Baking Bumper to Bumper: Vanagons in Summer Traffic

msinabottle

I turn to you, my fellow Sambanistas, for wisdom in a dilemma I have faced for two straight weeks, now.

About the worst case for summer traffic I can image is bumper-to-bumper in a manual, going up a hill--and Winston is my only manual. Vanagons are not typical vehicles, all generalities do not apply. I did all I could to minimize both our suffering.

I waited for a bit of a gap to open up before easing Winston at low RPM's forward in 1st and 2nd.

I coasted whenever possible to keep revs down.

I put him in neutral every time it was possible to save wear on the clutch and the hydraulic system.

I of course keep him full of good coolant and the cooling system is in good condition.

My tires are properly inflated.

I got the fan at a few intervals, and a bit of needle creep over the red indicator light, but nothing worse. I still worried if I was doing all I could. I didn't think running the heater would help a lot. Was I wrong?

What wisdom do you all have to offer about driving a manual Vanagon on hot summer day on hills in heavy traffic? I seek to profit from our collected experiences!

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

debbiej · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:24 pm Post subject:

roll up the windows and cook on the dash.

seriously, I really try to avoid routes with lots of stop and go traffic and driving in the heat of the day or rush hour.

foodeater · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:35 pm Post subject:

I have my fan wired so that I can turn it on whenever I want. It still works as normal, but in traffic I can just leave it on. It just makes me feel better not seeing the temp needle creep up, then come back down when the fan comes on.
_________________
89 Bluestar-2.5 Subaru Powered-RIP
'84 Westy Tiico-daily driver-sold
'82 Caddy diesel-sold
'87 Vanagon Syncro-RIP
'81 diesel rabbit-sold
'82 Vanagon auto-RIP

chimivee

0to60in6min · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:25 pm Post subject:

if you don't have one already may be you could try a lower range radiator fan switch.

also your actual switch may be covered with a layer of deposit which delay the trigger of the fan.

presslab · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 3:34 pm Post subject:

Last weekend I was climbing steep hills on a bad dirt road with the A/C on full, and outside temps of 95+ F. The temp gauge climbed up to 7/8 full scale, and the high speed fan kicked on. The gauge did not keep climbing, and the high speed fan would cycle. I did keep an eye on the gauge, but this is normal operation and I was pleased that everything worked as intended.

I'd say you don't have a problem, and no need to worry. Here is a good article from GoWesty:
http://www.gowesty.com/library_article.php?id=52
_________________
1986 Vanagon Westfalia EJ25
1988 Subaru GL-10 EJ20G --- 2000 Honda XR650L
2010 Titus El Guapo --- 2011 On-One 456 Ti

Rocky Mountain Westy · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:28 pm Post subject:

Turn the radio up and quit WORRYING.

I know you too well to know that is impossible and that is why i luv ya.

Try the rear heater first, it will bake the brow less.
_________________
Rocky Mountain Westy Inc.
www.rockymountainwesty.com
970-310-3441
[email protected]

The Splitzgauer build (when I have time to work on it and update the thread)

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=497133

r39o · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 4:44 pm Post subject:

The heater helps.

So does turning on the radiator fan.

On a van with AC, you can wire something up easy.

If no AC then you have to get creative.

How I can not tell you at this moment.

Also, on hills you can use the hand brake with your thumb on the button to keep from rolling back too much.

Every thing seems normal from your description.
_________________
"Use the SEARCH, Luke" But first visit the Vanagon FAQ!

1990 Multivan EJ 22, Rancho trans 0.82 4th, Small Car front AC, CLKs w/ 215/65-16, homemade big brakes 303mm, Konis, Recaros, etc....

Click to see my ads for Cup holders, Subaru clutch fix and CLK wheels (no wheels currently)

Syncrozilla · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:03 pm Post subject:

I know it's currently out of stock but here's a really cool little accessory from VanCafe http://www.van-cafe.com/home/van/page_1349_670/fan_controller.html
It's a little sail switch that turns on the fan when the outside temps are high and the van is crawling along. It even has a little LED that can go on the instrument cluster to show you when the fan is on (I guess for when you do have the radio turned up). I'm not sure but I think this may be a shoebox electronics product.
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Please do not message me on TheSamba. Use my email, [email protected]

psych-illogical · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:24 pm Post subject:

I got caught in Phoenix once. Hot day, holiday traffic. Sucked!! Sounds like yours is doing just fine. Mine got a little higher on the gauge than what you described but I wasn't worried about it.

