Date: Wed, 7 Feb 2007 15:03:41 -0500
Reply-To: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Kenneth Wilford <kenwilfy@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: Need input on radiator problem
In-Reply-To: <45CA04B3.1000208@videotron.ca>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
Ben,
Sorry I got into this discussion late but I didn't see it until this
morning.
Tools:
A great tool that I love to use whenever I work on the Vanagon cooling
system is a coolant system pressure tester. I bought mine at Sears and had
to modify it a little to get it to work on the Vanagon even though it said
it would work on VWs and had an adapter for that purpose. Whenever I am
doing anything related to the cooling system (head gasket replacement, hose
replacement, someone comes in complaining about a leak, etc.) I use this
tool to check the system to see if it will hold pressure. The Bentley talks
about using such a tool and it is worth it's weight in gold to me. I
pressurize the system to around 15 psi and then let it sit. Usually it
doesn't take long. The last customer that was in here had over 8 leaks! I
kept fixing them and new ones kept popping up. His cap wasn't holding any
pressure either and this was making it not leak like a seive (which is what
is was doing when I pressurized the system) but it also lowers your boiling
point in the system and can cause you to have a vapor lock because your
coolant is vaporizing at too low of a temperature.
So check that the system holds pressure, repair any leaks, definitely check
the pressure cap on the expansion tank because all of the black ones I get
in here are bad (and many of the blue ones too).
The other tool that is a must is the infrared heat gun. You can point it at
any hose and see what the temperature is in real time in both F and C.
Again this is something you can buy at Sears or a much cheaper version at
Harbor Freight. My Sears one is still going strong after several years.
Again the Bentley gives you a proceedure for checking temps with a primitive
looking thermometer.
Problems I've seen:
I have had the pressure cap cause one couples van to overheat at highway
speeds on them. It was allowing the coolant to vaporize and then the system
would go into vapor lock (no flow). New cap and the coolant system was good
to go.
Had another one with the bad radiator. Seems like if they are marginal they
do worse after the van is warmed up and then brought back to idle. I think
at the higher rpm the water pump is circulating more coolant through the
crappy radiator and it is working enough to keep things cool. But when you
come back to idle the temperature keeps creeping up because now you have the
pump turning at a lower speed, and the radiator is like someone with clogged
arteries. On the 2.1l engine there is a hose that goes from the coolant
distributor over the top of the transimssion bellhousing and then to the
thermostat housing. This acts as a bypass of the radiator during warm up to
help the engine to heat up faster. When the radiator is clogged this hose
continues to bypass the radiator after the thermostat opens and the engine
gets hotter and hotter because the coolant isn't even going up there.
Eventually the radiator will get warm by convection but by then the engine
is super hot.
I hope this gives you some ideas to work with. I hope your lady can get
back on the road again.
Thanks,
Ken Wilford
John 3:16
http://www.vanagain.com
http://www.strictlyvwauctions.com
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http://www.vwcabrio.org
Phone: (856)-327-4936
Fax: (856)-327-2242
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Ben
Sent: Wednesday, February 07, 2007 11:56 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Need input on radiator problem
Words from the 2 mechanic down there: We are familiar with overheating
problems, it's always hot here!!!
See my last post on fitting rad there
It's a 20 years old VW, you NEED to think OUTISDE the box!
It's a long saga, sorry for those who have to read that, but in a way, i
think it's interesting, this can happen to one of us!
Ben
Jake de Villiers wrote:
> Ben, if she just needs to get going, she could wire a replacement rad
> to the front bumper and bypass the original.
>
> It wouldn't be particularly elegant, and the fan would take some
> creativity, but it would sure cool the engine on the way to a place
> with a proper rad.
>
> Just thinking outside (literally!) the box.
>
> Jake
>
> On 2/7/07, Benny boy <huotb@videotron.ca <mailto:huotb@videotron.ca>>
> wrote:
>
> First, thanks to everyone! i have red every post, here on on
> p-mail.
>
> Why do i care, because i do! this is not Ben the mechanic but
> simple the
> westy guy! I call that the Westy spirit. You all know that i
> perfectly know
> the cooling system, i have made that section of the van one of my
> specialty.
> so i'm here sitting in the cold and i can do nothing!
> She is a GREAT lady, at 62yo, i can only say BRAVO! On the phone,
> i could
> fell her fear for the worse... as she is stuck in a very small
> village far
> enough from any big town. She is not alone, she is travelling with
> a friend,
> a big guy! And yes, you guys don't know me, i'm crasy enough to
> take the
> plane and go there.... I may sound a bit rough here (on the list)
> sometime
> but i have a very big heart, to big.
>
>
> I now agree on a few things, the pump went bad, i yes, that
> happen, she is
> gonna check today if it's leaking from the hole (all bad-new pump
> i have
> seen were leaking), BUT, a pump going bad quick can also happen
> when the
> Alternator is "shaking" (unbalance, broken bracket...), but, she
> is running
> on a modified braket that i made for her!
>
> the rad is bad (my choice for now)
>
> Loose head due to stud failure.
>
> I made her a list of "how to" check everything, they are working
> on it as i
> write.
>
> I will keep you up to date... i have to think of a way of fixing
> that rad!
>
> Ben
>
>
>
>
> --
> Jake
> 1984 Vanagon GL
> 1986 Westy Weekender "Dixie"
> www.crescentbeachguitar.com <http://www.crescentbeachguitar.com>
>
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