Date:         Wed, 23 Aug 2006 16:10:49 -0500
Reply-To:     Jamie Foust <foust@CECLAC.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Jamie Foust <foust@CECLAC.COM>
Subject:      Re: overheating & radiators
Comments: To: Loren Busch <starwagen@gmail.com>
In-Reply-To:  <86476e250608231335q7846e35brf7cf11bdf700b27@mail.gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Thanks for the reply. I'm assuming that you had boil over due to the heads
cooking the coolant because the plugged radiator wasn't allowing flow. If I
can't confirm exhaust gasses, I'll chalk it up to the radiator. Either way,
I'm replacing it anyway. Thanks, this really helps.

jamie

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Loren Busch [mailto:starwagen@gmail.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2006 3:35 PM
To: Jamie Foust
Cc: vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com
Subject: Re: [VANAGON] overheating & radiators

 

 Jamie asked : Could you tell me some symptoms of your overheating and
radiator issues.
I had an '85 Westfalia.  I drove it many miles over the first five or six
years I had it.  I was always dealing with overheating under any condition
that required an efficient radiator.  Climbing mountain passes was always
done with the front and rear heater wide open, their fans on full.  Winter
driving was usually no problem, but given a high ambient temp I'd get the
dreaded red light and boil over.  Everyone (VW mechanics at the dealership)
kept telling me "Head gaskets".  But the one competent mechanic (NOT at a VW
dealership) that worked on it had run a sniffer test for exhaust in the
coolant and there was none.  The best way to describe the whole situation is
to say that the cooling system acted like it didn't have the capacity to get
rid of the extra heat under heavy load.  My gut had told me "Put in a new
radiator" for several years but I didn't.  Result: engine, after a lot of
work on all the cooling system pipes, hoses, etc.  popped a freeze plug!
The cooling system was so tight that the steam pressure in the block got
that high.  At that point I had a new engine put in.  As soon as it was
started up it overheated.  New radiator, problem was gone.  I put 6550 miles
on that engine, again climbing several mountain passes on a regular basis,
with only minor heating problems.  When the '85 was rolled and totalled the
whole thing was purchased by a guy that needed the engine.  It's still
running as far as I know.