Date: Tue, 4 May 2004 16:03:07 -0400
Reply-To: Keith Adams <keith_adams@TRANSCANADA.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Keith Adams <keith_adams@TRANSCANADA.COM>
Subject: Re: Is my radiator dead? aka cooling sytem woes
Long overdue follow-up to this, but I owe Gary Hradek thanks for his
similar symptoms and flushing his rad seemed to have helped his problems.
See http://gerry.vanagon.com/cgi-bin/wa.exe?
A2=ind0404d&L=vanagon&O=A&P=37701
Anyways, I only put about 2400 km on my van last year. It was a very busy
summer, and the only time we actually had to go out camping was May long
weekend, and of course, we burst a coolant hose on the way. I fixed that,
but we were building a new house, selling the old one, moving, blah blah,
so never drive the van much except to Home Depot.
Anyways, all summer the van never quite behaved right - you'd drive for 20-
30 minutes and it was fine, but then temperature would begin to creep up.
I took the 3 thermostats I had around and boiled them and put the one that
opened up first in the van. Didn't help. I tried bleeding several times
thinking I had an airlock. I replaced the thermoswitch in the radiator and
it never helped. Once the needle was above the LED, the radiator would get
warm but not hot. I had replaced the thermostat housing, Temp II sensor,
thermostat, blue cap on overlfow tank (all as part of an engine changeover)
so there were precious few culprits left.
So last night I replaced my radiator ($275 CDN for a Behr one made in S.
Africa) and the needle stays bang on the LED and when it creeps to the top
of the LED I hear something I haven't heard in a while which is my cooling
fan kick in. I let it idle for 30-40 minutes in the driveway and it never
left the LED (would overheat before, and the night before, the fan didn't
kick in until 7/8 up the temp gauge). Took it for a good run, came back
and let it idle again and stayed on the LED while the fan kicked in and out
every couple of minutes.
I think the problem is kicked! I hope this helps someone else.
Keith Adams
calgary.ab.ca | http://www.clubveedub.com
86 Westy | 66 Beetle | 59 Euro Beetle | 04 1.8T 4Mo Passat
On Mon, 3 Mar 2003 23:11:13 -0700, Keith Adams
<keith_adams@TRANSCANADA.COM> wrote:
>Short story:
>After bleeding my cooling system, then driving around for a half hour,
then cracking the bleed screw on the radiator, I get nothing. Is this
indicative of a poorly flowing radiator, or what? Feed hose is warm,
return hose is not, temp gauge on the LED.
>
>Long story:
>Van (1986 2.1 MT 2WD) developed an ugly habit while on holidays last
summer, of running the temp gauge up to about 7/8 all the time, except when
cruising at 100 km/hr on level ground. Stop and go traffic, or hills, just
drove the temp gauge up.
>
>This winter, I decide to pull the water pump and check that the impeller
is ok, and replace t-stat w/ stock 87*, change Temp II sensor, and flush
system and fill with VW G11 coolant. So I did all that. Pulled rad out
too, and flushed in the bath tub (wife loved that). A little scale came
out, but tough to tell it's state of health from that method.
>
>So yesterday, flushed de-ionized water through the system, filled with
coolant (mmmm... blue), and after bollocksing up the bleeding attempt the
first time, decided to re-group and do it tonight. Had the front end up on
jackstands (raised at least 12"), open bleed screw on rad, t-stat housing,
open expansion tank, got the wife on the throttle, idling at ~2200 rpm.
Top up expansion tank, keep idling until t-stat opens, bleed t-stat housing
and close screw. Check rad (warm), no more air, close screw. Top up
expansion tank, put cap on, re-connect overflow tank (filled to "max"
mark), let idle drop to normal.
>
>Now two wierd things happen.
>1) leave van idling for 15 minutes while I clean up. Temp gauge runs up
to ~7/8 (ok, maybe 3/4), overflow tank pukes on floor. Blue mess
everywhere. Shut off van, and let it cool, overflow tank about half way
between min and max (started at max). Question is: should my van get that
hot just idling? This is what it was doing in the summer.
>2) go for a drive (15 min or so to get gas) come back, and try the
suggestion of cracking the rad bleed screw again. Nothing. No air, no
coolant. Feed hose to rad is warm, return hose is not. Rad is warm. Temp
gauge right over LED. No change in expansion tank from above puking.
>
>So I'm beginning to wonder if maybe my rad is plugged and not flowing
well. Any thoughts or experiences here? DPO maybe put Bar's Leak in it or
something? Or have I just got a stupid bubble trapped in it somewhere? If
I do, why isn't it hissing when I crack the rad bleed screw?
>
>P-mail please, I'm only on the archives via the web.
>Keith Adams
>calgary.ab.ca | http://www.clubveedub.com
>86 Westy | 66 Beetle | 59 Euro Beetle
| 
