Date:         Fri, 21 Jun 1996 23:21:38 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         dbax@mindspring.com (Donald Baxter)
Subject:      Re: '85 Westfalia Air Conditioning

>
>Joe, 
>I LOVE the AC in my 85 Westy.  I aim the two vents in the back together and
>slightly towards the roof.  The cold air blows over the rear seat occupants
>heads and directly to the front seats.  There is just enough air to cool of
>the rear area.
>
>I live in Northern Virginia and temp get to about 95 or 100 during the
>summer.  Never had a problem in the past 4 years.  The only problem (very
>recent) is the front heater works well, too.  I can't turn the damn thing
>off.  So, I've got the AC fighting the front heater core.  Gotta figure this
>one out.
>

Well, the best I have figured out about the heat is that there is no way (at
least in my '85 non-Westphalia) to shut the outside fresh air from coming in
while using the AC, and yes I have checked the cable connection to the lever
that is supposed to stop this air flow--the lever is postioned to its limit
on the fresh air plenum.  I have the cable connection to the heater adjusted
correctly so that it prevents any coolant from circulating inside the front
heat exchanger, though.  Look up above your spare tire and check to see that
the valve is moved all the way to off.  The dashboard lever may not be
shutting it completely off.

I have resolved the fresh air problem, though--I remove the intake grill
during the summer and stuff it very tightly with dense foam rubber (less
dense still seems to allow the fresh air in).  The only problem with this is
that if you need some fresh air you have to rely on windows, and without air
coming in the dashboard vents the air circulation in the van isn't great.
This is especially nasty if you smoke.

My AC works OK, mostly inhibited by the amount of sunlight that comes in the
windows. The sun really beats down on us here in Atlanta.  The front
floorboard also gets a bit warm despite the hot footwell kit that came
installed on my Vanagon.

I look forward to fall when I can "unstuff" the front intake and allow the
regular air circulation to flow again. The Vanagon fresh air circulation
system is particularly good when the vehicle is moving at reasonable speed,
supplying lots of fresh air even with all the windows closed.

Donald Baxter

P.S.  I saw my first Rialta Conversion Eurovan/Caravelle Saturday in front
of Ansley Mall here in Atlanta.  What a shock!  It seems like an awful lot
for that 2.5, 5 cylinder to be lugging around.