Interesting discussion, but it's apples and oranges.  Shawn, I think it's
inappropriate to compare the cooling of your Turbo inline 4 Jetta with the
WB.  There are stark differences in the oil cooling systems, the loads
placed on the engines, and the way the engines are designed to deliver
their power/torque.  It is all ancedotal info.

I have found the cooling to be adequate on all the WB's that I have driven
under all conditions UNLESS there was a problem with the cooling system (an
all too frequent occurance).  One of the most common is/was the failure of
the cooling fan switch.  When the cooling fan doesn't go on when it should,
you get over heating (incidently, this was true with the GTIs/Jettas as
well).  If you're over heating in 1st and 2nd I'd look into this.

But if you don't think the cooling system as stock is sufficient, you can
add a fan switch and thermostat with a lower temp range.  VW makes
replacements that just drop right in. Select the range that you want!

>On 15 Jul 96 at 14:38, SyncroHead@aol.com wrote:
>
>> I expect that you'll say - "Ahhh,  that's only coolant temperature, What
>> about the oil temperature?"  It is true that presently I am not able to
>> monitor oil temperature.  Oil temperature can be much more volitile than
>> coolant temperature, but after a sustained period under extreme condiditions
>> the coolant temperature will inevitibly rise if oil temperature remains very
>> high.  This would have been refelcted on the coolant temperature gage before
>> long & it wasn't.
>While I agree the w/b cooling system seems adequate so far on my '88
>under normal conditions, I do find it cannot cope with 1st & 2nd gear
>travel for prolonged periods, even when keeping revs up to maintain
>coolant flow. I often stop too cool off after 20-30 minutes of rough
>road travel in these conditions.
>I must disagree with your conclusion about the relationship between
>oil & coolant temps, based on experience with my Jetta. I have a
>mechanical oil pressure gauge on my Jetta which also reflects oil
>temps somewhat. I find oil temp will climb slightly faster than
>coolant temp on hills as indicated by a quick drop of about 10psi in
>pressure. This is followed by coolant temp rise. However, the coolant
>temp will drop to normal in about 1 minute of flat driving, while the
>oil pressure will remain low for 5-10 minutes or more. I attribute
>the quick rise in oil temp to the turbo on my Jetta, but since it has
>the same oil-to-coolant exchanger as on the Vanagon, I suspect the
>cool down process of the oil is similar in the Vanagon. So a coolant
>gauge which has returned to 'normal' doesn't necessarily mean the
>engine oil is also 'normal'.
>
> Shawn
>'88 Westy 332k (Kyra)
>'85 Jetta TD 350k (Jenni)