[Vwdiesel] low rad temp

[Patrick Dolan]

Lots of aftermarket thermostats, many of infinitely higher quality than what VW ships and meeting all required dimensions and specifications.  Yanks may not know how to make a car, but their industry can still make a bloody good thermostat. Unfortunately, you can only go so far without having to do something with the fan switches, so a 5 degree rise is all I dare risk.

I will check cable travel to blend door, but the big issue is one of taking a very long time to GET to temperature, and then a secondary issue of inadequate heat from heater.  I have never been impressed with any HVAC sytem that manages airflow instead of giving me direct control over water.  Worse yet, the squareheads are not very good at adapting US technology or techniques, and they (nor any other European) have a clue what cold temperatures really are (I should add, in the '70s I was one of the coldest VW dealer locations in the world, and these engineering problems were a constant issue then, as apparently now).

----- Original Message -----
From: LBaird119 at aol.com
Date: Sunday, December 7, 2008 11:02 am
Subject: Re: [Vwdiesel] low rad temp

> In a message dated 12/7/2008 6:57:02 AM Pacific Standard Time, 
> pmdolan at sasktel.net writes:
> 
> > I have to comment that of all of the cars I have driven (with 
> water 
> > cooling), my wife's '03 Variant TDI is by far the worst for 
> winter heating - which 
> > is so amazing since her last A2 Jetta sedan TD was the BEST!!!
> > 
> > To make this thing bearable (hardly good, definitely no where 
> near great), 
> > we use a 1,100 watt circulating heater when parked, a 92C 
> thermostat (NAPA), a 
> > winter front (dealer gets them made somewhere, very nice part) 
> and it is 
> > still bloody cold.  VW just plain screwed up (again).
> > 
> 
> 
>  Two things I'd check.  First, I haven't seen an aftermarket 
> thermostat (for the A1 and A2 anyway) that had nearly as 
> big an opening and most don't have the secondary "valve" 
> on them either, which diverts heater coolant properly, I believe.
> Many also have bleed holes, which the OEM ones don't.  That'll
> lose almost as much heat as these things make.
>  Second I'd check that the heater valve opens all the way, 
> there's not a restriction, something got in the heater core, kink 
> in the hose etc.  Check the temp coming out with a thermometer 
> and how it does on lower fan speeds compared to high.  If you 
> get too much temp drop then circulation is down.  You may just 
> happen to have a problem instead of a bad model.  :-)
>    Loren
> 
> 
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