Dear Volks,

I've been watching the posts for about a week now, but thought I'd introduce
myself.  Though I maybe a newbie, my problem with the van is an old one:
overheating.  Currently, I am driving this van without a thermostat.

Yes.  You read that correctly.

I've been reading the posts of an 87 vs. 80 thermostat, but I haven't read
anything about NO thermostat. Here's my story:

I bought an '89 GL this past June.  It had 150K on it at the time I
purchased it, with heads replaced at 99K.  At the time I bought it, it ran
hot with a reading at about 3/4 of the gauge.

By July 4th it had overheated once because of a broken hose, and by August,
I had replaced five hoses on five different occasions.  It was obvious when
these hoses needed to be replaced because of the dripping coolant in the
driveway. According to the paper trail, the PO had been changing hoses for
the past year, instead of doing it all at once, so I never knew which hoses
where new, and which were old.  If it were up to me, I would have changed
all the hoses at once and resolved that issue.

I bought this van for an annual two week camping trip I take every August.
Three weeks before going, I had the radiator flushed, fan switch and
thermostat replaced. Since then, the fan loves to kick into second stage
quite often.  It freaked me out the first time...it can be rather loud and
alarming.  Anyway, during my trip, the van overheated five times.  (Yes in
this tale, "five" seems to be the magic number).

The first time, a mechanic in Central California steam cleaned my
radiator/condenser.  He said that it was full of crud, which made it
difficult for the fan to kick in.  Apparently, the guy said, the crud had
been there for a long time and should have been cleaned long ago.

By the time I got to Sacramento, there was another coolant leak, but I
couldn't determine from where.  In the end, the mechanic replaced my
original radiator cap.

The last time (actually three times) it overheated, a guy in a pick up truck
stopped and asked me what was wrong.  I told him.  He told me I should
remove the thermostat.  I was in the middle of nowhere, in the Nevada
wasteland and would have to wait about an hour and half before AAA could get
to me.  In the end, I took this  guy's advice.  He even helped me and did
the job in about 20 minutes.  Since then, the car has not overheated, nor
has it even come close.  I was able to return to Los Angeles via the 395,
through the Sierras, at a summit of 8,000 feet without a problem.  I never
came close to overheating.  The temperature gauge now reads just below the
red LED light.

Is this sane?  It's running better than it did before I got it.  I know this
may seem like a stupid question, but I really don't know.  I'd appreciate
any response.  I'm new to the VW scene, but this van is loads of fun and I'd
like to keep it happy.  Also, I've tried a mechanic listed on the website,
but would prefer to work with somebody else.  I'd love any referrals.  Any
information on local VW bus events and shows would be helpful too.

Best,
Tanja Barnes
Los Angeles, CA