ON and OFF Antifreeze leak

[ORCoaster]

Not sure where it is coming from.  Seems the heater core valve, the one that is in line to the core itself is leaking somewhere.  Are these things known to do to that?  I checked hoses and clamps and after getting up to temp enough to turn the fan on I shut it down.  Built up pressure but no leak found.  Then this morning drove 3 miles to work and at the end of the day see small circle of Afreeze on the ground and a green drip hanging off the bracket for the transmission. 

Only place wet was under the valve body.  Any hints other than replace it for the 5 dollars it costs?

[theman53]

I had my mkiv do this and it quit. It was colder and I figured all the plastic parts were shrinking and expanding at a weird rate. Over 0F and you wouldn't lose a drop of fluid, under and you would use about a pint a week. For 5.00 I would try that and inspect the hoses for small cracks that could be doing something similar to what I had.

[Dakotakid]

Instead of panhandling, why not take a rag and wrap and tie it tightly around the valve. Then, go drive around like you normally do. Then, park the car. Lift the hood. And see if there is anti-freeze in the rag.

I vote for logic. Thanks.

[ORCoaster]

I wasn't panhandling, I was trying to get real information from people who might know.  Since I only own one of these beast I don't KNOW if they have this general failure associated with them or not.  I know it is leaking I don't need a rag wrapped around it to tell me that.  I wanted to know why it was doing this on and off in an intermittent fashion.  Hence the question, Are these things known to do that? 

I actually did dab a small bit of anti freeze off the clamp next to the front of the valve.  But I had tightened them all up prior to that so the only thing I could think of was that the valve itself must have a crack in it or something. 

Panhandling would have been something like this.  Leaking heater core valve need spare change to replace.  Will work for replacement.

[damac]

All I have seen from those pieces is internal leaks myself, needing replaced to shut the heater core off.  If you see a trail and all your hoses and unions/clamps are good seems like a no brainer to replace.

I have seen some wierd things over the past year with leaks as far as real world driving and the amount left on the ground cold/hot when it comes to the reservoir being cracked and my last radiator leak, a kragen radiator new of less than a year.

now a question for others, after having bars tablets saving my ass on a trip with a big ass radiator leak, does anybody see it as a problem to make sure all parts are sound and then just dumping a serving in from the get go with each new coolant change?

Thats what i am doing now, i did hesitate at first because it changes the color but now i just don't care.  its amazing how fast my little weep in the radiator turned into a spray onto the ground.  with 2 gallons of water at the time and a nasty stretch of road to make with no help that stuff saved my ass.

[vanbcguy]

Most of that stuff will coat everything. You'll probably notice you start running a little hotter over time. I wouldn't put it in an engine I like except if I was stuck somewhere.

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[ORCoaster]

Kind of a second for VanB.  I consider that stuff a band aid until I can get to the real fix of a cracked take off, a leaky hose or rad pin hole.  I wouldn't prescribe it for regular use  or preventative medicine. 

[ORCoaster]

Today I had good sun coming in on the firewall and I wiped it all down with a clean cloth and started to check the hose clamps.  Not a one had much give to them.  Pushed the lever from Hot to Cold or the other way and weep, weep, out comes green fluid.  Right from where the shaft goes into the plastic body.  I ordered a replacement from Rock Auto for 6.25 includes shipping.  Should be here Saturday?   More likely next Saturday the way USPS moves. 

[theman53]

Today I had good sun coming in on the firewall and I wiped it all down with a clean cloth and started to check the hose clamps.  Not a one had much give to them.  Pushed the lever from Hot to Cold or the other way and weep, weep, out comes green fluid.  Right from where the shaft goes into the plastic body.  I ordered a replacement from Rock Auto for 6.25 includes shipping.  Should be here Saturday?   More likely next Saturday the way USPS moves. 

I think this is why you got the above response to your question. I think the response could have been worded better, nothing reproachful, but I get the sentiment. Some members here I hold to a higher standard. If they post on how to size a turbo, port a head, hone an engine, or do it yourself alignment, then I trust they know what they are talking about and I give them a nod. I am not saying you are the only whiz at the vw diesels, but you do have a good working knowledge from what I gather on your posts. I would have expected you to move the valve and see if it leaks. I would have guessed you would have done that before posting.

