Thanks Neil,

I removed and tested the cap; it failed. Luckily I had a spare cap that
tested good. I installed that and hopefully  my wolfsburg will be able
to hold its water for the foreseeable future.

I do have an IR thermometer; I will get some readings next time it happens.

What is the temp threshold for low speed supposed to be?

Happy Trails,

Greg Potts
1973/74/79 Westfakia "Bob the Tomato"
1987 Wolfsburg Weekender Hardtop
www.busesofthecorn.com
www.pottsfamily.ca

Neil N wrote:
> On Sun, Jul 5, 2009 at 10:00 AM, Greg Potts<greg@pottsfamily.ca> wrote:
>> Hi Volks,
>>
>> Ever since I have installed the replacement 1.9 engine in my 87
>> wolfsburg it's been running great. But...
>>
>> Once or twice a week, after running 15 minutes or more, I hear a great
>> deal of gurgling from the engine compartment, usually followed by a gush
>> of a liter or so of coolant.
>>
>> What would be causing this? Air in the rad? Bad coolant resevoir cap?
>>
>> The temp gauge needle consistently sits on the top edge of the LED, and
>> doesn't move from that spot unless I am stuck in traffic, where it might
>> rise a needle-width or so before the rad fan comes on.
>>
>> Another thing I noticed recently... If I am parked in the sun then I
>> notice that the rad fan will come on at low speed as soon as I start the
>> ignition. This only happens when the front of the bus is warm though; it
>> never happens in early morning or at night.
>>
>
> Hi Greg.
>
> I recalled that Michael (aka Mr. Squirrel) had a similar issue.
> (search "....making coolant....") This from Ken Wilford on checking
> the cap:
>
> -------
>
> "Your expansion tank cap is probably bad and not holding pressure.  Take
> it off and try sucking through it (clean the coolant off first).  If you
> can easily suck on it then it is toast and needs to be replaced.  Many
> are in the condition and folks just don't know.  It is important that
> they hold pressure because if not then the boiling point of your coolant
> is lower than it should be so it will overheat easier."
>
> --------
>
> As for the rad fan, do you have access to a IR thermometer? Can't
> imagine that the sunlight alone would be enough to heat up the rad but
> maybe.....
>
> Neil.
>
>
> --
> Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"
>
> http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
>