Chris,
I'll bet your original thermostat was faulty.  Did you try replacing it
with another stock thermostat?
Otherwise it doesn't make sense to me that switching to the 70 degree
thermostat would help keep the temperature down below where the fan
comes on.  The fan comes on at ~95 degrees or so, at which temperature
the difference between a how open the properly functioning stock
thermostat would be and open the 70 degree thermostat is should be
fairly slight, if the pump is working properly.

Of course we should be willing to assume there MIGHT be problems with
using a lower temperature thermostat, right?  (The thermostat is there
for a reason, after all.)  If all you wanted to do was reduce operating
temperature and overheating, you could just remove the thermostat.  It
doesn't seem to me like it'd be very good for your engine, though, for
all the reasons people have been listing.

-Wes
'84 1.9l

JordanVw@AOL.COM wrote:
> In a message dated 3/25/06 2:25:38 PM Eastern Standard Time,
> drillock@EARTHLINK.NET writes:
>
>
>
>> Why don't you explain what was wrong with your vehicle that was causing
>> the high reading? If you can't exactly answer that, then you don't know
>> what problem is still  lurking to haunt you anytime, anywhere. You don't
>> know and can't evaluate how serious it may really be. That is the
>> biggest danger. You will think things are ok, take a longer trip, have a
>> problem and feel forced to try to limp home or to a safer spot, damaging
>> the engine in the process. Just running the engine too cold will damage
>> it as well, by accelerated wear, but probably so slowly that you can't
>> quantify it.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>>
>>
>
> hi mark..i dont own a IR heat gun.. but by the process of elimination we
> determined the WP was ok, i did and still do have heat from the dash vents..  the
> fans did come on before, but at 3/4 they come on at just over the red dot
> now..   what else could i have checked?  the radiator was brand new, as was the
> gauge in the dash.   the only other thing i didnt replace was the gauge sender
> by the t-stat..  are those really known for going bad?
>
>
> chris
>
>