Have I got a radiator problem

Post by **Diane** » 13 Jan 2007, 22:09

Hi

My van (1.9 1990) has always run at normal temp with the guage reading in the middle. For the last few weeks it has been running cold with the needle just above the cold (white) area on the guage. There has also been a small water leak from the thermostat cover.

I removed the thermostat and tested it - all seems OK but thought I would replace it anyway. I bought one from GSF but had to take it back as it would not physically fit. I refitted the old one with a new O ring and refilled and bled the system. The leak has stopped but the temp guage still reads low and even after a journey of 1 1/2 hours the radiator is cool to tepid to touch. The heater works fine.

Do I have a problem or am I being over sensitive?

Post by **Fritz** » 13 Jan 2007, 22:51

Diane,,,,,,,,,I can relate to your problems as my 1.9 camper has also been runnig cool till recently.........

It would be wise to eliminate the thermostat with a genuine item if that is what it takes, as it is the sort of thing you need to be happy about without too much messing about with aftermarket items as you have found.

If your problem continues with a new stat fitted, you may have to check/replace the temp transmitter also fitted to the thermostat housing.
Other faults after that could have somthing to do with the printed circuit (bad connections etc) behind the clocks.

Regards,

Fritz,,,,,,,

,

Post by **Diane** » 14 Jan 2007, 08:42

Fritz, Thanks I am going to try a new stat but should the radiator be cold to touch after a 90 min journey? The radiator on my other car gets too hot to touch!

Post by **Fritz** » 14 Jan 2007, 23:18

Diane,,,,its me again sorry to be a pest,,,
In theory if the rad isn't getting warm/hot you should really be having overheating problems eg, showing hot on the gauge/heater excessively hot/loosing lots of water due to boiling up etc etc.

If none of the above are present I would have to be looking at the cheapest/easyest itmes of the system to eliminate before pointing the finger at the radiator.......

Regards,

Fritz,,,,,

Post by **Andy syncro-nutz** » 15 Jan 2007, 01:41

Make sure your temp sender wiring is ticketyboo! If you put it to earth your guage will shoot to the top thus telling you your guage is working! Keep it simple & and try not let it bog you down!!!

Post by **Mocki** » 15 Jan 2007, 07:58

kinda depends on the outside air temp too, if its running ok, and the heater is hot, dont worry too much, it sounds like a sender problem, does the rad get hot and the fan kick in if you leave it standing ticking over?

Post by **ringo** » 15 Jan 2007, 09:24

Hi,

I changed the coolant in my 1.7d yesterday and i too noticed that the radiator doesnt get that warm.

Everything else works though - so im lucky!

Where is the temperature sender ? Is there only one ? I look to have two likely candidates - one on a pipe coming out the back of the head and one attached to the side of the head near the glow plugs....

Ringo

Post by **toomanytoys** » 15 Jan 2007, 10:53

Remember there is about 18L of coolant in a t25.. the rad will never get "hot" in cold weather as ithe system is far to effective at reducing temperatures... a "normal" car hold maybe 5L...

could be the stat is opening too soon, so a gen VW one would be worth fitting.. also a new sender, if the heater is giving really hot air even on a cold day witht he fan on max for a few minutes.., then its prob ok..

Post by **Aidan** » 15 Jan 2007, 19:16

original symptoms are tstat failed open imho, subsequently I'd suggest air in system as rad not getting hot, and you're just using the heater as cooling matrix which is ok as the engine isn't getting properly warm which will increase wear and fuel consumption. genuine tstat is silly money but cheap ones do seem to be poor often ime.

Post by **Diane** » 15 Jan 2007, 20:23

Thanks for the advice. I have ordered a VW stat and will flush the system again when I fit it.
The temp doesn't rise if the van is left ticking over and only rises slightly if I turn the heater off. Neither circumstance makes the fan come on.
Thanks again.

Post by **Arvi** » 18 Jan 2007, 19:56

i had similar prob on my van

heater would work fine but rad was always cold

try running van with heater set to cold position if temp guage shoots up rad is blocked

my old rad looked fine from outside but was blocked up with sludge

Post by **Diane** » 27 Jan 2007, 09:03

Arvi
Turning the heater off only slightly increses the temp teading. But then turning it back on and the temp drops into the cold part of the guage.
I have put a new VW stat in and at first it seemed to improve but now its back to where it was ie just out of the cold part of the guage. All components check out ok as other suggestions and everything flushes out OK.
Will leave it and see if things change.

Club 80-90 Forums

Have I got a radiator problem

Have I got a radiator problem

Temp problems