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Re: Too cold, too hot! (funky cooling prob)



PC Handyman wrote:
> 
> I have been trying to reduce the operating temp of my turbo rocco, since the
> summer is finally upon us, and I have encountered a strange problem. I started
> by installing a low temp thermostat (160). This might have helped, but I mostly
> figured that it was a step in the right direction. Next, I observed that the fan
> temp switch seemed a bit lazy, so I picked up a "lowest one ya got" fan
> switch... Well, now the operating temp has become unacceptably low, and further
> sometimes the temp will skyrocket almost to the point of overheating. Could this
> be the thermostat closing because the temp is too low? Has anyone ever had this
> happen to them? The other angle is that I bought the thermostat from a cheapo
> place, and it looked noticeably poorer quality than the one I took out. Perhaps
> it is sticking?
> 
> One thing that is gratifying is that the heat produced by the turbo car seems to
> be well within the stock cooling system's ability to handle (water cooled
> turbo). This is good news because, before I owned it, the car had gotten sooo
> hot that the raintray where the ECU resides is all curled up and melted.
> 
> -Noah
> -83 16v Cabbie
> -83 Turbo Rocco
> -87 8v GTI



Noah, (cool looking movie you have coming out soon :P)

Sounds like you may be on the right track.  1st thing I thought was that
you're pushing the edge of the operating temp lower, lower, lower- but
not really increasing the 'bank' of cooling you are drawing from. 

This lead me to consider that you won't always want to get the lowest
thermo and fan switch, unless you live in Death Valley. :)

Then I thought "Hey! Does he have an oil cooler?" Got one? No? Get one!
(Shades of Toy Story)

I know you swapped out the thermo recently but I'd search out a high
quality one, perhaps even from the (shudder) Dealer. We all need one
that has less of a square operating characteristic and more of a smooth
range that's not to twitchy. Yank that puppy, you can catch the coolant
in a clean bucket and reuse it. Maybe a good time to get a good back
flush to clean out the rad. core and engine block.

Consider running with synthetic oil to reduce friction.

Last thing(s); You may want to get a sheet of that thermo shield stuff
to graft onto the firewall- it has a reflective side that should help to
shield the car body and deter it from heating up. On that note, how
about wrapping or coating the exhaust plumbing to get that heat out and
away from the engine compartment? Might help on the 'Heat Soak' aspect.

Brainstorming thoughts a'tumbling your way, hth-
TBerk

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