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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17110
Location: Retired South Florida
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 Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 12:05 pm Post subject: |
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So it is an oil level sensor indicator, not a oil pressure indicator? Yes that is of less concern. Most level indicators would indicate when you were a qt low in stock trim and it is not hard to imagine the level flowing a qt to one side or the other.
On the drawing you provided. The engine outlet to the radiator and heater core are represented by a single part. Is that an empty housing or is the thermostat in that peice? If not, where is the thermostat in that drawing? Without seeing the thermostat, I can see why you might have a heater problem. Coolant will naturally flow the path of least resistance. I can see two places to improve the heat, but I need that extra tid bit of info I asked about.
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indytriple
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2009
Posts: 710
Location: Brownsburg, Indiana
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| Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 1:09 pm Post subject: |
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| rsxsr wrote: |
| On the drawing you provided. The engine outlet to the radiator and heater core are represented by a single part. Is that an empty housing or is the thermostat in that peice? If not, where is the thermostat in that drawing? Without seeing the thermostat, I can see why you might have a heater problem. Coolant will naturally flow the path of least resistance. I can see two places to improve the heat, but I need that extra tid bit of info I asked about. |
That part is the thermostat housing. The thermostat is in the bottom of that.
Keep in mind that they totally redesigned thermo housing after my group (21 was my group, I believe). I'm not sure why they did, but my educated guess is that it was to improve bleeding of the system. It might have had something to do with heat output as well.
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"See The Glass As Already Broken."
87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig
www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com |
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MarkWard
Samba Member
Joined: February 09, 2005
Posts: 17110
Location: Retired South Florida
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| Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 1:33 pm Post subject: |
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On a cold day, I would bet you could run the engine all day long just using the heater core for a radiator. It sounds like you can't count on a cold day staying cold for the season. I wonder if you could install a 3 way ball valve up near the front that you could control with a remote cable. The third leg of the valve would go to the heater core. By closing the valve, you'd force the hot coolant into the heater core. If the engine started running warm you could back it off.
I'd have to look at how the thermostat housing is configured. What may be happening is as the thermostat opens, the bypass is closing which is not what you want to happen. Add to that the distance the heater coolant has to travel and the friction loss due to the diameter of the heater hose, it is no wonder you don't have much heat.
If your engine is running cold that will also affect your fuel economy and keep the oil from getting up to proper temp. It is all solvable though. I prefer something driver adjustable vs clamping or resticting a hose. markw
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alnvilma
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Joined: March 07, 2002
Posts: 395
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| Posted: Fri Dec 20, 2013 2:18 pm Post subject: |
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I have a Bostig done per plan (reversed at front). I eliminated the rear heater.
The radiator & every hose is new. I was pleasantly surprised to see it running cool. The gauge is accurate too! No real lack of heat issue but it does take a while to warm up.
Do you shut off the outside air flow with that lowest sliding lever?
It's an interesting dichotomy: idling warms it up but driving spins the water pump fast enough to push the heat up front.
My damn plastic thermostat housing cracked. I have to go through that ugly bleeding process again so soon :/
I think you should try the cardboard route! It's a large box of cold air you're warming. |
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Phishman068
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Joined: February 19, 2007
Posts: 1867
Location: Pittsburgh PA (ish)
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ThankYouJerry
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Joined: September 01, 2012
Posts: 2271
Location: Shakedown Street
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| Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 3:42 pm Post subject: |
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| Phishman068 wrote: |
Bleed it my way, adding fluid THROUGH the bleed bolt on the radiator. Remove the bolt, put a hose in there that has an OD smaller than the ID of the hole, enough so that air can get by. Add a funnel, fill.
Simple.
No bleeding problems on my V2 Bostig for years. |
That is a great tip/post! Thank you!
Anyone know if stainless steel coolant tubes can be used for a Bostig conversion? If so, which ones/who to buy from? Thanks.
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1990 Multivan - "Ohana"
1.8T, Auto w/3.27 R&P + Peloquin TBD |
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insyncro
Banned
Joined: March 07, 2002
Posts: 15086
Location: New York
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| Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 6:23 pm Post subject: |
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| ThankYouJerry wrote: |
| Phishman068 wrote: |
Bleed it my way, adding fluid THROUGH the bleed bolt on the radiator. Remove the bolt, put a hose in there that has an OD smaller than the ID of the hole, enough so that air can get by. Add a funnel, fill.
Simple.
No bleeding problems on my V2 Bostig for years. |
That is a great tip/post! Thank you!
Anyone know if stainless steel coolant tubes can be used for a Bostig conversion? If so, which ones/who to buy from? Thanks. |
Syncro stainless lines fit like a glove with Bostig in the Corter van  |
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alnvilma
Samba Member
Joined: March 07, 2002
Posts: 395
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| Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2013 6:48 pm Post subject: |
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I swapped out the dripping Focus plastic thermostat housing today.
Not complicated, just a couple hours cuz I'm old and slow. I had to cut the heater hoses off. Couldn't pull them off to save my life. No cracks to be found but I didn't look that hard and the old gasket seemed a little crimped/distorted. No more leak.
I jacked up the rear and drained from the water pump inlet. Easy refill and nothing drained from the long lines, it seems.
I was ready to top off at the radiator but delighted it went so well w/o.
Zetec R&R is pretty easy with the configuration of group 22B! |
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indytriple
Samba Member
Joined: April 27, 2009
Posts: 710
Location: Brownsburg, Indiana
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| Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2014 8:22 am Post subject: |
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I am now almost 17,000 miles into my Bostig conversion. Everything is still going extremely well. I am a very satisfied customer.
