David, this problem may be an artifact of the temp. gauge.  I saw the same
problem with my '84 (I bought in 5/97).  When I put an update instrument
cluster in the van, the apparent lack-of-warm-up went away.

John Lauterbach
Macon, GA
'84 DL

----- Original Message -----
From: "MOST,DAVID" <most@UCLA.EDU>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, October 02, 2000 5:44 PM
Subject: takes too long to warm up

> On my recently acquired '85, the engine temp. gauge seems to take a good
> 15-20 minutes to warm up.  I haven't used the vehicle much altogether, so
> my data are limited, but I'm wondering if there are any thoughts out there
> on what might cause this.
>
> My first guess would be the lack of a thermostat (or one stuck open - does
> this happen?).  I haven't checked this yet due to the more difficult
> location of the thermostat compared to the '87, and I'd be interested
> in hearing about any other possible culprits.  The gauge stays in the
> middle once the engine has been
> run a while, and when idling the low speed fan comes on a little sooner
> than I'm used to in my '87.  This is a subtle difference though.  I only
> thought to question the gauge because, for some reason, the gas gauge
> doesn't indicate full even when the tank is full.  Instead, it indicates
> just over 3/4 full.  I'm not too concerned about this as I tend to use the
> trip odometer, but any thoughts about this would be appreciated as well.
> I have no reason to believe that the two gauges are related.  Rather, as
> has often been discussed on the list, a problem displayed by the gauge may
> be a problem in the gauge/sensor rather than in the device which it is
> gauging.
>
> Thanks for the help,
> David