Hi all,

Does anyone have a good reference on how to adjust the spring thermostat that controls the air flapper?

Thanks
-L

its not a spring

its a bellow, it has a certain amount of air inside that expands due to heat.....

if its all the way out (cold engine), and you can squeeze it with your hands it's toast and you need a new one.


b

so if the bellow was disconnected - is it allowing the engine to cool or heat up?

teh beauty of VW engines is that everything fails just like it should--in the more favorable condition.

The bellow, when the engine is cold...is PULLing on that little bar in the engine compartment. If your bellow is damaged ( like i suspect it is) your cooling flaps will fully open, allowing the cooling system to function semi-normally.

it's not like a wasser-cooled engine, where the thermostat COULD stick closed...like it did on my jeep. Its a PITA to say the least.

b

if you can't find a good one, i have one for you for a good price. pm me if you want it.

concerning why they fail in the first place, my guess would be that the pulling and the pulling and the expansion and contraction of the bellow thermostat simply causes it to crack.

b

Yes, as long as the torsion spring is hooked up to the thin black rod. the flappers inside the fan housing and cylinder tin will default to open directing air through the oil cooler and each head and cylinder.
Setting the tension of the pull cable can be done with the engine stone cold and flappers pulled close.
Once the engine is up to temp 300 or so the flappers should be wide open. If not then slack off on the cable. Better to be open than cold. Yes they are required.

I think the original question was: "How do I adjust the thermostat flaps?"

Drive the car for 10-30 mintues, until you are confident that the engine is fully warm. Then go to the engine bay, locate the cable that actuates the thermostat flaps, and loosen the pinch bolt that holds the cable onto the flaps cross-shaft. The spring should force the flaps to the "maximum cooling" position, so you let them go there and you pull the cable so it is just snug or has a tiny bit of slack to it. Tighten the pinch bolt, and you're done!

Note: Make sure that the flaps go all the way to open when you do this. Apparently mine like to bind at about 1/2 way open....

--DD

Yea like Dave said. Only more like my post once you sift through all the extra info I put in the 1st response. 30 minutes of driving could be terminal if the flaps aren't opening.
But then again you got a cylinder head temp gauge right? No worries then.
If no gauge this is for you and or even