I still have these nagging problems that I had from my last post almost one year ago.
| indytriple wrote: |
| -I have a rough downshift in the auto tranny from 2nd to 1st as I'm coming to a stop. It's only while braking. If it downshifts while coasting it's as smooth as silk, but if I make a somewhat sudden or even normal stop it will thunk as it downshifts. It's more of a feel than an audible thing. I wonder if there isn't something I could do with the flash tuner to improve this. It seems like it might help if I could get the engine RPMs to come down quicker as I decelerate. How would I best go about doing that? Has anyone else with a Bostig auto tranny conversion noticed this behavior? |
I would like some opinions on this. Does anyone else with the auto tranny have this phenomenon? Jim at Bostig mentioned trying to lower the spark using the flash tuner. I tried to tackle this a few times, but I quickly got lost/confused/perplexed about how to do it properly. When I get some time I need to call Bostig to get some more details on exactly what to do.
| indytriple wrote: |
| -The lack of heat is pretty surprising, especially when it's really cold. Every single piece of my cooling system is new, so it means that my radiator and my front heater core flow really well, so the system is super efficient and keeps engine temps down. I tried constricting the main send line just off the thermo tower slightly with a large, broad hose clamp per Bostig's suggestion, but after a few experiments it seems as if I'm going to have to constrict the line WAY more than I would like or what they recommend. I've noticed improvements in heat as I've slowly constricted the line, but they've been modest at best. If I'm on the interstate in under 20F degree weather, the engine temp gauge will BARELY even register when the heat is full on. I'm a little nervous to constrict the line even more, but I may give it a shot. I like their solution of restricting the send line, because it's simple, easy and cheap. Also, in Indiana the weather changes on a dime. It's going to go from a 20F high to a 60F high this week alone. I'd love to hear from other Bostig folks what their experience with heat output has been. We're starting to take the van on lots of ski trips, and I need to keep the family nice and warm. Suggestions and related experiences welcome. |
This is probably my most vexing/annoying problem that I've had. The van runs perfect above ~40F. I've driven it for two summers now, and the temp needle is rock solid right around the LED. It only goes up slightly as I sit in traffic or a drive-thru, and then the radiator fan cycles and it goes back down to the LED. Everything seems peachy and perfect. When Fall arrives and the temps start to go down I notice distinct drops in the temp gauge. If I try to drive in very frigid conditions (<~20F) the temp gauge will barely register at all, especially if I'm trying to run the heat.
Last winter I constricted the cooling line per Bostig's instructions A LOT with meager results. I then tried covering up about 1/3-1/2 of the front of the radiator with corrugated plastic. This also had seemingly no effect. If I try to drive in temps <0-10F I have very, very meager heat and almost no movement on the temp gauge regardless of driving speed/type.
We use the van to go skiing a lot, and it gets used hard in the winter so this has been pretty annoying. I need a new strategy for this winter. About the only thing left in my arsenal is to cover or nearly cover the entire front of the radiator. I changed the thermostat last winter as well, and it had no effect on the issue.
I also ordered an Ultragauge so I can view engine temps/coolant temps/etc. in real time. I want to start compiling some data rather than just observations. I probably need to send Bostig a data log from a run in cold weather to get input from them as well. We still haven't gotten a real cold spell to try that yet, but I will when the time comes.
| indytriple wrote: |
| -Finally, the flickering oil level light on turns and inclines is still problematic. It's annoying as hell, but I still don't think there is any fix for it from Bostig. I've gotten used to it, but I'd eventually like to improve it. They told me there would be a solution, but if there is one I haven't heard about it yet. |
Since I posted this I've seen several other Bostig folks complain about this. It's obviously a known issue. I've talked to Jim about it, and he told me that a fix was coming soon. That was about a year-and-a-half ago, and I get the feeling that they're still working on it, but that they have "bigger fish to fry". I saw that Jim mentioned in another post that he was working on a "logic box" that would solve the problem. I'm hoping that we eventually see a solution offered. I know that this is not a "real" problem to be concerned about. However, it's really annoying when new passengers always ask, "What's that blinky red light mean?" Also, it's always flickering in my peripheral vision, and it's frankly driving me a little nuts.
My only "major" maintenance item so far has been replacing the alternator. My original alternator sounded like a bearing was going bad in it, and it was also overcharging and causing electrical gremlins. The alternator was extremely easy to acquire and to install. It was a half-hour job, and nearly painless. I've seen it mentioned in another Bostig post, but it's worth mentioning here as well that a new alternator will seem like too loose of a fit when you go to tighten down the mount bolts. There are sleeves on the alternator that break loose and slide out as you tighten to take up the extra space. It's all good!
I'm considering changing to the updated driver's side airbox style, but I'm still in research mode on that. If I could guarantee that it would be quieter or improve throttle response, I'd probably do it immediately, but from what I've seen it seems that folks are getting mixed results with noise levels and pedal feel. Also, I drive on gravel and dirt roads a lot, and I think my current setup with the airbox behind the passenger side tail light probably pulls cleaner air than it would in the other location.
I'm also thinking about adding a bleeder valve to the cooling hose that runs along the right firewall above the muffler. I have the G21 Bostig, and the coolant tower is the older-style on the front of the engine. The system is tough to bleed perfectly, and I think that this will help get ALL of the air out. LemonCove and buildyourown did that and recommended it, so I think I will follow their lead.
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"See The Glass As Already Broken."
87 Vanagon Westy Auto Bostig
www.bluegrassbicyclecompany.com |
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