Date: Mon, 19 Jul 1999 22:17:01 -0400
Reply-To: "John P. Flaherty" <jflaherty@PIVOT.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: "John P. Flaherty" <jflaherty@PIVOT.NET>
Subject: Re: 85 Westy Temp Guage - what's 'normal'? *(2 Newfs)*
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Count me in as another Vanagon/Newf owner. Solomon is a 200lb big black
drool factory.
John Flaherty
84 GL
74 SB
-----Original Message-----
From: John Langowski <langow@WI.NET>
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Date: Monday, July 19, 1999 7:55 PM
Subject: Re: 85 Westy Temp Guage - what's 'normal'? *(2 Newfs)*
Todd,
Congratulations on your new 85 Westy. I'm not sure if I can be of any
real help to your gage question. On my 84 Westy, the needle just touches the
left side of the light. Not real sure if that's normal or not.
What really caught my attention about your post was the 2 Newfs. My wife
and I also have a Newf. We've got a black male, 16 months old, named Harley.
We were just talking the other day and wondering if any other Vanagon owners
were also Newf owners. What part of the country are you located in? We're in
West Bend, Wisconsin. Are you subscribed to the Newf mailing list? Harley
loves to ride in the Westy. The front windshield is always full of nose
prints:)
Well, its great to hear that their are other Westy/Newfy owners. I was
sure we were the only ones. Maybe we should start our own Westy/Newfy list
and talk about topics like how to remove drool from the dash or the best way
to keep hair out of the refrigerator:)
Do you have any pics of your Newfs with the Van? I'd love to see them if
you do.
Best Regards,
John and Jean Langowski
84 Westy
98 Newfy
----- Original Message -----
From: Todd Guttman
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Sent: Monday, July 19, 1999 5:20 PM
Subject: 85 Westy Temp Guage - what's 'normal'?
Allo -
After lusting after one for many, many years, we've finally joined
the ranks of vanagon owners with the purchase of our traum-wagen (dream
car) - an 85 Westy. So far, everything appears to work great and "Wolf"
(kids choice) survived his maiden family trip of 300 miles with wife, kids
and two Newfs as passengers.
I found a Bentley manual and this list and have spent way too much
time (if possible) planning projects. First item - change the coolant. The
prior owner had the car two years and had never done it. Unfortunately, the
garage doesn't have enough clearance due to a couple of beams; great for
hanging up canoes - but bad for jacking the front end up the required 15
inches. Also, the drive way is too steep to block and jack the van. So,
decided to have the coolant flushed and filled at a local VW shop - highly
recommended by the list and a friend - and the cost seemed reasonable.
Great place, knowledgeable and friendly folks. Job finished on time
at promised cost and drove off happily. Wolf seemed in good spirits first
few miles down the road - but noticed the temperature gauge was above the
half-way point where its always been. A few more miles down the road -
moderate stop-and-go traffic - the gauge is all the way up and the little
red light is flashing: DANGER WILL ROBINSON - DANGER!
Let Wolf cool down and slowly make my way back with frequent stops,
the temperature gauge hovering around three-quarters of the way up and the
fan humming along. The shop is just about to close - and we agree to 'let
them watch the patient overnight'. The following day the 'spezialist'
confirmed my diagnosis - trapped air. The patient underwent another
procedure claimed to be successful - bled the system again and topped off
the coolant.
The patient is recovering nicely from this minor procedure with one
problem - the temperature gauge now reads higher than normal - around 60-70%
of the way up - when it was always right in the middle of the gauge -
squarely over the warning light. Also, it seems that I hear the fan running
more often.
My query for the 'list-spezialists' - where does/should the
temperature gauge be 'normally' under routine city driving conditions -
right in the middle or three-quarters of the way up - or is it not really
precise at all? Should this change after getting the coolant changed? I'd
appreciate hearing some comments/other experiences before I go back to the
shop.
Thanks for any and all help.
Todd Guttman
85 Westy