Date:         Sun, 13 Dec 2009 19:22:09 -0800
Reply-To:     Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Robert Fisher <refisher@MCHSI.COM>
Subject:      Re: About coolant
In-Reply-To:  <BLU0-SMTP92EDE2529B15B5190B0FC8DA8A0@phx.gbl>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

--snip--  
As long as your cooling system is adequate (e.g. not a stock vanagon in the desert) 
--snip--

I think my radiator is operating at less than optimum efficiency, but even with that on my gauge the bottom of the needle sits right at or slightly above the LED on 110F days in in-town traffic. The fan comes on, the needle holds, and all is normal. At highway speeds it generally sits right on the LED, even when it's that hot out. During this cool weather it's been staying on the LED. 

On the climb up Sherman's Pass (north of Bishop) with five people, a dog and all of our camping gear, the needle went near the top of the gauge (it was close to 100F there and the best speed we could make was about 25 mph), so I pulled over a couple of times and it went down enough while idling on the shoulder for me to continue the drive. On a side note, it was interesting to me that I passed three broken-down vehicles on the way up (including what appeared to be a late-model Passat or Jetta wagon) and two on the way down, but the van held together. : )

It did throw a belt just north of Coso Junction, but thanks to reading however many tens of thousands of list emails I've read over the last seven years I knew exactly what it was when I saw the lights and gauge react. It took longer to unpack and repack the gear than it did to change out the belts. I had eyeballed them before we left and they looked good, but I guess I was wrong.

Anyway my point is that I don't think, from my experiences and from what others have reported as 'normal' for their vehicles in their locations, that a properly conditioned and operating stock vanagon cooling system would be 'inadequate', for this desert, anyway, since mine is likely not quite either of those things and it is, at least, 'adequate'. We drove normally in temps ranging from 110F to 120F for several weeks this year and I wasn't any more paranoid about the van than I normally am. 

Cya,
Robert
'87 GL Auto