Question of cooling system design theory,I-5 engine

[Tony Hoffman]

Fellow Q-heads,

I have a question of theory as I'm working on the A/C system of my '86 4000
Quattro.

Firts, a little background. I live in Houston, where we already are seeing
90 degree highs :( So, since my A/C compressor dies at the end of last
summer, I've decided to upgrade while I'm in there. I have installed the
rotary compressor from a 90Q, which also requires the lines, brackets, and
Oil filter adapter. All said and done, the system is putting out 44 degrees
from the vents at 80 degree outside temps. Pretty good, for what I've seen
so far. I've never been able to get it below 40 with the old setup. If I had
the old setup just as it is now(I'll go over those details in a minute) it
would be putting out somewhere around 52-55 degrees. So, I'm pretty pleased.

However, in every 4000Q I've owned or driven recently, even with the heater
all the way off (verified under the hood against the stop) the heater never
quits giving out slightly heated air. I've replaced the heater valve on
several of them as well. This current one will be replaced, as I have a new
one here, but hasn't yet.

Looking at the coolant routing, it appears that the heater core runs are
sort of a "bypass" of sorts for the thremostat. So, if that's the case,
maybe it isn't designed to ever shut off completely?

So, here's the question, if I completely shut off that coolant flow, does
that create hot spots in the cooling system or engine. I really can't see
how it could, but I want to make sure.

With the old system, I did have a set of pinch pliers designed to stop flow
through rubber lines when you are working on them. Examples would be when
you take a fuel hose off the pump, but don't want to drain the tank. I did
that all last year, as that was the only way to get the temp from the vents
below about 55degrees on hot days. I did not experience any sort of
overheating, nor was anything damaged that I know of. But, I've got a valve
setup that I'll be adding to permenantly shut off the heat during the
summers, and I just want to make sure I'm not going to stop the flow that
may be engineered into the cooling system.

As always, TIA,
Tony Hoffman