Thermostat flaps open to the max?

[THINGONER]

I am currently attempting to set up my thermostat and flaps on a type 1 motor. Can someone tell me with the thermostat fully extended are the flaps supposed to be at their maximum point of travel (open)? In other words the maximum they can travel-with nothing connected to them? I am able to set it up with my flaps fully closed (thermostat cold) but then although the flaps open they are not at their maximum travel. Hope this makes sense thank you.

[bugguy1967]

Yes. Max travel is parallel with the cooling fins.
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[THINGONER]

Flaps parallel with cooling fins?-that makes sense-I guess at this point I will adjust to get max open instead of max closed-I cannot achieve both. I do have some slop in the linkage at the pivot points.

[74 Thing]

They are supposed to be but the circular springy attachment point for the thermostat rod on the drivers side flap sometimes gets bent and it no longer closes or opens all the way properly. The easiest way to confirm everything is working correctly is to install the fan shroud onto the engine sheetmetal without the fan in the housing then use a hairdryer to activate the thermostat and make sure everyting opens and closes properly.

I believe Max Welton has a posting somewhere here doing just that with photos.

[THINGONER]

I was doing that very test actually-That would make sense about the circular thing the rod fits into-like someone (not me ) tried to pull off the shroud before disconnecting thermostat-Thanks for the replies you guys have been very helpful.

[VIN]

i had the exact same problem, i could only get full open or full closed. not both. i would rather have full open of course.
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[Max Welton]

http://www.maxwelton2k.net/baja/thermostat.htm

Max
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1967 Type-3 Fastback
Under the Knife https://shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=151582
Home Stretch https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=767836

[hill]

I had to fiddle and tweak the flaps themselves to get both to get onto their closed stops together, and then needed to screw the thermostat down two full turns to get the whole thing working both hot and cold.

Helps a lot to make marks on the tin showing both open and closed position of the operating levers before starting to twiddle the connecting piece.

Weird system but it actually can work. Too bad they didn't put it where you could watch it with the engine installed.
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'78 Biegephalia

[[email protected]]

we need some computer geek to put a sensor on it and measure that, sort of like a cooling system TPS.
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[Steve Arndt]

You can put a little flipper-needle tattle tail on the pivot pin so the angle of rotation can easily be observed from in the engine compartment.

A suspension height potentiometer could easily be adapted to measure the vertical thermostat rod displacement. (then data log this info, or display it)

http://blog.accuairsuspension.com/wp-content/uploads/MG_51491-1024x668.jpg

[kreemoweet]

I don't think it was ever intended, nor is it desirable, that the flaps are
100% closed when cold. Pretty much for the same reason you don't
adjust the carb throttle plate to be 100% open when the pedal is
floored: there needs to be a little slack to prevent excessive strain on
all the parts.

If the bracket is adjusted correctly (as outlined in the Bentley manuals),
then the flaps will automatically be 100% open when the tstat expands
enough to be stopped by the bracket, unless there is damage/distortion
somewhere in the assembly.
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[Max Welton]

The part that the top of the rod connects to on the 1/2 side flap is in fact a little spring.

Max
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1967 Type-3 Fastback
Under the Knife https://shoptalkforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=151582
Home Stretch https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=767836

[runamoc]

[VIN]

I painted a couple purty lines on my shroud for full open/closed.

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[Clatter]

ALmost all of these motors have been taken apart by a dumbass at least once in their life.
The idiot is trying to lift the fan housing up and off the oil cooler, and it won't go...
So they yank and tug and cuss, then finally realize that there is this metal rod sticking down there for some reason.
Then, they make sure to never install THAT dumb thing again, whatever it was.

So has come the tradition of taking it off and throwing it away.

If you are going to try and run these parts, you are going to have to carefully un-dumbass it, if possible.
All/any of the parts are going to have to be verified as to their straightness.
What they actually are supposed to look like is actually a mystery, as non-dumbassed ones are very, very rare.
Also, the bushings that the flap shafts ride in are some kind of plastic or phenolic, and are very likely to be broken from the dumbass they have been subject to.

So, long story short, eveything will have to be un-dumbassed very carefully, and never, ever underestimate their level of dumbassedness...
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What’s That Noise?!?

[VIN]

LOL, my bushings are bronze, maybe the early ones are plastic.
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