73 Ghia 1600 thermostat linkage hanging up

[mentalQtip]

Checked my thermostat recently and it was in a kinda warped open position. I took it off and was trying to replace it and found that the linkage in front of this engine was hanging up. It seems to be the long bar going under the doghouse oil cooler shroud. If I pull the bar to the driver side it hangs up. If I just reach in and rotate the bar slightly clockwise it jumps free. The linkage seems pretty loose. Any idea of what to do short of pulling the engine?

Thanks

Joseph

[kreemoweet]

Get your makeup mirror and a flashlight and look in there to see what's hanging it up. The linkage is naturally
kinda floppy. Make sure the little coil spring keepers are in place, and the return spring is hooked up correctly.
Disconnect the T-stat underneath so the linkage/flaps can be checked for free movement thruout their range.
Whether you can fix whatever you might find wrong might depend on how long your arms are, your tolerance for pain, etc.

[hambone]

The hardest thing is the doghouse ductwork. The bars go below that, really tuff spot with the engine installed.
The thermostat is a very simple system - don't over think it. A couple of bars, a rod and some flaps in the fan shroud.

[Amskeptic]

Checked my thermostat recently and it was in a kinda warped open position. I took it off and was trying to replace it and found that the linkage in front of this engine was hanging up. It seems to be the long bar going under the doghouse oil cooler shroud. If I pull the bar to the driver side it hangs up. If I just reach in and rotate the bar slightly clockwise it jumps free. The linkage seems pretty loose. Any idea of what to do short of pulling the engine?

Thanks

Joseph

This is a Technical Forum. We need to know What Vehicle? What Engine?

With a dog house fan housing, it is easy enough to remove the 10mm nut and take the doghouse tin off, then the lower screw that attaches the exit duct to the fan housing and pull that off and out of the engine compartment.
Now you have full access to the cross bar. Remove it from both sets of flaps, and you can then track which flaps are hung up. If they are both free, you may begin to reassemble and catch the hang-up during reassembly. Most usually, I find that the thermostat rod has been bent horribly and it is hanging up in the fins on the right head. The bad news is, you need to remove the fan housing to get it correct. It does have an offset kink that must be correctly identified and oftentimes, restored.
Colin

[mentalQtip]

'73 ghia and 1600 dual port(after the fact). Pulled the doghouse tin and exit duct off and found that the connecting link is catching the exit duct where the link bends to the rear and then to the left. The linkage overall seems to be very sloppy and I wonder what normal is like and what spacers might be missing or pieces worn. When I pull the connecting link to the right and release it is when is catches and when I press straight down next to the duct is jumps free. Just to worn/sloppy/missing spacers to improve alignment?

Thanks

[Amskeptic]

'73 ghia and 1600 dual port(after the fact). Pulled the doghouse tin and exit duct off and found that the connecting link is catching the exit duct where the link bends to the rear and then to the left. The linkage overall seems to be very sloppy and I wonder what normal is like and what spacers might be missing or pieces worn. When I pull the connecting link to the right and release it is when is catches and when I press straight down next to the duct is jumps free. Just to worn/sloppy/missing spacers to improve alignment?

Thanks

Like Hambone said, sloppy is good. Just make sure you have washers and the retainer clips solidly installed.

Bends to the "rear" or to the FRONT . . . Joseph??
Colin

[mentalQtip]

I'm not clear as to what washers and clips should be present(nothing falls off or apart). I've been looking for a sharp picture.
Looking at the engine from the rear and then down in front of the fan shroud the connecting link runs to the left, turns left(to the rear) and then turns right(toward the drivers side).
Direct answer: bends to the rear and then to the drivers side.

Thanks

[kreemoweet]

I guess this is the subject: http://images.thesamba.com/vw/classifie ... 606924.jpg. That set has the newer (post-70?) flat locking clips rather than the
nasty little coil spring type. I think the coil springs have a washer under them, not sure about the later ones. The sub-brackets on each flap assembly have
thick spacer/washers ("washer 6.4", whatever that means, p/n N 11 557 2) under the clips.

[Amskeptic]

I'm not clear as to what washers and clips should be present(nothing falls off or apart). I've been looking for a sharp picture.
Looking at the engine from the rear and then down in front of the fan shroud the connecting link runs to the left, turns left(to the rear) and then turns right(toward the drivers side).
Direct answer: bends to the rear and then to the drivers side.

Thanks

The system has been designed (!) to actuate with no interference with any other part. You must track down where you are getting contact, and make that contact not occur.

I cannot make sense of your post.
Here is a drawing . . . I use thick flat washers and the flat retainer clips