Date:         Sun, 14 May 1995 12:04:37 -0500 (CDT)
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Bob Hufford <bhufford@ozarks.sgcl.lib.mo.us>
Subject:      Re: Add-on Oil Coolers



On Sun, 14 May 1995, Martha Rubin wrote:

> I'm not sure I entirely agree with the current discussion on aftermarket
> add-on oil coolers.  I bought my '81 westy a year ago with an engine
> which had been burned out from, among other things, overheating.  I
> had the engine rebuilt, and the oil-cooler system added, with gauges
> to monitor the situation.  My current set up does have the external
> active fan, a total of 3 filters, lots of extra hoses, oil, etc., and
> a supplementary switch on the dash to turn on the cooler fan if I for
> any reason wish to AHEAD of the time it would kick on normally, which
> is at I think somewhere between 180-185F or so.  If I see a bad traffic
> situation, or it's warm outside, or I want to climb a hill, or turn on
> the AC, I just reach out and flick the switch.  Whether I do this manually,
> or whether the system turns on via thermostat (either way I can "hear"
> it come on), I can immediately see a noticeable difference in the lowering
> of the oil temperature on the gauge.
> 
> Since it's been in proper working order, I've never had a significant
> problem overheating, even while climbing long, steep grades over
> passes in warm weather with the air-conditioning turned on.  I've read
> that adding one of these systems is supposed to extend the life of
> your engine for up to 50-100%.  Since I only have about 8K miles on
> the rebuild, I can't yet speak to that, but going on the advice of
> others, I figured it was worth the try.
> 
>                                  

This seems like a lot of effort (read: money) to treat a symptom and not 
the cause.  The engineers at VW have been refining this basic engine 
design for 60 years and it has worked well in desert areas throughout the 
world.  If some of the basic requirements for cooling are neglected 
(engine compartment seals, spark plug seals, complete engine tin, 
non-painted cases, etc.), all the add-on coolers, filters, fans and 
additional venting are just postponing a sure VW death.  Every hose 
connection is a possible failure point if not well maintained (a friend 
recently had an external cooler hose blow off of its fitting, resulting 
in an engine fire that *really* overheated his Bus).  Try to find the 
true cause of the overheating before applying band-aid solutions and try 
not to loose your cool. ;)

Bob H.