[Vwdiesel] Foamy expansion tank but no big pressure issues??

[Bryan Belman]

I don't know here, does not seem like a head gasket issue.  Almost seems like 
your hoses are routed wrong or something.  This is a bit of mistery in the 82 
hoses and the picture in the Bentley is very poor.

It take a good bit of farting to get all the air out of a completely empty 
vanagon diesel.

You say when it is hot, you can park her up hill a bit and break the bleader on 
top of the rad, you should get some air and then coolant.  I sometimes put a 
clear hose (air tank hose for fish tank works) and let it hang down to a 
bottle.  Then I can let it run and watch the bubble eventually clear up, but 
only do this when  hot.
On my van, the rest of the air works itself out into the expansion tank.

The fact that your overflow tank behind the lic. plate is not putting any fluid 
back into the expansion tank, something must be wrong with the pressure cap, 
easy to replace or swap.
My 1 section of steal pipe is seeping pretty good and I have to add fluid to the 
overflow tank and it sucks it up from there as needed.

Stock water pump, not from some other car??  hummm??

 Bryan Belman, Pt. Pleasant, NJ
04 Jetta Wagon TDI PD, 100hp, 5sp -- running :<)
92 Jetta 1.6 Eco-Turbo Diesel, 5sp -- running :<)
82 Diesel Westy 1.9NA -- running :<)
70 Type 1 stock Elm Green Beetle -- Under Restoration :-) 




________________________________
From: Will Taygan <william at taygan.com>
To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
Sent: Fri, May 6, 2011 5:19:22 PM
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] Foamy expansion tank but no big pressure issues??

Ah, yes.  Thanks folks for the reminders.  I've got a compression
tester.  I'll check it out tonight.  I'm calling NAPA now to get a
exhuast gas tester.  If they don't have a diesel-compatible one I'll be
ordering from Amazon.

Foam is not oily, but bubbly.

The expansion tank is just below the front (injector side) outlet from
the head (engine cocked at stock 50degrees, so that's the high point), I
think I'm getting a big bubble collecting in the bend on that hose.  In
addition, it's physically impossible to mount the reservoir any higher.
So, when I first rev the engine, all those bubbles clear to the
expansion tank. (that hose is also circulating through the oil cooler
and radiator, but the thermostat is closed, so it's hitting the
expansion tank or the oil cooler).  Big bubbles at first (straight to
tank, followed by foam (oil cooler to water pump?)

I'm not getting air in the radiator which is the high point of the whole
system, but coolant has to flow down then back up to get there,
obviously only flowing when it's hot, hmmmm - no bubbles when hot??
I'll double check this.

I'd be willing to slap another head on there, but I'd feel silly
spending the time and $$ if there's another cause.

Oh yeah, ARP studs, head torqued to 90ft/lbs at 100 and 1000 miles.

It SEEMS to me, that if things were pressurizing, the air collecting at
the top of the expansion tank should be blowing off into the overflow
tank.  But really, there's a little pressure, but not like the
catastrophic leaks I've had before.

I've got to add an inch of coolant every 100 miles.

Things run pretty well, just a puff and a little roughness at 27F this
morning.  Seems to be burning/leaking/dipstick pushing out a tiny bit
more oil than I'd like, but it's only got 1000miles and I'm hoping that
will clear up.


Will.

On Fri, 2011-05-06 at 21:02 +0000, Travis Gottschalk wrote:
> Have you checked cylinder pressures? Is there any white smoke at start up or 
>running? 
>
>  
> > From: vwdiesel-request at vwfans.com
> > Subject: Vwdiesel Digest, Vol 91, Issue 5
> > To: vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > Date: Fri, 6 May 2011 12:00:02 -0700
> > 
> > Send Vwdiesel mailing list submissions to
> > vwdiesel at vwfans.com
> > 
> > I've got 1000 miles on this completely rebuilt 1.6NA in '82 Westy #2,
> > and I'm trying to figure out what's going on. PO blew his engine
> > because the coolant leaked out from "somewhere." I replaced all the
> > hoses, but not the steel lines, radiator and heater core.
> > 
> > Radiator stays topped off with coolant, it'll push out a little if I
> > open the bleeder valve right when I start the van.
> > 
> > The coolant reservoir gets a little bit low while driving even 20 miles
> > or so, and it's not pulling fresh coolant from the overflow tank.
> > 
> > I put a pressure tester on the system, and didn't see any pressure
> > buildup in 3 mins (well, when I revved it and it started heating up I
> > saw the pressure drop on revs and go up when let back to idle).
> > 
> > There are obvious bubbles/foam coming from the octopus hose to the
> > expansion tank.
> > 
> > I always assume this is a head gasket issue, but dang, it's not
> > overheating (drove it 75 miles today), and it's not having pressure
> > issues.
> > 
> > I don't see any obvious leaks when pressure testing the system, although
> > it does drop a teeny tiny bit (maybe 1 psi over 2 mins?)
> > 
> > I need the van to be reliable to travel remotely with small children
> > this summer, pulling the head isn't a huge job - more of an issue is
> > that my rebuilder's on vacation. Furthermore, I'd rather get the rings
> > all broken in before I open this thing up again.
> > 
> > Any other possibilities/experiences that WEREN'T a blown head gasket??
> > 
> > Thanks,
> > 
> > Will in Alaska.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > ------------------------------
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> > 
> > End of Vwdiesel Digest, Vol 91, Issue 5
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