Date: Fri, 11 Feb 2011 10:11:22 -0800
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Engine running COLD
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hi Gregg,
It's very important that a waterboxer engine ( any engine really ) run fully
up to temp.
I wouldn't drive it anywhere running cold like that.
it's pretty common for wbxr vanagons to do this ..
and if people think 'cooler is better' that's very incorrect.
the t-stat is not that bad on a 2.1 wbxr engine to replace.
A warning ..
the four screws on top of the t-stat cover, if you're lucky all 4 will
unscrew nicely.
I have had quite a few of them where the brass part that screw screws into
that's molded into the plastic t-stat housing ...will just spin in the
plastic ....making a screw or two not come out ...
I've had to do 'dental work' on a few of those screws removing the tops of
them ...
I hope yours comes apart nicely.
oh..
you can not remove the thermostat on any 'two door' thermostat.
There are two passages involved with a wbxr t-stat..
the cold circuit, and the hot circuit.
With no t-stat at all, it just circulates coolant in both realms
continuously, and it will never warm up.
get the warmer one ..that's the 87 C in german ones, and do get a good
german one, not a FLAPS american one is my recommendation.
engines that run too cold wear out faster.
They are built and designed to run at about 185 F or so .
also ...in really cold temps ...around freezing ..
don't do two mile trip and shut it off. That's super rough on them.
It must be driven until full warmed up every time ..
that's like 20 minutes minimum.
I've even had a wbxr in my shop for excessive smoking and running rough ..
when I got done diagnosing what was going on with that engine I said to the
owner ..
'you just drive this 3 blocks mainly, to the food co-op, right ? " ... The
answer was 'yes.'
I told the woman ...just can not operate a waterboxer vanagon like that in
the wintertime.
for fuel economy and engine life..
they 'must' operate fully up to temp.
Scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Gregg Carlen" <gregg.carlen@GMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Thursday, February 10, 2011 6:21 PM
Subject: Engine running COLD
> Hey list,
>
> I finally got my new (to me) van earlier this week. Picked up a 90 Westy
> to
> replace my 85 Westy that my wife and I sold a few years back. Have to say
> I've missed having a Vanagon and glad to be back in one.
>
> So, as no suprise, I have a laundry list of repairs and maintenance to
> take
> care of (the 4 different car tires is another story...), but the one that
> has me a little stumped is that the engine runs cold. By cold I mean the
> needle barely comes off the bottom of the scale, if at all.
>
> I'm in Northern Virginia, so its just below freezing most of the time
> lately. The symptoms I've got are the temp warning light flashes when the
> van first starts and stays flashing for several minutes, then goes out.
> The
> needle never makes it off the bottom of the scale, unless I've driven for
> about 20-30 minutes and then stop and idle for a while. Then it will rise
> just off the bottom of the scale, but never get up to running temp.
>
> Took a 3 hour round trip up to visit Dave O. in Maryland the yesterday and
> same thing. The van never got up to temp. Never got anything but warm air
> out of the front heater. The rear heater was a 'above-warm' but never hot.
>
> Since I've seen SOME movement on the scale, I'm thinking the temp
> guage/sensor is okay. The PO said he never had any problems with it. Now,
> since this was a Miami van all its life, I'm suspecting the PO pulled the
> thermostat.
>
> Any thoughts about what might be causing the low temp I'm seeing? Any way
> to
> check for a thermostat without pulling coolant hoses (and making a mess)?
>
> Thanks,
> Gregg
> 90 Westy (finally!)
