On Wed, 17 Mar 2004, Jean-Pierre Le Cruguel wrote:

> Those are watercooled. Hence, is the heating ok on diesel?

Diesels have excellent heat.  They run a hotter (90C) thermostat than the
wasserboxers to keep smoke down.  In very cold weather you can sometimes
overcome the amount of heat the engine is generating at idle and overcool
it, but that's not usually a problem if you're moving.

> How do they work in cold temperature?

Depends on the condition of the engine.  Good compression is critical to
cold starting.

> Can they be plugged ? (do they have a block heater? I suppose an after
> market one could be installed. Would a pan heater be recommanded?)

An aftermarket block heater is readily available.  I haven't done one but
it should be easy to install in a vanagon, since the freeze plugs on the
side of the engine are pretty easy to get at from under the van.  Getting
the cylinder head warm is the most important thing for cold starting, so a
block heater will help you more than a pan heater.

David Brodbeck, N8SRE
'82 Volkswagen Diesel Westfalia
'86 Volvo 240DL wagon