Sounds like a missing or non-functioning thermostat to me.  Once at
temperature, the coolant should stay pretty warm both up and down hills.
There will be some variation, but not more than about 2-3 needlewidths.

Karl Wolz

----- Original Message -----
From: "joseph Trussell" <joetruss@HOTMAIL.COM>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Tuesday, March 05, 2002 10:04 AM
Subject: Re: Engine Mgmt. Question

> The temp gauge was all over the place...Going up hills, with the engine
> really pushing hard, the needle would go up to about the half-way point,
and
> the heater would be cranking very hot air into the cabin.  Then on the
other
> side, after I'd crest a hill and coast down, the gauge would go almost all
> the way down to nothing and cold, cold, cold air would come in through the
> heater vents.  I figured that was just due to the fact that it was so cold
> outside.
>
> And with no rear heater (removed by the previous owner) the poor folks in
> the middle seat (my fiance and my friend's fiance) just about froze their
> butts off...
>
> Joe T.
> Denver, CO
> '85 GL "bertha"
>
>
> ----Original Message Follows----
> From: "Jay L Snyder" <Jay.L.Snyder@usa.dupont.com>
> To: joseph Trussell <joetruss@HOTMAIL.COM>
> CC: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Engine Mgmt. Question
> Date: Tue, 5 Mar 2002 10:45:34 -0500
>
>
> Did you notice any change in your temperature gauge?  I have noticed this
> phenomenon with my '85 Westy running the mountains in Shenandoah National
> Park in the fall and early spring.  The engine seems to get cooler and
> loses some power.  It runs much better when the temp needle is about half
> way up.  As I was climbing and it was getting colder outside, the gauge
> stayed low and it didn't seem to have the same power.  On the way home, I
> got stuck in some traffic and the temp went up.  It also ran like a bat
out
> of hell the rest of the way home.  I am wondering if the thermostat is
> sticking  or it just runs too cool--too rich in cold weather?   The idling
> while you were peeing may have got the engine back up to normal operating
> range and allowed it to make better power.  I know the fan never runs in
> these conditions--maybe I need some kind of radiator cover in cold
weather?
> The heater works great, so I don't think the thermostat is stuck wide
open.
>
>                                                                    Jay
>
>
>
>
> joseph Trussell <joetruss@HOTMAIL.COM>@gerry.vanagon.com> on 03/05/2002
> 10:16:53 AM
>
> Please respond to joseph Trussell <joetruss@HOTMAIL.COM>
>
> Sent by:    Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
>
>
> To:    vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> cc:
> Subject:    Engine Mgmt. Question
>
>
> Hi list,
>
> I drove my '85 up to Breckenridge from Denver on Friday with four adults
> and
> a full load of ski stuff and weekend supplies.  We headed up i-70 into the
> mountains, and I had no power whatsoever...I was barely getting up the
> first
> major hills into the mountains at about 30 MPH, 2nd gear.
>
> We stopped in Idaho Springs (about 25 miles, elevation 7500/8000 ft.) for
a
> bathroom break, and I left Bertha idling while we went into the gas
> station.
>    At that point I also I met a guy in a '75 Westy, he and his friends
were
> freezing their asses off--it was about -15 degrees there and his heater
> wasn't cutting it.
>
> Anyway we came back out and climbed in and hit the road.  For some reason,
> I
> had much, much more power as I went up the onramp back onto the
interstate.
> For the rest of the trip, actually, up to the Eisenhower Tunnel then down
> the other side to Breckenridge, my Vanagon was running like it was
> possessed--taking hills at 45 or 50 and not losing much power or momentum.
>
> I'm just wondering if the engine mgmt system is smart enough to have
> somehow
> compensated?  Just curious.
>
> Joe T.
> Denver, CO
> '85 GL "bertha"
>
> P.S.: BIG THANK YOU to the guy in the gold westy who offered me a jump on
> Sunday when I was stalled with a completely dead battery in the middle of
> the road next to the ski area at Breck...
>
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