The thing that got me worried was with all the creeping along, 1st gear and sometimes 2nd, my clutch got kinda hot and started to slip. I finally just pulled over and let things cool down some. It seemed fine after that. Oh yeah, and after 45 minutes to go 10 miles on the freeway my left leg was getting really shaky and weak.
_________________
83 1/2 Westy waterboxer
'57 Beetle-sold Sad

Coupla '81 BMW motorcycles (R80G/S; R100RS)
'96 BMW R1100GS

BillM · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:31 pm Post subject:

joseph928 · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 5:39 pm Post subject: slow in a van

We don't have many traffic jams up here, but when we do I just love a syncro , put it in low low and just creep along. Kind of like having a drag race with a split screen. But this way does keep things cool! Very Happy

_________________
1987 syncro westy tin top sun roof , GW2.3, rear locker, decoupler, Gary Lee tire rack & winch mount, lift, south african grill, big brakes , rhein alloy ,15 BFG AT, Fiamma 10 foot awning ,140 watt rear 85 watt front solar , mppt, truckfridge, automatic fire extinguishing system, tencent oil cooler, And a RMW SS exhaust! - 1971 bug convertible 1776 engine- 2010 Subaru turbo - 1993 Toyota 4x4 truck - 1999 Harley 95 CI, big bore, Andrews cams . Also 80-84- vans. Stock 65 sunroof bug.

Captain Pike · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:02 pm Post subject:

Relay+switch+your brain= rad fan override. Just do it.
_________________
LEARN TO SELF RESCUE
59 Panel bus, 1966 Single cab. 73' 181. 73 Westy. 91' H6 Vanagon 3.3L.
.....................All Current.......................

DAIZEE · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 7:03 pm Post subject:

Ive a diesel so generally I can creep along on the flat with very little temp rise BUT in 95+ temp it does go up, I drive with the front heater fan on (rear heater removed). In stopped traffic last week temp went WAY up, pulled over onto paved shoulder and guess what tried to get by me >>>a fire truck!!! Just some highways you can't pull over. Embarassed

Got back in left lane pdf and as we were a parking lot now, just turned it off for almost 2 hours. Rolling Eyes

Question: have you changed your thermostat lately? plenty of comments about new thermostats not being big enough to allow functional cooling. I've asked if this could happen with a diesel which is pretty good at creeping along. The List has all the info. Widespread problem over North America, Canada & States.
_________________
'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)

Syncrozilla · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:35 pm Post subject:

If you need to run the heater to keep the car from overheating to me that says something in the cooling system is not up to par. No doubt that vanagons have a few design flaws but the radiator is plenty adequate to cool the engine by itself. Sure the fan might come on frequently, maybe even the high speed from time to time but you should be able to creep along for hours on the sweltering blacktop when it's 105 out. I sure as heck would not want to be driving around with the heater on when it's that hot, that sounds like torture.
_________________
Please do not message me on TheSamba. Use my email, [email protected]

msinabottle · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 9:56 pm Post subject: Many Thanks!

Thanks to you all for the replies. I don't think Winston was in any danger of overheating--what I was really asking was whether or not I'd overlooked any other tricks or Vanagon idiosyncrasies to keep the engine as cool as practically possible under such ghastly conditions.

Point of fact, Winston HAD A/C, the previous owner removed the compressor and it was only last Spring that I got rid of the last of the harness and finally blocked the holes for the tubes. I left the switch on the dashboard, with the thought that I can use it to turn the fan on at any time. The engine speeds up when I hit that switch and the fan turns on.

Just wondering if the other stuff I was doing was all I could do, or what I'd overlooked. He did fine, I just don't want to miss a trick if things were to keep going on like that.

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."

Wildthings · Samba Member Joined: March 13, 2005 Posts: 50352

Sometimes an automatic is just plain nice. Very Happy

At 100°F when crawling in traffic my low temperature fan switch will keep the fan running on low about 1/3 time. The gauge will never move.

For me the 75° fan switch and the stock thermostat seem to work well together.

kamzcab86 · Posted: Mon Jul 23, 2012 10:38 pm Post subject:

Agree with everyone else; seems to be operating fine.

levi

msinabottle · Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 12:25 pm Post subject: Thanks, Levi!

A thoughtful response, Levi, no less than what I'd expect from you. It sounds as if I should have hit the otherwise-useless A/C switch on the dash, or at least hit it if the needle crept too much. On the downhill I didn't feel too bad about coasting, what the engine wasn't doing wouldn't heat it up, was my thought. Yours about the water pump and circulation, though, was well-founded. So much to think about, so many factors... But all worth considering.

Best!
_________________
'Winston,' '84 1.9 WBX Westy
Vanagon Poet Laureate: "I have suffered in
many ways, but never, never, never in silence."


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