Ever used a truck-style grille cover in winter driving?

[?Waldo?]

[Wildthings]

To the OP, if your thermostat has a bleed hole, using a thermostat without the bleed hole will allow for better working heaters.

[Yellow Rabbit]

I also find that the rear heater gets hot pretty quickly after the motor turns on. You should be able to get really warm by turning the rear fan on high.

I still vote for bad thermostat. I would think that a modern motor like that should throw a low temp code though.

[Royb]

If this is for the bitter cold of the east bay, where it can get down to 50 in the winter, I wouldn’t bother. It might be useful in cold country, but this sounds like a bad thermostat.
_________________
1991 Westy

[Wildthings]

If your rear heater has been removed and the hoses just looped together that will short circuit the flow to the front heater.

[vwwestyman]

[michaeltag]

1) I'm going to assume it's plumbed correctly because the conversion was done professionally and the engine runs well and he's done many of these.
2) This only is a problem on the coldest days
3) Vintage Air is 100% recirculating and has already blocked all fresh air intake. The problem is
A. The water flowing through the front heater core isn't that hot on cold days, and
B. it needs to be 190 degrees or so with a small heater core. If I had a bigger heater core I might get away with 150 degrees to 170 degrees.
I'm going to ask and get a definite answer as to what thermostat was used.
_________________
'87 Vanagon GL Westfalia Syncro w/ rear locker
• 1.8T engine conversion from Stephan's AutoHaus
• Schwenk Springs, OME shocks, BFG All Terrains on South African 15-inch steel wheels
• GoWesty Plate Steel Bumpers w/ front skid plate & rear swing-away spare carrier
• Big Shot Shifter
• Transaxle rebuilt with taller heavy-duty 4th gear, GoWesty decoupler and oiler plates by Ken at Porter's Precision
* TruckFridge
• Propex Heater
• Vintage Air in-dash A/C

[vwwestyman]

I'd still advise pulling it and seeing what temperature it begins to open at-when it first starts to crack open.

Doesn't matter much what it was rated for when new, if it is opening up too early now.
_________________
Dave Cook

President, Wild Westerner Club

1978 Champagne Edition Westy, repowered to '97 Jetta TDI
1973 Wild Westerner
My Thing

[?Waldo?]

Insulating the heater hoses might help some.

If you already have the front heater air blocked, then blocking the radiator will do absolutely nothing to change the engine temps or the heater temps unless the thermostat is not functioning correctly.

[valvecovergasket]

[michaeltag]

So, as I understand it, you are suggesting that thermostat is either stuck open, or is opening at too low a temperature?

But in answer to your statement ...

Why wouldn't blocking radiator allow engine to heat up more and then indirectly cause water flowing to heater core to be hotter?
_________________
'87 Vanagon GL Westfalia Syncro w/ rear locker
• 1.8T engine conversion from Stephan's AutoHaus
• Schwenk Springs, OME shocks, BFG All Terrains on South African 15-inch steel wheels
• GoWesty Plate Steel Bumpers w/ front skid plate & rear swing-away spare carrier
• Big Shot Shifter
• Transaxle rebuilt with taller heavy-duty 4th gear, GoWesty decoupler and oiler plates by Ken at Porter's Precision
* TruckFridge
• Propex Heater
• Vintage Air in-dash A/C

[michaeltag]

To answer WildThings, the rear heater core is still there and still works and I would really be screwed if it wasn't in the mix. I also have Propex, but not sure if I have the type of install that is safe to use while driving. Need to check on that. Also would like to save the propane for camp.
But in super cold weather am sure I would need good front heater core, too.
_________________
'87 Vanagon GL Westfalia Syncro w/ rear locker
• 1.8T engine conversion from Stephan's AutoHaus
• Schwenk Springs, OME shocks, BFG All Terrains on South African 15-inch steel wheels
• GoWesty Plate Steel Bumpers w/ front skid plate & rear swing-away spare carrier
• Big Shot Shifter
• Transaxle rebuilt with taller heavy-duty 4th gear, GoWesty decoupler and oiler plates by Ken at Porter's Precision
* TruckFridge
• Propex Heater
• Vintage Air in-dash A/C

[?Waldo?]

[Wildthings]

[?Waldo?]

[michaeltag]

So talked to the shop who did my 1.8T engine conversion and the two big differences created at that time were:
1.8T engine was fitted with a 160 degree F thermostat
Vintage Air was installed which has a smaller heater core than factory.

So, he has said some other customers who have this combo have complained of not getting up to full op temp on COLDEST DAYS in Calif. or who live in colder climes. Here's the plan for my van to deal with this:

1) He changes me to a 180 degree F thermostat (I may suggest 190)
2) Installs an inline aux. electric water pump on a toggle switch to improve the flow to the front radiator and heater core.

He said that this has helped the vans in the cold climes. Plus it doesn't hurt cooling in hot climes. I believe he said also the Jetta 1.8T water pump isn't as strong as the original VW 2.1 Waterboxer. Makes sense since one was designed to pump much farther.
_________________
'87 Vanagon GL Westfalia Syncro w/ rear locker
• 1.8T engine conversion from Stephan's AutoHaus
• Schwenk Springs, OME shocks, BFG All Terrains on South African 15-inch steel wheels
• GoWesty Plate Steel Bumpers w/ front skid plate & rear swing-away spare carrier
• Big Shot Shifter
• Transaxle rebuilt with taller heavy-duty 4th gear, GoWesty decoupler and oiler plates by Ken at Porter's Precision
* TruckFridge
• Propex Heater
• Vintage Air in-dash A/C

[hans j]

Put in a factory 1.8T thermostat first and see what happens. 87C. The water pump is just fine for our application too.
_________________
1986 Canadian Syncro Westy TDI - 1989 Syncro Single Cab - 2001 Audi S4 - 1981 VW Caddy ABA - 1980 VW Caddy EV - 1973 VW T-181

[?Waldo?]

160°F seems absurdly cold. I always use 190°F (87°C) on my diesel engines and have never had an overheating situation. Fitting a colder-than-spec thermostat is a downright bad idea. Engines run most efficiently as hot as possible without overheating. A colder-than-spec thermostat will not prevent overheating, it will just delay the overheating event by seconds and that will only occur if there is some other issue that needs to be addressed. The rest of the time the engine will run inefficiently and can cause other issues as well. What engine code is your engine? What is the correct thermostat temperature spec'd for your engine? What reason did your mechanic give for fitting the 160°F thermostat?