Date: Wed, 13 Oct 1999 19:25:43 -0500
Reply-To: William Wedenoja <waw105f@MAIL.SMSU.EDU>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: William Wedenoja <waw105f@MAIL.SMSU.EDU>
Subject: Re: overheating?
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Last July, half way through a long trip, with occasional "overheating"
(i.e., running higher than normal) we took the van (88 westy) in to a VW
shop in the Seattle area where the "vanagon specialist" pronounced that the
problem usually lies in an old and fouled up radiator which is designed in
such a way that it can't be flushed adequately, so just get a new one. We
were so unhappy with the service we got there (from the management, not the
mechanic), and the high prices, that we took a chance and made it home ok
without doing anything. BUT I would like to improve the efficiency of the
cooling system before next summer.
What do you think? Is it worth trying to flush it, or would it be better to
replace it? (Particularly if we're going to be keeping it a long time and
taking long summer trips.) Also, I notice that the Bus Depot has a radiator
from Germany and a cheaper one from South Africa at reasonable prices. Is
one better (maybe bigger) than the other?
Bill
Springfield, MO
----- Original Message -----
From: kenneth d lewis <kdlewis@JUNO.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Wednesday, October 13, 1999 6:04 PM
Subject: Re: overheating?
> I agree whole-heartedly with the professional radiator cleaning
> suggestion. The following is a copy of my text from a couple of years
> ago. I had already tried conventional "home" back flush methods. In the
> case of my 86 I think the garden hose and "tee" in the heater hose method
> actually made things worse. Due to the length of the radiator hoses,
> flushed particles drop out and settle in the radiator because they are
> moving the slowest there. TMSAISWI!
> Drive Safely & Good Luck
> Ken Lewis<Kernersville,NC>86 VW crewcab;60 T-5 Coupe
> ===========================================================
>
> If you take it in to be checked out don't make the same mistake
> I did . The first shop I took it to I told them the symptoms and asked
> them "to look at it". I came back and the guy said it "looked" fine. I
> asked him how much I owed him and he said "no charge".From now on a
> warning bell goes off in my head when ever I hear those words.I guess you
> get what you pay for. I reinstalled the radiator and continued trouble
> shooting the overheating problem. After several weeks of looking for the
> problem elsewhere i.e.water pump, head gaskets, thermostats,etc; I
> arrived back at the radiator. I took it to the same guy and said; "Can
> you guarantee me maximum efficiency from this radiator?". The guy
> said;"UHH no, if I put it in my vat the only thing that would come out
> are the plastic ends". (WARNING! An acid bath will eat up your aluminum
> core.)
>
> I tested it myself by running a hose from my hot water heater to
> the radiator and felt around for cold spots(3/4 of mine was cold).Touch
> both sides, if you'll notice the core makes a U-turn. Two core in one. **
>
> I finally found a shop who would "Blast it out". This involved
> taking the radiator to him. There he applied heat, chemicals and sonic
> pressure.This solved all my overheating problems (in both my vehicles).
> Ideally it should be "rodded out" but he couldn't locate new gaskets to
> reseal it.
>
> **While you have the radiator out shine a light into the inlet and look
> into the outlet. I have heard of cracks forming in the internal wall that
> separates the two manifolds. When this happens heated coolant is sucked
> back into the outlet stream without ever being cooled!
>
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