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Date:         Mon, 23 Sep 2002 22:05:06 -0700
Reply-To:     DaBomb <dabomb@TANJABARNES.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         DaBomb <dabomb@TANJABARNES.COM>
Subject:      New to list..
Content-type: text/plain; charset="US-ASCII"

Dear Volks,

I've been watching the posts for about a week now, but thought I'd introduce myself. Though I maybe a newbie, my problem with the van is an old one: overheating. Currently, I am driving this van without a thermostat.

Yes. You read that correctly.

I've been reading the posts of an 87 vs. 80 thermostat, but I haven't read anything about NO thermostat. Here's my story:

I bought an '89 GL this past June. It had 150K on it at the time I purchased it, with heads replaced at 99K. At the time I bought it, it ran hot with a reading at about 3/4 of the gauge.

By July 4th it had overheated once because of a broken hose, and by August, I had replaced five hoses on five different occasions. It was obvious when these hoses needed to be replaced because of the dripping coolant in the driveway. According to the paper trail, the PO had been changing hoses for the past year, instead of doing it all at once, so I never knew which hoses where new, and which were old. If it were up to me, I would have changed all the hoses at once and resolved that issue.

I bought this van for an annual two week camping trip I take every August. Three weeks before going, I had the radiator flushed, fan switch and thermostat replaced. Since then, the fan loves to kick into second stage quite often. It freaked me out the first time...it can be rather loud and alarming. Anyway, during my trip, the van overheated five times. (Yes in this tale, "five" seems to be the magic number).

The first time, a mechanic in Central California steam cleaned my radiator/condenser. He said that it was full of crud, which made it difficult for the fan to kick in. Apparently, the guy said, the crud had been there for a long time and should have been cleaned long ago.

By the time I got to Sacramento, there was another coolant leak, but I couldn't determine from where. In the end, the mechanic replaced my original radiator cap.

The last time (actually three times) it overheated, a guy in a pick up truck stopped and asked me what was wrong. I told him. He told me I should remove the thermostat. I was in the middle of nowhere, in the Nevada wasteland and would have to wait about an hour and half before AAA could get to me. In the end, I took this guy's advice. He even helped me and did the job in about 20 minutes. Since then, the car has not overheated, nor has it even come close. I was able to return to Los Angeles via the 395, through the Sierras, at a summit of 8,000 feet without a problem. I never came close to overheating. The temperature gauge now reads just below the red LED light.

Is this sane? It's running better than it did before I got it. I know this may seem like a stupid question, but I really don't know. I'd appreciate any response. I'm new to the VW scene, but this van is loads of fun and I'd like to keep it happy. Also, I've tried a mechanic listed on the website, but would prefer to work with somebody else. I'd love any referrals. Any information on local VW bus events and shows would be helpful too.

Best, Tanja Barnes Los Angeles, CA


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