake and exhaust valves of
> the forward cylinder.  This allowed coolant to enter the crankcase and exhaust
> to enter the cooling system.  Have a reliable radiator shop check for exhaust
> gasses in the coolant.
>

Would this affect compression?  My van has compression of ~150 psi in 3 cylinders
and ~110 psi in one cylinder.

Thanks,

Dick

Richard M. Myers wrote:
>
> Hi Folks,
>
> I'm a new vanagon owner, but experienced type 2 Westy owner, and I'd be
> very thankful if anyone can help me with this scary ($$) problem.  My
> recently acquired '88 Westy is exibiting the following symptoms:
>
> 1. The temp gauge is always at least 3/4 full scale.
> 2.  It 'boils over' under moderate loads before the gauge registers full
> scale and the radiator usually feels warn to the touch.
> 3.  The fan comes on only when it's really hot AND at idle or low RPMs.
> It's not running when I pull over after the flashing light comes on.
> 4.  When bleeding the cooling system, things get flakey once the engine
> gets hot (ie. at a constant 2K RPMs, it sporatically overflows the
> reservoir, then bubbles).  I've managed to bleed it as long as I'm
> fairly quick about it.
> 5.  Doesn't seem to 'boil over' under consistent conditions.  Seems
> somewhat unstable.
>
> Other things to consider:
>
> a.  It gets runs good, has good power and gets 20MPG+ on the highway.
> b.  It has VW-approved blue coolant (installed by VW - a fiasco, but
> that's another story).
> c.  It has a new thermostat (see #b).
> d.  Heads appear to be bright and shiny compared to the block (??).
>
> I've done a bit of research poking about on the net and have a couple of
> hunches.  It seems as though there may be two problems.  One is that
> there seems to be some blockage in the system which doesn't allow
> sufficient flow through the radiator (merely warm when temp is high).
> There's also a greasy film which coats my reservoirs; could it be some
> sort of 'Stop Leak' product?  The second problem could be that exhaust
> gasses are leaking into the cooling system sporatically when it's hot,
> forcing coolant into the overflow and creating a 'boil over'-like
> condition (indication).  I've read that you can sometimes fix this
> problem by re-torquing down the heads.  Is this hard to do?
>
> Anyone have any insight and/or suggestions?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Dick Myers
> San Diego, CA
> '78 Westy
> '88 Westy