Radiator card board deflectors

[stevey88]

I am replacing the radiator and in the process of doing this, the two card boards at both side of the radiator just fell apart in pieces. Can I leave them out or should I get new ones at a cost of $32 ?
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Steve

87 Westfalia full camper 4 speed

[pinealservo]

I'd replace them either with the $32 replacements or something custom. Doesn't do your cooling system much good if the air going into the nose goes around the radiator instead of through it, and there's a lot of space to fill there.

[Volksaholic]

I replaced the two I could order... the bottom and left, if I recall correctly. The other side appeared to be NLA and was in good enough shape that I reused it.

pd
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1988 Wolfsburg Edition, 2001 Subaru EJ251

[SouthOlive]

[Volksaholic]

[GeeZ12]

I use the foam pipe insulation you get from hardware stores or 'noodles' you get for your kids to play in swimming pools - comes in 4 ft lengths - just cut and compress to fit around the radiator.

just my 2¢

[hiram6]

I haven't done this, but i remember someone in another thread had this idea, and it sounds plausible....and cheap! Use your old crumbling pieces of cardboard to use as a template, and cut new ones from corrugated plastic. So where do you find corrugated plastic, you may ask. Well, your neighborhood intersection probably has some sitting around. it will look like this:

or like this:

paint it with a nice Krylon Fusion paint in a flat black, and there ya go.
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1985 Westy, 1.9L automatic (Daisy)
1996 Mazda Miata
1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.9 Limited

You can't lie around on the beach and drink rum all day.................unless you start first thing in the morning.

[randywebb]

mine are intact, but warped

any ideas on how to hold them in place when I put the Grill back on?
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1986 2.1L Westy 2wd Auto Trans.

[OhChit]

I recently did a set on a friends Van when upgrading his radiator, he picked up some of that Black Arts and Crafts Foam Poster Board from one of the marts. It worked out faily well and we just zipped tied the sides in place using a few black wire ties, on the bottom we used the screw locations. I think that the plastic yard signs might be a little more sturdy and thought that I remembered seeing that forsale also in black in AC More etc Arts and Crafts section.
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Fast Cars, and Slow Women Makes me DrooL.

[Californio]

Aluminum flashing. Cut with scissors to fit both sides and the bottom, lasts forever. I covered mine with sound deadener and then foil insulation after installing.

[Volksaholic]

The guy at Van-Cafe suggested that roofing felt (folks call it "tarpaper") has been suggested, and I considered scavenging some from a roofing job and laminating it with contact cement to build it up to 3/16" or so. I decided the one used piece I had to reuse was good enough, though... it was tired but not disintegrated.

pd
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1988 Wolfsburg Edition, 2001 Subaru EJ251

[DAIZEE]

I don't know re the condition of mine as I did not know of their existance and if I even have them. Can the absence of these lead to coolant system boiling?
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[tencentlife]

They do very little, if your cooling system is otherwise in good working order you would never notice they were missing.

I have a customer's van that is getting a new radiator and he ordered the panels new from VC. I'm going to install them but if it was my own van, even with a used radiator I wouldn't bother with them, with a new rad I definitely wouldn't bother.
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Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[DAIZEE]

thanks.
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'09 2.5L Jetta 5 cylinder, 5 spd, super turbo, see thread in H2O Cooled Jetta, etc...
83.5 Vanagon L Riviera Model with 98 1.9L TD AAZ 4 speed Daily Driver 3 out of 4 seasons (sold)
84 Vanagon GL Wolfsburg Westy WBX 4 speed (sold)

[stevey88]

Just the comment I wanted to hear. Thanks 10c.
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Steve

87 Westfalia full camper 4 speed

[Pascal]

I've run mine with some of them missing and the original radiator. When I replaced the radiator I bought new ones from the Bus Depot and this year I discovered that one side of grill was missing it's deflector so I made one with several layers of roofing felt.

Bottom line thought is that I have seen not improvement in cooling with or without them.
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'84 Westy - 2.2wbx, GT Torque-Biasing Differential
'91 EA Cabby

[tencentlife]

The way I see it the one across the bottom is the only one that even conceivably raises pressure on the front face of the rad, and even that would be negligible because the pressure there is already high and once it touches the front of the rad the air is too viscous to escape the fins. It would be like the diffference between going 50 mph and 50.5 mph. The side ones couldn't produce any effect to speak of, there's barely any gap for them to fill. Yet another of VW's solutions in search of a problem.
_________________
Shop for unique Vanagon accessories at the Vanistan shop:
https://intrepidoverland.com/vanistan/

Please don't PM here, I will not reply.

Experience is kryptonite to doctrine.

[Vanagon Nut]