Date: Tue, 16 Jul 1996 09:48:47 -0500
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: cmoran@cswnet.com (Colin A Moran)
Subject: Water boxer cooling
Hello everyone
I just read the post that Jim Davis wrote, about vanagon cooling
systems. My cooling system was put to the test, on the 2 of July, I drove
through the Ozarks. Temperature was 101 is Springfield Mo. I had been
driving through steep grades. The engine temp was between 180 and 190deg.
Later in the day I drove through Kansas City. The temp was in the lower
90's. I was caught in a traffic jam on I430 just over the Missouri Kansas
line, due to an accident. Traffic crawled along at 5 to 10 MPH for about 25
minutes. While the engine temp did climb it never reached 220deg. When
traffic started to flow the engine temp began to drop. I had been driving
at 70 to 75 MPH for about 2 hrs previous to the traffic jam. The engine and
oil where thourghly heat soaked.
I don't think that the water cooled vanagons have a design error in the
cooling system. If it is maintained correctly it does what its supposed to
do. IMHO
I only saw 4 VW busses on my trip. One was a burnt orange bubble
window, one was a pea green splitttie, and the other two where vanagons. I
waved at all and recieved not a singel response. I did see a eurovan based
winnabago, but that is that still considered a bus?
On July 15, Markus wrote that he had trouble with the starter not
working when the key was turned. I had a similar problem over the fourth.
When I tried to start the van nothing happend. I could tell by the volt
meter that somthing was consuming power. I pulled the starter out when I
got home and checked the solenoid. I found that a build up of grease or oil
mixed with a little dirt, was preventing the solelnoid from operating
correctly. The core would not travel far enough to make the switch and run
the starter. I cleaned up the inside of the solenoid and it workes fine. I
have'nt figured out where the oil residue came from yet. It could be from
the bendix. The number for the solenoid is, BOSCH 0331 303 056-556. I had
trouble finding a source, just for the solenoid. FLAPS only listed the
starter and solenoid together at about $160.00.
Well enough rambling for now.
Colin A Moran
If you can't dazzle them with brilliance,
baffle them with bull sh*t.
'86 Syncro GL
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