Vanagon westfalia losing coolant

How much coolant are you losing? does your van have rear heat? if so turn it on and see if it smells like coolant. I had a similar problem on my 87 westy and it turned out to be a broken bleed screw at the rear heater control valve. eventually showed up from the underneath of the van frame rails from where the drainage holes are in the body. Also remember those coolant pipes go front to back of the van so check all the clamps on every thing. If you still cant see any visual leaks, for interest sake pull out your spark plugs and see if they look white. I could be a sign of internal headgasket leak even though you don't see white from the exaust.

Tristen

Hi Tristan,

Sometimes I lose a lot of coolant in a short time (50 mi)... the last time I lost a "mere" 3 litres in 150 miles. I removed the plugs as you suggested but they all looked the same... none white or even light.

Checked the rear heater but found no sign of leakage.

Found I needed to replace a lifter (I don't think this would have anything to do with the overheating)... bought the parts from The Bus Depot. Have you any experiewnce with ordering parts online?

Dave