Some people have a good skill set and things still stump them. I just see this from some members and wanted to let all who read this know how and why I think the way I do. On the flipside, I think this is why some members get uptight and type things that come off as a little harsh. Live and learn, glad you posted the results and it was a cheap fix.

[ORCoaster]

OK, I understand the logic here.  Thing was I  did move the valve to and fro and either didn't see the weep it didn't weep that time.  I did just about run from the car to the shop to change clothes and had the hood open before I headed for the house.  So I think I may have gotten to it when the pressure was a bit higher in the system this go around.  Pointed it right at the sun this evening and last time it was pointing away from it.  Hood was hiding the sun.  I tried to use my little mirror and reflect that circle in there but just didn't see anything or feel anything on the first go around.  Lesson to learn, If it leaks paper may show the spot better than a cloth.  Sun here is hard to come by, and an come again go again problem is the bane of us mechanics. 

Yeah, I could have waited and not posted for a better diagnostic day I guess but thought I would ask first as I know several members here have that background of this part is known to wear or be bad in short order and others go long for durability.

NAPA is having an extra 10% off sale and I might have gotten the part sooner but they seem to tack on the high S&H charge around here because they get away with it.
No harm no foul, Went fishing and caught hell?  Sounds about what some get from their wives. 

[Toby]

now a question for others, after having bars tablets saving my ass on a trip with a big ass radiator leak, does anybody see it as a problem to make sure all parts are sound and then just dumping a serving in from the get go with each new coolant change?ad to make with no help that stuff saved my ass.

Bars Leak is a pretty crude product. Kind of like dumping ground pepper in your radiator. (Which also works, BTW)

K&W Block and Head Sealer is a much more sophisticated concoction and it lasts a long time as well. I had a 400M in a '77 F150 that froze up so badly that I had seven streams of water coming out of the head when I got it thawed out. I used the K&W just to seal it up enough to keep antifreeze in it over the winter. I had to move it every 72 hours to keep it from being "toad away" as the Firesign Theater used to say. I needed the truck to run a couple of miles in the next month, so I used it without issue. Eventually I started driving the truck again and did so for 5 more years w/o issue.

K&W is not something you can just dump in and forget. You have to follow the direction EXACTLY for it to work, but it is PFM, (Pure F'ing Magic) as the Squids like to say. That means flushing all the AF out before the K&W goes in and then flushing it all out and letting it cure for 24 hours before the coolant goes back in.

[ORCoaster]

Got the valve replaced and had a second thought on the initial response that seemed to irk me.  I can only say, I have bad days and I don't always get it when someone is poking at me in jest.  I thought about those folks that I know here a bit better than just a relpy to the post.  Those that do IM and email off this forum.  I also had to think that some of my buddies and I go back and forth at one another in a humor based degradation of one another will no ill intent intended. 

We poke fun at one another here, and perhaps I just missed that when the words Panhandling and voting for logic came up. 

Yeah moving the lever finally gave the problem away and why didn't I do that in the first place.  I don't know, sometimes logic defies me.  Other times it is bright red across the problem area. 

I did get the new valve in today and threw the other away.  No sense holding on to that devil.  Lots of time under the hood today, under the car as well and even finished up with sandpaper and fiberglass resin, mmmm love that smell.

[theman53]

what fiberglass work were you doing?

[ORCoaster]

Well, you see if you take Dakotakids suggestion and soak some glass in resin and wrap it around the valve it will never leak again.  Nor will it change from the setting you wrap it with. 

Actually I did the glass after the valve replacement, and I had that thought that perhaps he was just poking good fun at me.  Just caught me on a bad day.  Most of the time I roll pretty good with that kind of stuff but didn't that day for whatever reason.

If you really want to know I have some of those custom fender and rocker panel flares on the car.  My son and I glassed them on when we painted it a couple years back.  But I took the car over to put it on a hoist and didn't notice the pad was improperly set on the passenger side so upon lifting it popped the right front off just behind the wheel.  Just snapped it clean away from the body just below the major line at the lower part of the body.  I only needed a 5 inch piece of fiberglass to put it back right yesterday.  Got the bondo on and several coats of primer today before the weather switched up and started to shower.

Pics for reference.