Hi List, Saw the postings about running the heater when the temp needle gets too high- I have the same problem, my 1990 2.1L overheats in stop & go situations. I don't know about the rest of you, but I have a bad head that leaks exhaust into the coolant, which eventually causes me to have less than normal coolant levels. However, I still have this problem when I have just bled the system. I too, get feet-o-fire from cranking the heat to keep the engine cooler. But remember, most of us have 2 heaters. I blast the rear heater first & use the front when truly desperate. Another thing that sounds wrong, but works, is to turn on your AC. While it puts more strain on the engine, it also turns on the radiator fan if it's not already on, & increases the speed of the fan if it is already on. A mechanic reccomended that to me years ago & I have found it to work on several types of vehicles. One last thing that works for me, but sounds strange is that if I am stuck in traffic & the needle starts moving too high- If I hold the RPMs up around 3000, my temp gauge drops. Sometimes I think this problem is related to a weak water pump since the higher RPMs would just circulate the coolant faster. If you try any of these with success, report back. I'd be interested to see what other people have experienced. I'm hoping I won't have to worry about it much longer- I have a Tiico motor & a new radiator(just to be safe) on the way! Cheers, David K 1990 Syncro 15" Seattle
__________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Auctions - buy the things you want at great prices http://auctions.yahoo.com/ |
Please note - During the past 17 years of operation, several gigabytes of
Vanagon mail messages have been archived. Searching the entire collection
will take up to five minutes to complete. Please be patient!
Return to the archives @ gerry.vanagon.com
The vanagon mailing list archives are copyright (c) 1994-2011, and may not be reproduced without the express written permission of the list administrators. Posting messages to this mailing list grants a license to the mailing list administrators to reproduce the message in a compilation, either printed or electronic. All compilations will be not-for-profit, with any excess proceeds going to the Vanagon mailing list.
Any profits from list compilations go exclusively towards the management and operation of the Vanagon mailing list and vanagon mailing list web site.