What type of thermostat did you install? Most aftermarket t-stats do not
work properly in the Vanagon. They allow enough leakage when closed that
due to the massive capacity of the cooling system do not allow proper
warm up in cold weather. The proper t-stat will actually have a rubber
seal on the center disk to provide a solid seal when closed. There also
will not be an air bleed (small hole with a rattle piece) in the top
disk. If the temp gauge is reading mid way with the fan on, you may also
have bad gauge and poor heater output can be caused by a blocked
(externally) or clogged heater core. Road dirt does accumulate on the
outside and things clog on the inside after some time.

Dennis

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf
Of John Connolly
Sent: Tuesday, March 04, 2003 4:13 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Running too cool

List,

I know alot about aircooled, but am feeling my way along on the
vanagons. I
have a new (to me) 87' Syncro, and it's running too cool. I know this
because I have 4 vanagons, and the other 3 run in the middle of the temp
gauge, AND have much better heat.

I suspected the thermostat was bad, so I replaced it last weekend, and
still
have the same symptoms. Does anyone have any thoughts on what the
problem
could be? If I'm driving on the highway and pull over to let it idle for
5
min, the temp climbs to the "normal" range, then the fan kicks on to
keep it
there, but as soon as we are travelling over 30mph the temps drop to
barely
register on the gauge, and the heat is barely noticable (like an
aircooled
:-)  ).

Anyone?

I know I can put a cover on the radiator, or part of it, but my other
vehicles don't have this issue, and it is annoying being winter and all
that!

John
Aircooled.Net Inc.