Date:         Wed, 25 Apr 2001 10:28:20 -0700
Reply-To:     "G. Jetson" <dkcomet@yahoo.com>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         "G. Jetson" <dkcomet@yahoo.com>
Subject:      Re: Emergency  engine cooling
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii

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


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