16v cooling probs cont'd..

[treed2@u.washington.edu (treed2@u.washington.edu)]

Replaced the burst hose ($42, ouch!) and refilled with fresh 50/50
phosphate-free antifreeze and distilled water. I've had a low-temp fan
switch for 2 years that was worked perfectly.. during the engine swap I
installed a new (used) water pump and a new thermostat.

Now after filling the radiator, then the hose that connects to the
upper radiator, and clamping them back together.. then filling the
resevoir until it was full.. I turned the heater to max, started the car
and let it idle. Over the course of 6 minutes the temperature rose pretty
steadily to normal operating temp (the LED in the middle of the gauge) and
then quickly began climbing above that point. I shut off the engine.

I kept checking during warm-up and I could not feel water flowing in the
upper radiator hose, nor was it hot. And I'm sure the radiator wasn't
getting any coolant because when I shut off the hot engine it was icy
cold.

All of this of course points to a faulty thermostat but what the hell?? I
just put a brand new german 70 deg C thermostat in.. ?

What else should I look at before I drain the coolant for the fourth time
and pull the thermostat housing so I can look at the thermostat which will
be exactly as installed since there's no way it can move after the
mounting bolts are tightened down...?

I wanna drive my 2.0!

-Toby