Hot air?

[eddioke]

My 1.7 1989 T3 is the most modern VW campervan to date I am useing it now as my daily drive, but is it right or is there a problem? Before I had transporter's from 1963/1979 all Aircooled, none of which blew warm air, some of which I also used as a daily drive, once upon a time I was driving to work I ran out of de icer I had to drive the last few hundred yards with the window down my head out to see. I have not drove my new to me T3 more than 10 mile's yet but its blowing warm air, the temperature guage might be working but has never got off the starting line so I class this as a failure, before I put the van on the road I had a new cambelt fitted at a local garage I trust I also had the garage do an oil change and antifreeze change the owner questioned the temperature guage? Tomorrow I have to do 50+ mile's at silly o clock OK I am with green flag but before I set off should I make sure my mobile phone is fully charged?

[boatbuilder]

Hot air just indicates there's coolant in the system but it bypasses the thermostat to get to the heater core so worst case scenario if your thermostat is stuck closed engine will overheat.

[chuckle-bus-tom]

Mine takes about 2-3 miles to blow warm and this is way before the temp gauge needle has started to rise. At full running temperature the needle on both my vans temp gauges sit just to the right of centre and the air blows positively hot.

To my understanding, the coolant system on these engines is quite critical to safe running temperatures, with resulting problems being a seized engine through warping. Best to have a look through the Wiki (on the top navigation bar of this site) and also through a Haynes manual to check your van is behaving.

[Ian Hulley]

Not into Dervs but the critical thing on the petrol vans is the header tank 'Dalek' cap, this holds expanding coolant in the header tank (out of sight in the engine bay) until it reaches a certain pressure and then allows it to pass into the top-up tank (behind the cat flap) as the system cools down coolant can pass back into the header tank which should always be full , leaving the top-up tank on the 'Max' line. If you stop after a good run and check your top-up tank it will often be above the 'Full' line ... that is normal.

A failed 'Dalek' cap either allows free flow of coolant which can blow out of the vent holes in the top-up tank OR not allow pressure to be released which leads to a blown header tank or the weakest link in the cooling system being blown apart ... that can be a hose, a coolant pipe or the thermostat housing. Do NOT buy cheap Dalek caps, only buy the more expensive one from Brickwerks. To test your Dalek cap take to off and (after wiping it) blow down the spout, there should be a kind of toot as the valve opens to allow the air through it.

Hope this helps, Ian.

[eddioke]

Mine takes about 2-3 miles to blow warm and this is way before the temp gauge needle has started to rise. At full running temperature the needle on both my vans temp gauges sit just to the right of centre and the air blows positively hot.

To my understanding, the coolant system on these engines is quite critical to safe running temperatures, with resulting problems being a seized engine through warping. Best to have a look through the Wiki (on the top navigation bar of this site) and also through a Haynes manual to check your van is behaving.

Hopefully that's same as mine too thanks

[eddioke]

Hot air just indicates there's coolant in the system but it bypasses the thermostat to get to the heater core so worst case scenario if your thermostat is stuck closed engine will overheat.

Cheer's mind it was blowing a ga!e outside so that didn't help ether the heat or the seasickr loly

[eddioke]

Not into Dervs but the critical thing on the petrol vans is the header tank 'Dalek' cap, this holds expanding coolant in the header tank (out of sight in the engine bay) until it reaches a certain pressure and then allows it to pass into the top-up tank (behind the cat flap) as the system cools down coolant can pass back into the header tank which should always be full , leaving the top-up tank on the 'Max' line. If you stop after a good run and check your top-up tank it will often be above the 'Full' line ... that is normal.

A failed 'Dalek' cap either allows free flow of coolant which can blow out of the vent holes in the top-up tank OR not allow pressure to be released which leads to a blown header tank or the weakest link in the cooling system being blown apart ... that can be a hose, a coolant pipe or the thermostat housing. Do NOT buy cheap Dalek caps, only buy the more expensive one from Brickwerks. To test your Dalek cap take to off and (after wiping it) blow down the spout, there should be a kind of toot as the valve opens to allow the air through it.

Hope this helps, Ian.

It was helpful thanks

[kevtherev]

Test the temp gauge by removing the sender wire and grounding on the engine.
The gauge should rise immediately to the top.
If it doesn't the sender needs replacing.

[Mocki]

From what I remember from my very brief forray with a 1.7d t25 it took several miles before the temp got to anything like normal , and that was in the summer ( of discontent) .....
As has been said, make sure the header tank is full to the brim, keep the heater switched to not and let your knee keep a eye on the temperature, if it suddenly goes cold, then returns to warm and so on, you have a airlock

If it's constant but the gauge still don't move , it's a gauge problem .....