Fuel economy.  You will burn more fuel if not at the correct operating temp.

Jason

On Thu, Jan 4, 2018 at 5:22 PM, Toomey Douglas <drt@uoregon.edu> wrote:

> This has been an interesting thread. Two years or so ago a new radiator
> was put in my 87 van and after that the temperature gauge ran consistently
> below the red indicator light; prior to the new radiator it ran on the high
> side of the red light.  This did not really concern me, until recently,
> when I noticed that it is harder to get the cabin warm in the winter.
>
> I had mistakenly thought the new radiator was more efficient.  From this
> thread, it seems that the thermostat may not be working well.  Except for
> the slight lack of heat, is there any downside to my gauges indicating a
> cooler temperature for running?
>
> Thanks,
>
> Doug
>
>
> > On Jan 4, 2018, at 1:24 PM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@HOTMAIL.COM>
> wrote:
> >
> > Of course in colder weather it will take longer for an engine to warm
> up. With a thermostat that cracks open to early it may never warm up. Most
> vehicles with small engine do not have 5 gallons of cold coolant available
> so even if a stat opens early they still warm up. Another reason is that
> the intake air used for combustion is also colder so a lot of cooling
> occurs just from intake air. This is a real problem with diesels as they do
> not have throttles so every piston stroke takes in the full volume of air
> and at idle there is just small amount of fuel burning to warm it.
> >
> > However, your engine still uses the mixing approach and the heaters
> alone have a lot capacity for cooling the engine. If the temp gauge seems
> to only go to some point lower than normal it could be a bad or lazy stat.
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> > From: Neil N [mailto:musomuso@gmail.com]
> > Sent: Thursday, January 4, 2018 3:12 PM
> > To: Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
> > Cc: vanagon <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
> > Subject: Re: Thermostats especially in colder weather
> >
> > Thanks for that brand suggestion Dennis. Though I'm running a different
> VW engine in my Vanagon, I have to wonder if the thermostat is part of the
> reason my heater is barely adequate in cooler temps (e.g. 0º C) Amazon also
> shows a "Mahle Original TX...." for my engine.
> >
> > Though my engine has a different cooling system routing, it seems that
> in colder weather, my temp gauge needle to take longer to get into
> position. I thought that was normal. Seems not.
> >
> > Neil.
> >
> > On Thu, Jan 4, 2018 at 11:52 AM, Dennis Haynes <d23haynes57@hotmail.com>
> wrote:
> >
> > ..... I just installed a Mahle TX 24 87D. First road test, WOW! Granted
> it is now ~50 here and sunny. Up to temp, gauge needle dead center in ~3
> miles. I will be stocking these. And man the heat works again.
> > You can get them here.
> > https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00D3DH4J6/ref=oh_aui_
> detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
> >
> > Dennis
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > --
> > Neil n
> >
> > Blog: Vanagons, Westfalia, general
> >
> > 1988 Westy Images
> >
> > 1981 Westfalia "Jaco" Images, technical
> >
> > Vanagon-Bus VAG Gas Engine Swap Group
> >
>