Date: Sat, 3 Oct 1998 21:51:57 -0700
Reply-To: Mark McCulley <raven@HALCYON.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <Vanagon@vanagon.com>
From: Mark McCulley <raven@HALCYON.COM>
Subject: Re: Overheating
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At 08:31 PM 10/3/98 -0500, John H. Rodgers wrote:
>
>The '88 GL temp needle ALWAYS runs with the the bottom edge of the needle
>parked touching the top edge of the coolant level warning light. As soon as
>the engine is started and begins to warm up, up the needle goes. It will
>often run with the temp needle slightly higher than that . And the secondary
>cooling fan cycles regularly. This is not good. Something is out whack, but
>what I just don't know. I haven't yet flushed the system. Just haven't been
>able to get to it yet. I replaced the pully belts, Hoped the new water pump
>belt would help. The old one was really in bad shape and loose. But hasn't
>seemd to help.
>
>I plan to replace the thermostat, but would like to run with out a
>thermostat for just a bit. Anyone see any problems with that. I am ordering
>an OEM thermostat but need to run it while until the new 'stat gets here.
>Just don't want to damage anything.
And at 07:30 PM 10/3/98 -0700, Ari Ollikainen wrote:
> And my 91 Westfalia (106Kmi) runs hot when in stop and go situations,
> has been burped, bled, and otherwise ministered to. The coolant temp
> needle normally settles at the upper edge of the LED.I'm tempted
> to replace the water pump as a preventive measure...but then it's
> been this way since I got it in June'97.
>
I think you may both be a little overly paranoid about your coolant
temperature. A coolant temp needle that rides at the top of the warning LED
is NOT indicative of any sort of cooling system problem. My 87 Vanagon runs
with the needle at the top of the LED and it has a brand new radiator and
thermostat and a relatively new German water pump. It's also quite normal
for the radiator fan to come on, especially when the van is idling for any
reason. The following is from my 87 Vanagon Owner's Manual:
"Engine operating temperature will vary with climate, traffic conditions and
engine load. When the engine is working hard and in stop-and-go traffic, the
needle can show a very high temperature, but this is not serious as long as
the warning light does not flash."
John, I wouldn't recommend running without a thermostat as your engine will
never reach its optimal operating temperature.
Mark McCulley
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