Itinerant Air-Cooled

Thank you for the reference. I'll order one of these...I like to support innovators who help us keep these cars on the road.

I'm using a Beetle t-stat sold to me as a Type IV t-stat. It works just fine. I'd go with one of those new Type IV t-stats if I was going to do it again.

The busdepot Type4 themorstat (111119159A) only lasted 6000 miles... and it was $99. Stay away from it.

I am sorry to hear that yours failed so soon, but it was certainly an anomaly. The ones we have are the genuine item, German made VW issue. We literally bought them directly from Volkswagen in Germany, so there is no question of pedigree, and imported them ourselves.

I run the cooler T1 t-stat and I have had no problems with it. It mounts up fine, you just need a smaller diameter union nut where the cable mounts as the T-4 one is larger threads.

72Hardtop wrote:

Jivermo wrote:

How about this guy's offering? I need one, and this is what I was going to order. Anyone using one of his...I know I saw some write up somewhere here about this?

I'm running one of his thermostats and they are very well made. He makes them using updated material that resists the expanding & contracting better overtime vs the OE T-stats. A highly recommended item and quite likely the last T-stat one will have to purchase.

Liking all this brainstorming,and a good stock replacement being available too..I need to fit something...

?Some hand operated cable is probably not going to show up in this brainstorming round table right? Probably still gets back to where to sense engine heat...Was the stock t stat location optimal to measure heat exchanged by barrels fins? Is that the moneyspot?

Nice thread.

Boxcar wrote:Was the stock t stat location optimal to measure heat exchanged by barrels fins? Is that the moneyspot?

Yep. Note that the cooling system always allows air to pass through the right flaps, Type 1 or Type 4, so that the thermostat can get a read.
Colin

Amskeptic wrote:

Boxcar wrote:Was the stock t stat location optimal to measure heat exchanged by barrels fins? Is that the moneyspot?

Yep. Note that the cooling system always allows air to pass through the right flaps, Type 1 or Type 4, so that the thermostat can get a read.
Colin

As of Jan 1 2015 the 75 westy of which I am it's person is thermostatted.
A "Powdercoat Inc" part, from that Ohio fellow. Bought his "bearing/pulley" also. All parts seem to be creating some harmony, and faster warmup, (better)higher head heat while driving in these middling arctic -7,8,9°c temps in a midlantic state..quite normal fare in January.
FI is happier metering warm up as well. Once we were near freezing, there was a suspicion of lack of head/barrel heat reported to TS2. Wonky,wavering at steady throttle under load type motoring was ensuing.Now not evident.
So that is my pleased to be compliant with a Thermostat Report.
Now I sign off of this fine thread.(.Onlyto search for my how fast do Auto westies with bumped compression crank when cold)

Boxcar wrote: the 75 westy of which I am it's person is thermostatted.
that is my pleased to be compliant with a Thermostat Report.
(how fast do Auto westies with bumped compression crank when cold?)

Outstanding grammatical mangleage duly appreciated and noted upon.
Colin
(thick engine oil, high compression, and a torque converter full of cold atf? pretty slow. . . bring your battery into the house when temps are well below freezing, and you will have greater cold start capacity)

Thanks Colin for all confirmations.

I might just try bringing the battery in for comparison sake... I still measure cold starts off of cold,ahem COLD as experienced in the northeast's border frontier states.

If one can start there, they can start anywhere?

Low double digits of minus NJ °C we are having sets up a similar COLD to measure against.

More on some other thread. 2:30 pm. Sunny,snowing, light breeze: time for the twenty minute outside work hour.
Eric

I just came across this thermostat from Auto Atlanta : http://www.autoatlanta.com/Porsche-021119159-srch.html

They say "This latest design looks different than the original factory bellows, but works much better than the original. Requires slight modification of cable to function properly. Use included eyelet and screw to attach cable to thermostat. "

I emailed them and they said it opens at 85-90°. I've seen Type 1 thermostats that look like this one but this is the first I've seen for Type 4.

That looks to be a variation on the "wax pellet" design which started making the rounds as a "Mexican" thermostat a few years ago.

It has a fatal design flaw in that when (not if) it fails, it fails in the closed position, thus ensuring that your flaps are closed under all conditions, which can cook your engine pretty quickly.

If you are cognizant of this failure mode, and are extremely diligent in keeping on top of the operational health of your thermostat for as long as you have it installed, then perhaps it's a reasonable solution. Personally, I woudn't want that extra thing to worry about, given all the other things to worry about,

Clark Callis' Awesome thermostats are pretty awesome. Worth the premium price.

AwesomePowerdercoat.com, right? $129 for the 100% new, USA made, German style Type 4. That's probably what I'll get.

Has onyone tried the instructions on the Ratwell site to refurb a bad thermostat?

Happyfolk wrote:AwesomePowerdercoat.com, right? $129 for the 100% new, USA made, German style Type 4. That's probably what I'll get.

Has onyone tried the instructions on the Ratwell site to refurb a bad thermostat?

That's the one. The construction quality is top-notch. I found that I had to make some adjustments for fitment, because he uses an inch-standard hex rod stock (7/16"?) for the cable-attachment nut which is just a little larger than the metric hex stock (10mm) on the German Wahler thermostats. I found that I had to clearance the thermostat bracket a bit for the nut to pilot through without rubbing.

I have made an attempt at implementing ratwell's refurb instructions, but realized that I needed a better fixture to keep the bellows compressed as I sealed up the fill hole. I also needed more practice at my soldering control to get a nice clean joint between the bellows and the end plates. My thermostat also had a small ball check-valve soldered into the fill hole which ratwell hadn't mentioned. That little ball was actually quite a bugger to get out, then cleaned up so it would drop in nicely into the fill-hole again after re-filling.

In the end, I did not complete my re-furb attempt, primarily because I had a brand-spankin' new Awesome thermostat to install, and I just ran out of time and patience with the experiment. I'm sure it wouldn't be too difficult to finish up and end up with a working thermostat, though. Certainly worth the attempt if one has a viable core (ie. one that has no cracks in the pleats themselves).

If I gave myself my piddly-pay day job wage to refurb a thermostat, it would probably cost me more in time and materials than buying one of Clark's, plus he offers a warranty. There are a few things on our cars, like ball joints vs. reconditioned torsion arms, that make some sense in the long run to farm out if you value your time. Of course, this assumes we have people like Clark who care...

Why, if I could quit my job and work full time on buses, you bet I would rebuild my own thermostats, ball joints, and even transaxles! But as a young person growing older, I'm finding life getting in the way more and more.

Robbie

I have a couple of bad ones laying around so when I get some free time (ya right) I may attempt this fix. Very low tech.
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewto ... thermostat

asiab3 wrote:
Why, if I could quit my job and work full time on buses, you bet I would rebuild my own thermostats, ball joints, and even transaxles! But as a young person growing older, I'm finding life getting in the way more and more.

Robbie

But then again I follow Robbies mentality so maybe not.