Thermostat cable and flaps, help please Options

[Rand]

Last time I drove the car, the temp went much higher than normal. Started checking things out and noticed the thermostat cable was gone. It broke off at the end of the thermostat. Strange thing is it's completely gone - I expected to see it hanging there somewhere?

1. Where does the other end attach? Is it easily accessible?
2. Am I missing an air guide? I didn't have to remove anything to see the thermostat.
3. I thought if the cable broke the flap would go to the default position of cooling? But it warms up as quick as normal, then gets too hot.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/uploads/blog-1117484067.jpg)

[SirAndy]

QUOTE (Rand @ May 30 2005, 01:58 PM)

I thought if the cable broke the flap would go to the default position of cooling?

flaps could be stuck ...

if the cable just snapped, you can still operate the flaps by hand to see if they're stuck.
there's a rod (on top of the engine) that connects the 2 flaps. has some springs on it too.
you should be able to turn the rod by hand ...

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smash.gif) Andy

[Joe Ricard]

Well don't fool yourself. It may have never been there. Cable is either still attached to the flap linkage arm. (just to the drivers side comes up through a hole in the 1 - 2 cylinder tin.
Sure doesn't look like it is hanging from the thermostat you can see the wheel where the cable routes up. The hole in the tin is directly above the forward radious of the wheel.
The flaps should be spring loaded to default to full open. You can check this by rotating the linkage arm by hand. pretty stiff spring which is wound around the linkage arm itself.

And yes you seems to be missing the warm air guide.

[Bleyseng]

Look to see if the little nut with the hole in the top of it is still there on the end of the thermostat. Looks like your thermostat is still good as they run $85 new.
order the wire from PP or GPR or HPH and connect it properly onto the arm at the top after hooking it up to the thermostat.

You are looking pretty grimey there so ya might want to take off the top tin and clean up the cylinders of the leaves and mouse poop. Usually that cools things off.
(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

[Allan]

If the cable broke it should run just as cool but take longer to heat up. Default position of the flaps is full down over the oil cooler.

[Bleyseng]

thats if some moron PO didn't forget to hook up the return spring.

[Rand]

Well, looks like PO must have removed the cable because it's clipped clean near the flap linkage arm. So I guess I never had functional thermostat cable, nor an accurate frame of reference for how fast it should warm up. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/dry.gif)

Thanks for the photo Andy... made it quick and easy for me to find the flap linkage arm. It does rotate and the spring firmly snaps them all the way open when I let go.

So... What else could happen suddenly that would cause my temp to keep climbing? (It's always been fine - leveling out about midway on the gauge, but then on the last drive it went up quite a bit higher. Fortunately I made it home before it got scary high.)

[Allan]

QUOTE (Bleyseng @ May 30 2005, 02:40 PM)

moron PO

Yer right. Ya never know...

[Joe Ricard]

What gauge ya looking at partner? Oil temp gauge in the dash?

Get a Cylinder Head temp gauge as it will tell you what really is going on. Oil temp gauge in dash..... wouldn't give a bucket of rat spit for any information it gives.

Get a real oil temp gauge and cailbrated sending unit.
Now you know what the hell you got. ANd I agree with Geoff clean out the rat poop and leaves both sides.

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/idea.gif) Ya got oil in it right? and it's clean right?

[Rand]

Yeah, it's the oil temp gauge I'm looking at. Center console, '75 2.0.

Oil is definitely clean and up to the right level.

I agree, I need a good head temp gauge. I'll look into that. I'm just concerned right now because the oil temp is running hotter now than it was last week.

It's garaged and nothing has changed. It's a little grimey underneath because I have a couple minor oil seeps but I don't think it's full of leaves and mouse poop. (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/slap.gif) (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/biggrin.gif)

I guess something could have got dislodged and sucked into a different location that interferes with airflow now??? Guess I better start taking some tin loose and checking out the air paths. Any tips or pitfalls about doing this with the engine in before I dig in? Anything else to look at besides airflow that would affect oil temp all the sudden?

Thanks gang.

[scruz914]

"I guess something could have got dislodged and sucked into a different location that interferes with airflow now??? "

A rag or leaves might have been sucked into the fan if it does not have a screen over it.


"You are looking pretty grimey there so ya might want to take off the top tin and clean up the cylinders of the leaves and mouse poop."

I found a lot of oily crap plugging my oil cooler and cylinder fins. If you can't find the problem it would be worth it to pull the engine and tin and clean things up.


"It's always been fine - leveling out about midway on the gauge, but then on the last drive it went up quite a bit higher. "

I think most guages normally read low. If yours was normally midway you might have been running higher than normal all along.

[Rand]

This particular 914 project is focused on bare essentials. If it's not crucial, it's coming off. I'm aiming for a V8 conversion next winter, but I want to take good care of the 2.0 in the mean time. With that in mind...

Specifically with regard to the non-functioning thermostat to date...

Now that I know my car has never had the benefit of a quicker warm-up thanks to a thermostat, I have to ask: How critical is it?

If it truly makes a crucial difference in engine longevity, I'll immediately rig up a way of temporary holding the flaps while it warms up until I get the thermostat cable repaired correctly.

If it's really not so critical, I'm happy remove the junk that has been doing nothing for me so far, and get another step closer to my bare bones goal.

[Rand]

Thanks scruz914. This car is always garaged, hasn't had any rags left in the engine compartment, and is intentionally never parked under trees. It's hard for me to believe that something has been sucked into the cooling path, but I'm gonna go through the air paths to make sure. I don't know what else would have changed to affect the temp.

Cheers.

[SirAndy]

QUOTE (Rand @ May 30 2005, 10:36 PM)

If it's really not so critical, I'm happy remove the junk that has been doing nothing for me so far

not really needed (well, at least not here in CA) ...

if you drive the car a lot for only short distances, it might never warm up to operating temp, which is not gud ...

if you remove the thermostat, make sure you'll leave the little wheel on there (or at least put the bolt back on) as the bolt hole goes *through* inside the case!
remove bolt = major oil leak !!!

(IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/wink.gif) Andy

[pnewman]

not to highjack but I need a new cable for my thermostat as well and call pelican and they said that they didn't have one! The new thermostat they sent was the retrofit not the the nut w/the hole in it! now I need a cable w/ male threads in it!

what's a good source?

thanks,

FYI the new thermostat cost $79.99 plus S&H.
no good without a matching cable though

[MarkV]

Is this what you need? The union has a Porsche part #.

[Aaron Cox]

i just got a NEW stainless cable off ebay.

6.99 shipped from england (IMG:http://www.914world.com/bbs2/html/emoticons/smile.gif)

[DNHunt]

Go to the local Ace and get stainless cable ( 19 cents a ft.) the smallest diameter and a farrel ( $1.79 for 2) Squeeze the farrel on the cable and file to fit the nut on the tstat. Cheap, easy and fast.

Dave

[pnewman]

the thermostat is not oem! Not the won shown in the pic provided!

atleast a for 914! it has a brass barrrel or post at the end w/ internal threads. I imagine that it was originally for a vw or something. I would need a cable w/ a male thread end to accomodate.

I was going to find out what the thread is and cut off a long matching bolt and solder a cable into it.