To late in the year now to test the coolant thermostat. Winter has arrived on the mountain. 8 below And a foot of snow on the ground. Putting our Westy to bed. The mice will be getting back their home. 

Dennis

Dennis Jowell
Scotch Hollow Farm
West Newbury, Vermont 

> On Dec 8, 2014, at 12:27 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM> wrote:
> 
> There are 16 cups to a gallon. 2 cups/month is 1.5 gallons/year. That is a
> leak, not normal consumption. At that rate you should never need to change
> the coolant as it is getting replaced about 2.5 years. Regular additions of
> coolant are actually bad for a system for a number of reasons. While I agree
> that coolant level should be checked frequently there should only be a
> minimal loss. The only expected loss should be evaporation from the overflow
> tank.
> 
> Dennis
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of
> SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )
> Sent: Saturday, December 6, 2014 7:15 PM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Re: Final Oil pressure result
> 
> At least look behind the license plate at that bottle.
> 
> if all is normal..coolant will be a couple inches deep at least in there.
>  ( I have seen *many* of them pretty low or empty ..
> most vanagons in my experiencing use coolant slightly ..
> say cup or two a month . )
> 
> if the guy opened up the system ..
> and the cap on the pressure bottle is working like it should ( not always a
> give ) you may find the license plate bottle low or empty.
> 
> 
> 
>> On 12/6/2014 1:26 PM, Dennis Jowell wrote:
>> Thanks for the quick update on my oil pressure. I'll talk them about this
> and check the coolant level tomorrow .
>> 
>> Dennis Jowell
>> Scotch Hollow Farm
>> West Newbury, Vermont
>> 
>> 
>>> On Dec 6, 2014, at 6:00 PM, SDF ( aka ;jim lahey' - Scott )
> <scottdaniel@turbovans.com> wrote:
>>> 
>>> perfect oil pressure readings.
>>> 
>>> find out if any coolant pipes were touched working on the oil pump.
>>> if the cooling system was opened up ..
>>> sounds like something is going on ..
>>> like air in the system.
>>> 
>>> I have never ever seen a t-stat itself  make gauge reading swings..
>>> right now I'd say cooling system not bled propery. ( usually not a
>>> big deal either )
>>> 
>>> or possible gauge weirdness.
>>> 
>>> 
>>>> On 12/5/2014 1:57 AM, Dennis Jowell wrote:
>>>> OK here are the final results of Noah reworking the oil pressure
> syndrome problem on my 88 Westy. Drove 200 miles yesterday on the interstate
> and back to the farm.
>>>> 
>>>> 65 mph, 3200 rpm's, 42 psi.
>>>> At idle 12 psi
>>>> I think this is all within acceptable parameters ? Any thoughts ?
>>>> What was done was to replace and add the correct gaskets and sealant at
> the oil pump and flange cover etc. that was the problem.
>>>> Thanks to all of you with your suggestions, they helped in diagnosing
> the problem.
>>>> 
>>>> One almost final note is that during my test drive of yesterday I
> noticed that the thermostat now has swings of up to 60% range down to 20%
> range on the gauge. Before I dropped it off to Noah the gauge was constant
> at 50%. Is this coincidental or just another new problem? Could something
> been unplugged during the oil pump problem? I'll look at the coolant  level
> this morning. The weather may warm a bit its 2 below now.
>>>> 
>>>> Thanks for all the help
>>>> 
>>>> Dennis
>>>> 
>>>> Dennis Jowell
>>>> Scotch Hollow Farm
>>>> 
>>>> 
>>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>> 
>>>>> From: Dennis Jowell <dennisjowell@gmail.com>
>>>>> Date: November 24, 2014 at 6:41:36 AM EST
>>>>> To: Noah VW Repair Crowther <craigsvwrepair@yahoo.com>
>>>>> Subject: Fwd: Oil pressure ?
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Dennis Jowell
>>>>> Scotch Hollow Farm
>>>>> 
>>>>> 
>>>>> Begin forwarded message:
>>>>> 
>>>>>> From: Alistair Bell <albell@shaw.ca>
>>>>>> Date: November 24, 2014 at 1:37:05 AM EST
>>>>>> To: Dennis Jowell <dennisjowell@GMAIL.COM>
>>>>>> Subject: Re: Oil pressure ?
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I bet the oil pump gasket is the problem. Well that sounds arrogant
> and assured, but if the oil pressure problem arose after the gasket
> replacement....
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> I'd go back to the no gasket set up, using the loctite anerobic gasket
