Date: Fri, 25 Aug 2000 22:14:54 PDT
Reply-To: Mark Dorm <mark_hb@hotmail.com>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Mark Dorm <mark_hb@hotmail.com>
Subject: Re: At long last protype waterbox bleeding,
draining and purging installed and operating
Content-Type: text/plain; format=flowed
So whats been going on with this project of yours??? Are you on the verge of
making a cooling system that will allow us to run our waterboxers 500,000
miles between rebuilds???
This post is old, but I don't know what to delete to trim it down, its such
a weird/nontypical topic:
>From: Jonc <jonc@webgears.com>
>the prototypical parts have been manufactured and installed in a 1985
>westfalia... the original system was completely drained of coolant the
>conventional way... three vents and one combination purge valve, drain
>valve
>and refill valve have been installed according to design by Riverside
>Precision Motors in Hartland Vermont... Brian Canfield the owner is a
>second
>generation VW mechanic... He personally oversaw the project and installed
>the bits.. Canfield is a seasoned waterbox wrenchman who is known for his
>attention to details and great hands...
>
>The waterbox was refilled with straight water through the newly installed
>valve ... the box was flat on the flood and not running... the engine was
>run up to temperature and run for 15 minutes after that... it took a long
>time for the engine to get up to temperature and for the cooling fan to
>cycle... the low water level light never blinked once... The water was
>drained again ... through the same valve ... premixed coolant was then
>added again through the new valve... the air was vented as in the first
>water only fill through the new vents and the "expansion" tank .... the low
>water level lights again never blinked as she was again run up to operating
>temperature... both of these processes took less than 90 minutes and
>created
>no anti freeze lakes... the machine is now being road tested...
>
>the first results are curious... the temperature indicator never reaches
>the
>warning light... at 2000 to 2500 the temperature settles in at about 40% of
>gauge ... when the rpms are raised to 3000 to 3500 the temperature drops to
>about 30% of gauge... when the revs again were raised to 4000 to 4300 the
>temperature dropped to 20% of gauge...
>
>These tests extended over several days and many hundreds of miles of all
>types of driving hwy and off road... the ambient temps were between 60 and
>80 degrees F... it is Vermont... in a few days the van will start south to
>Florida for a try at 100+ ambient... that is, of course, after we drain the
>system, fill it and tear it apart a few more times...
>
>So far...very good... It appears that our assumption that the waterbox was
>saddled with a ridiculous cooling design ... second only to the factory
>recommendations for how to bleed the foolish thing.. it was impossibly
>vented and no adequate provisions were made for filling, purging or
>draining
>coolant...
>
>Merrily we roll along...
>
>Regards
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