Date:         Mon, 19 Mar 2007 23:40:41 -0700
Reply-To:     Philip Zimmerman <philzimm1@OBERON.ARK.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Philip Zimmerman <philzimm1@OBERON.ARK.COM>
Subject:      Re: parts list for radiator replacement on 1988 Westy
In-Reply-To:  <200703200407.l2K47crt009430@oberon.ark.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed

Date:    Mon, 19 Mar 2007 20:43:39 -0700
From:    Shawn Wright <vwdiesels@GMAIL.COM>

Hi Phil,

Thanks for the detailed account on your rad replacement. I tried to
replace mine with one
from CIP1 last year, but they sent me the wrong unit (one from a Jetta,
and I had to argue
with them over it!) Anyway, since I needed to get back on the road, I
flushed the old one, and
put it back in. So now I'm driving with the original '88 rad with
nearly 400k on it, albeit well
flushed now since removing from the van and hosing it out well. I don't
know yet if it performs
any better since the flushing, since we haven't had any heat or long
hills to climb since then.

But I was wondering what prompted you to replace yours? Did it leak, or
just lose cooling
efficiency? Mine has seen lots of salt, so plenty of corrosion on the
fins, and I imagine Al
oxide won't help the heat transfer. If your replacement was for heat
issues, did you notice an
improvement with the new one? Last summer over the Rockies, I had the
coolant LED flash
with the gauge almost pegged by the time I hit the top of Rogers Pass.
I am missing the air
deflector flaps, so I should try to rebuild those too...
-------------------
Hi back Shawn,

Sorry to hear of the Bad Karma at CIP1. My usual experience with them
is they're out of stock or have only one of a pair I require.... I'm
gonna miss BOW_WOW in Victoria. More Bizz for the local VW Stealer
Parts guy.... They will miss BOW_WOW too...

Re: Replacing Rad, a couple of whys and why-nots?

Years of watching the temp gauge while climbing steep roads on hot daze!
Gauge never went full hot and no red flashing light. Rad-fan on low,
usually stabilized the temp rise. High Fan occasionally kicked-in on
really steep long climbs with hot outside temps. Installed the lower
temp fan thermostat. Fan kicked-in a bit sooner and kept the temps from
rising as far or fast on a moderate climb. My gut-instinct was telling
me the Rad was becoming clogged?

I had the Rad out while replacing the plastic pipes and doing the usual
300,000 Km PNW rust stabilization on the Rad-Fan Housing. Took a look
inside the Rad through the In/Out Rad hose flanges. Cannot see a whole
lot but sure enough, the cores I could see were approximately 50%
closed-up with hard baked-on corrosion/scale. Back flushed with a water
hose. No significant gunk came out.

Gave the exterior a close inspection. Some minor surface corrosion, a
few suspect pits. Power washed to blow a bazillion bugs out of the
fins. Looked Ok. Considered having the Rad chemically cleaned. The $150
for cleaning, flow/pressure testing just didn't sit well, with the high
mileage I had on this Rad. Replaced with a German aftermarket one from
BOW_WOW.

Wow, does a new Rad ever cool great! Replaced the Thermostat with a
new, pre-tested in the kitchen one, 85 C. said my lab thermometer. Temp
gauge reads consistently a bit lower than before Rad replacement. Temps
still rise when the engine is working hard but not near as high as
before. When the Rad-Fan kicks-in the temps immediately stabilize.

Did a destructive autopsy on the old Rad. Sure enough, the core was
evenly clogged top to bottom. A few of the core-passes were near 100%
closed-shut from corrosion/scale. Wouldn't pass much compressed air at
120#. This Rad appeared original to the Van. Sure was in good shape for
the mileage and age. Was serviced at the Dealer by the PO and has been
obsessively serviced by this car-guy. So assume at a minimum, coolant
changes every two years and only VW Spec Coolant has passed through her
cooling tubes. Only PNW soft water too. Chlorine and Fluoride
unfortunately were included as city tap water was used. Vanagons don't
suffer tooth-decay and Chlorine isn't good for anything but white
shirts, table cloths and killing black-molds....

regards

Phil Z.
----------------