Tabe, I could not send this message to your Yahoo  account, AOL & Yahoo are
still not friends, so have posted it to the Vanagon  List.  Hope you get it.
Let me know.

In a message dated 17/06/2005 9:43:14 PM Eastern Daylight Time,
xtabe@yahoo.com writes:

I have  my used 2.1 engine in the van now and am having sloooow
overheating  problems.  I was thinking air bubble, but I
bled the system every  which way I could and just got coolant.

When I start the engine cold,  the gauge goes up to the normal
running temperature then then slooowly  starts
heading up.  It's been pretty cool (~50F) here recently so
I'm afraid in hotter temperatures I'll have a serious problem.
The  cooling fan on the radiator works but does not come on.  The
radiator  thermostwitch is OK.  When I turn on the
front heater, the temp dips  the way I expect it to, then again
sloowly starts to climb.  When I  feel the plastic tubes going
to and from the radiator, one is cooler than  the other, also
as I'd expect.  The radiator itself feels warm (though  not always
the corner by the bleeder bolt).  The thermostat is good  and
the water pump is new.

If I just let the engine idle, the temp  slooowly heads up, up,
and the radiator cooling fan never comes on the way  it should.

I had some damage to the engine case where an impeller wore  it
down at some point and decided not to repair it, but now I'm
wondering if (a) vw did what they did there for a reason and
(b) I'm  getting insufficient flow through the radiator, and
this is causing my  problems.

I would be grateful for any  advice.

Tabe, this is a complicated issue to sort out  remotely but I will give it a
shot.  My first thought is that you have not  bleed the system correctly.
Have you opened the bleeder on the rad and on  the thermostat housing then
brought the rpms to 3000, held it there while  filling the main tank, then watch the
rad bleeder to see that there is only  coolant exiting then close the
bleeder, fill the tank, put back the tank cap and  lower the rpm to idle speed ?  Do
not close the rear bleeder on the  thermostat housing until the engine has
completely cooled, overnight !   This will remove any other air trapped in the
system.  If that does  not fix the problem then you have either a circulation
problem or an  internal leak like a cracked head into the combustion chamber.
    The temp needle should stay steady.  If it is  rising and falling the
temperature is fluctuating.  This could also be  caused by a faulty thermostat.
Once the needle passes the midway mark and  approaches the 3/4 mark the front
fan should cycle on then off as the fan cools  the rad.  This cycle should
repeat as long as in idel mode.  As soon  as you raise the speed of the motor the
increase in circulation should keep  the needle steady and mid range.  If
these conditions are not met then  there is a problem somewhere.

Cheers,

Frank  Condelli
Almonte, Ontario, Canada
_BusFusion_ (http://members.aol.com/BusFusion/bfhome.htm)  a VW Camper
camping event, Almonte, ON, June 09 ~ 12, 2005
'87 Westy, '90 Carat &  Lionel Trains
Member: _Vanagon List_ (http://www.vanagon.com/) , _LiMBO_
(http://www.bcn.net/~limbo/) , _IWCCC_ (http://www.westfalia.qc.ca/)  & _CCVWC_
(http://www.ccvwc.ca/)
Vanagon/Vanagon Westfalia Service in  the Ottawa Valley
_STEBRO/Vanagon Stainless Steel  Mufflers_
(http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/stebro.htm)
_Frank Condelli &  Associates_ (http://members.aol.com/Fkc43/busindex.html)
or  http://frankcondelli.com