Date: Mon, 13 Sep 2010 23:44:50 -0400
Reply-To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: `87 Westy Syncro running hot
In-Reply-To: <AANLkTi=gpUGnPxx7Adep7WGy54z8+2PR0giqXQPv6SG9@mail.gmail.com>
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There are three things that can happen to a radiator in addition to leaks.
The inside gets clogged, the outside gets coated with an insulating layer of
road dirt or an inside portion cracks allowing coolant to enter and leave
the radiator with actually traveling through it.
A bad thermostat can also cause this. Is the radiator fan turning on? If it
is without cooling and cycling off you have a sure sign of a radiator
problem. Remove the two hoses and have a good look inside. Look for any
deposits on the tubes and look for any signs of cracking of the tube to the
top. Use a flashlight.
Dennis
-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
Mark Tuovinen
Sent: Monday, September 13, 2010 6:36 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: `87 Westy Syncro running hot
Our `87 Westy Syncro with stock 2.1L has for years always operated with the
temperature guage needle centered on the LED. It would climb on long
inclines, or other similar hard use situations but in general it stayed on
the LED the rest of the time. The last couple of summers it has been
reading a needles width higher and lately a bit more so that it seems to
maintain just below 1/2 way between the LED and high mark. Turning on one
or both heaters will bring it back down but obviously that is not going to
cure the problem. Years of operation tell me this is not normal for the van
especially when you consider that we are in Alaska and ambient temp is never
more than 75 - 80F. The coolant level is fine and it has a fresh fill with
the proper ratio of antifreeze and water. The radiator was flushed recently
as well. We do use a bra on the van during our road trips as we tend to go
places where rocks, bugs, etc, will attack the front of the van. Our trips
always include mountain passes as you can't get anywhere from here without
going through one or more of them but the elevation gain is usually not more
than 1-2000ft and a gradual climb with few exceptions.
I would appreciate any ideas or suggestions to cure this with out just
throwing parts at it. Sticking t-stat, radiator plugged???? Anyone have
any ideas?
TIA
Mark in AK