> goo.
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Good luck,
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> Alistair
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> On Nov 23, 2014, at 3:30 AM, Dennis Jowell <dennisjowell@GMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> The seal that was replaced was the pulley seal close to the oil pump
> cover and that seal area was also resealed. Noah's shop also added a small
> gasket at the pump cover which had none except a silicone type sealant was
> used from GOWESTY. I tried 2 different OP blue pressure switches with the
> same results happening.
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> Dennis Jowell
>>>>>>>> Scotch Hollow Farm
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> On Nov 23, 2014, at 12:22 AM, Dennis Haynes
> <d23haynes57@hotmail.com> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> I would be concerned that the problem started after replacing the
> rear seal.
>>>>>>>>> I would also be concerned that the seal had to be replaced on a new
> engine.
>>>>>>>>> Something is wrong. Are we talking the rear seal as in the
>>>>>>>>> pulley seal or the flywheel seal? Or was is the oil pump cover
>>>>>>>>> seal? Then I would suspect the wrong gasket was installed.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> One thing I would do is get the rear oil pressure switch from the
> dealer.
>>>>>>>>> The aftermarket ones including the OEM looking Meyle stuff is
>>>>>>>>> junk and they are all over the place. The newer dealer switches
>>>>>>>>> have also been redesigned with more band between setting on and
> releasing to help prevent the falsies.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Dennis
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]
>>>>>>>>> On Behalf Of Dennis Jowell
>>>>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2014 7:00 PM
>>>>>>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Re: Oil pressure ?
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> New filter, oil is 20w50 NAPA, oil level is slightly less than
>>>>>>>>> 1/2 on the stick. Pressure does rise off idle. Not to sure if
>>>>>>>>> oil cooler is working or how to check it out. It was 20 out
>>>>>>>>> during the 80 mile trip back an forth from the farm. Could
>>>>>>>>> there be an oil pump problem on the new 2.2 engine? The oil
>>>>>>>>> pump pressure was tested by Noah when the rear seal started to
>>>>>>>>> leak and he replaced the seal. Then the trouble with the light/
> buzzer syndrome started.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Dennis Jowell
>>>>>>>>> Scotch Hollow Farm
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>>> On Nov 22, 2014, at 6:42 PM, Dennis Haynes
>>>>>>>>>> <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
>>>>>>>>> wrote:
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> What viscosity oil are you using? 22 psi at 3,600 RPM is low
>>>>>>>>> especially for a new engine. Any chance you are over filling it?
>>>>>>>>> Clogged or otherwise restricted filter? Is the oil cooler
>>>>>>>>> working? The
>>>>>>>>> 6 psi at idle is also low but not that uncommon Pressure should
>>>>>>>>> rise quickly above idle. 28 psi at
>>>>>>>>> 3800 is considered a wear limit unless there are extenuating
>>>>>>>>> circumstances such as after a prolonged high speed drive.
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Dennis
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>>>>>> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com]
>>>>>>>>> On Behalf Of Dennis Jowell
>>>>>>>>> Sent: Saturday, November 22, 2014 5:50 PM
>>>>>>>>> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
>>>>>>>>> Subject: Oil pressure ?
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> After installing my new VDO electric oil gauge I finally took
>>>>>>>>> my 88 Westy out this afternoon for a test ride. Driving the
>>>>>>>>> interstate at 65 mph, oil is at 22 psi, drove for another 40
>>>>>>>>> miles down to the exit ramp and oil pressure light/buzzer goes off
> at the end of the ramp.
>>>>>>>>> PSI was at 6 at 900 rpm's. Is this common? Or is there a
>>>>>>>>> problem with my new GOWESTY engine that has 3000+ miles on it ?
>>>>>>>>> 
>>>>>>>>> Dennis Jowell
>>>>>>>>> Scotch Hollow Farm