I spoke with a mechanic today who suggested lowering the pressure within the cooling system as a means of putting less stress on head gaskets ... perhaps more for ageing gaskets that are more susceptible to developing leaks. He postulated that the pressure would be significantly reduced if the coolant temp was lowered by putting in a cooler thermostat (by not much) and by causing the radiator fan to kick in at a temp. ten degrees cooler than it does stock. He claimed that the only downside might be a slight reduction in fuel efficiency. He is a smart guy pretty knowledgable about vanagons. Is this an old already rejected theory? Wouldn't running the engine say 10% cooler...or any cooler than stock set up, have some adverse consequences? |
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