Club 80-90 Forums

just been told overheating on water cooled van is down to coolant pipes full length of van rotting and been advised to change to nylon pipes . anybody any idea how much of a job are to change? also are there lots of different sizes of pipe. cheers

you will know if your pipes have rotted through, there will be no water in the system ( i would have thought ) i suppose it will get a tad warm with no coolant in. im having the same problem with over heating on motorways but im putting it down to an inefficient radiator, but who knows ????????

"WEAZLECHIN" wrote: but im putting it down to an inefficient radiator, but who knows ????????

I'd be surprised. Its a big radiator sitting out front with 17 litres of fluid in the system. There seem to be as many posts about overcooled as overheated. I'm not an expert but I would start by making sure the system has been bled correctly (instructions on wiki)

stick wrote: coolant pipes full length of van rotting and been advised to change to nylon pipes . anybody any idea how much of a job are to change?

A common problem
The pipes on my van let go just after a long hill on the A303....

If you can change the pipes under the van, but the bit that goes over the fuel tank is okay, then its not too big a job.
If the whole lot is corroded and the tank has to be dropped out, then its a fair bit bigger.

You can get the original pipes still from VW... but dont. Hundreds of pounds of pipes that will rot again, instead get the nylon pipes (sorry, dont know where to source them) as suggested.

If you get a garage to do it, make sure they know how to bleed T25 coolant systems properly - most places dont seem to

dbroada wrote:

"WEAZLECHIN" wrote: but im putting it down to an inefficient radiator, but who knows ????????

I'd be surprised. Its a big radiator sitting out front with 17 litres of fluid in the system. There seem to be as many posts about overcooled as overheated. I'm not an expert but I would start by making sure the system has been bled correctly (instructions on wiki)

i did not have overheating with the 1.6 in, now the 1.9 is in it does. i doesnt matter how much water is in the system, its a matter of how much its cooled and the volume thats flowing, if anyones overcooling they should fit a thermostat !! yes its bled properly too, i suspect that radweld has been used and its fowling up the cooling action>

long metal pipes leaking a little won't cause overheating. when they rust they tend to seep a little, then will go pop are dump all the coolant on the floor. if they look suss change them. it's a days work.

1) get plastic replacement pipes from a breaker. they are larger diameter than the metal pipes so

2) saw off 6 or 7 inches from the end of each old metal pipe (if the ends are still sound, mine were, others have been too

3) connect metal ends to plastic pipes with a bit of hose with different diameter at each end. motor factors/halfords sell 'em. diameters are 32mm (metal) 38mm (plastic). if you get the plastic pipes from a diesel they are a bit short at the rear, gives room for the extra bit of pipework. you may have to shorten the hoses that run from the long pipes to the rad to fit.

I should get round to putting this in the wiki...

heard people say they've used plastic water pipe for repairs would this be advisable as temporary job both pipes need replacing full length.