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Sat May 05, 2012 8:06 pm

Was driving tonight and the engine did not feel quite right. Out of curiosity, I turned the heat on and it was blowing way too hard. Pulled off the freeway and put my hand behind the sled tins; there was little air coming out, and it was too hot. Dipstick almost burned my hand. I shut down and let it sit for a while, then removed the right sled tin and the thermostat. The linkage stayed in the closed position! I reached behind the shroud, grabbed the linkage where the spring attaches, and pushed to the left. The linkage or flaps were caught on something, but moved freely after it popped loose. I left the thermostat off since the spring was holding the flaps firmly open. The engine returned to it's normal feel on the way home, but I'm going to pull the shroud apart to find out what caused the problem before putting the thermostat back in.

Just glad I did not ignore it and keep driving until it locked... :?

Paul

Sat May 05, 2012 9:12 pm

I have both an oil temperature and oil pressure guage in all my air cooled VWs, and always keep an eye on them. I recommend adding a set if you use your Ghia regularly. They've saved my butt on several occasions.

Sat May 05, 2012 9:50 pm

If you were going to have just one, which would it be...pressure, or temperature. I assume oil temperature.

Sat May 05, 2012 11:38 pm

Temp, no question.

Sun May 06, 2012 6:22 am

Bruce wrote: Temp, no question.
Yeah, that's what I'm going for. I shudder to think of what would have happened if I ignored the subtle signs :(

Sun May 06, 2012 6:32 am

61 BUS wrote: I have both an oil temperature and oil pressure guage in all my air cooled VWs, and always keep an eye on them. I recommend adding a set if you use your Ghia regularly. They've saved my butt on several occasions.

How do you add a an oil temp gauge? Is there a kit at the local auto store?

Sun May 06, 2012 7:50 am

todd73ghia wrote: 61 BUS wrote: I have both an oil temperature and oil pressure guage in all my air cooled VWs, and always keep an eye on them. I recommend adding a set if you use your Ghia regularly. They've saved my butt on several occasions.

How do you add a an oil temp gauge? Is there a kit at the local auto store? x2

Sun May 06, 2012 7:58 am

The oil pressure and oil temperature sensors bolt into the block where the old oil pressure switch is currently located. You need to get a brass T fitting. The T fitting screws into the block, then the pressure sensor screws into the horizontal receptacle and the temp sensor screws into the vertical receptacle. I mounted my guages under the dash where the ash tray used to be. Many places like Chirco sell the required fittings.

I'll post pix later on this morning.

Sun May 06, 2012 8:48 am

On my 66, I mounted two 52 mm (2 1/16") VDO gauges under the dash next to the ash tray. Gauges are oil pressure and CHT (cylinder head temperature).

Sun May 06, 2012 9:38 am

Here are pictures of the sending units and the guages mounted under my dash

Sun May 06, 2012 9:58 am

Does that temperature sensor have a tip that extends into the oil flow? Just curious...

Sun May 06, 2012 10:28 am

I have a set of those guages that came on a type 3 I used to own. I also have the sending unit for them. But, not sure how to wire it. Can somebody give me a quick explanation on how to run the wires, ground, etc for these 2 guages.

Sun May 06, 2012 1:32 pm

intuition goes a long way on our old vw's . good catch!

this thread from the beetle forum details some easy temp monitoring upgrades using existing wiring and 'idiot' light.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4...mp;start=0

i have found over the years that a CHT gauge is the quickest to detect a problem , though i run oil pressure and temp gauge as well

keep in mind that adding gauges means running new wire from the engine compartment up to behind the dash. not difficult but chore sum . so plan ahead and run multiple wires at once. add an extra wire or two( for a tach ,etc.) that you might want in the future .

a tip for late models:
if your rear defrost grid is defunct , you can use that wire from the defrost relay to the dash switch for a gauge sender connection

Sun May 06, 2012 2:16 pm

So, what method do you use to measure Cylinder Head Temperature? Do you just use the idiot light, or do you have an actual guage?

Sun May 06, 2012 4:35 pm

good idea about using the defunct defrost wire.

Question. What should the normal engine temperature be?

Mon May 07, 2012 9:39 am

todd73ghia wrote: good idea about using the defunct defrost wire.

Question. What should the normal engine temperature be?
I've heard 180 - 220 degrees Fahrenheit for oil temperature discussed as being "normal" for a Type I, i.e., ghia, beetle, thing. Normal CHT measured at Cylinder #3 is higher, typically around 250-325 degrees F, but this can vary depending on the gauge.

Lots of threads in the engine forum regarding this very question. Here's an example:

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=477367&highlight=normal+oil+temperature

Mon May 07, 2012 1:06 pm

Something similar almost caught me out when I installed a new engine in my 71 bus. Obviously I re-used german tin and made sure the flaps, linkage and thermostat were all in place, the one thing I didn't inspect too closely though was the amount of wear/play in the flap-shaft bushes, although the thermostat was doing its job, the flaps were in effect sort of moving up and down (and jamming) rather than opening as they should. I'd had difficulty setting the 'cold' position of the thermostat, so this should have been a warning sign, but I was against the clock due to an upcoming trip AND I only discovered this when I went to install the thermostat after the initial break-in period of the new engine, by which time it was in the van and too late to do anything about the flaps. The fortunate part is that I also installed one of the much maligned VDO CHT gauges at the same time as the new engine, and it was that that saved my bacon. As a 'fix' I removed the thermostat until I get a chance to swap the fanshroud later in the year.

Ant

Mon May 07, 2012 2:52 pm

todd73ghia wrote: good idea about using the defunct defrost wire. Yeah, but what if you have a working rear defroster? What are those three people gonna do?

:lol:

Paul

Mon May 07, 2012 3:38 pm

Those 3 people dont DRIVE their cars. They trailer them to the show.....

Mon May 07, 2012 5:18 pm

I used electrical tape to bundle all of the wires I needed for my tachometer, oil pressure, and CHT gauges into a cable, which I then routed the same way as the stock engine wiring, i.e., under the driver side sill plate and through a couple of body grommets into the rear quarter panel and then the engine compartment. Shrink wrap would have been even cleaner, IMO.