On the other hand, I had a hell of a time trying to get the thermostat
housing past the exhaust and mounts.  After much blood and more swearing I
just put the damn thing back on and had my dealer do it.

Gregor
'84 Westy

-----Original Message-----
From: John Scheckel <jscheckel@NUTLEY.COM>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Monday, March 01, 1999 10:11 PM
Subject: Re: driping thermostat on an 85 Westie

>Stephen Davis wrote:
>>
>> Hey Volks,
>>     The thermostat housing is dripping slightly on my 85, have any of
>> you had problems with that?  It looks like it is a hard place to reach
>> and I was also wondering if anybody had any hints on how to get it out.
>> Also, is there anyway to work on it without draining the whole coolant
>> system, and do you think it is just the gasket or could it be more?  I
>> can not see any cracks in the castings but...   The van has about
>> 100,000 miles on it.
>>
>> Thanks in Advance,
>>
>> Stephen Davis
>> Wilton, Me
>> 85 Westie
>Sounds like the rubber o-rings may have gotten tired.  They are
>relativlely simple and inexpensive to replace.  You probably don't have
>to drain the entire system but do be prepared to loose some coolant when
>you remove the housing, two bolts fasten it to the block.  If memory
>serves (it can't be guaranteed) there are two o-rings one at the housing
>to block surface and one at the housing to sensor surface.  Also check
>your houses.  At 100K they are bound to be tired and may be leaking.
>
>God Luck John S.