Im not complaining but.....

lsgheero · 04-23-2008, 09:42 PM

Okay I'm not going to complain but i think this is a little odd.

My car when driving around (mind you i do most my driving at night on the freeways because its no longer bumper to bumper) my temp gauge barley rises from C now I have checked and the car isnt overheating best I can tell but does anyone elses mk1s do this?

Just kinda curious. now the one thing I have done is about a year ago when I got this car and put the new engine in I did replace the whole cooling system (all hoses, pipes, rad, etc) perhaps that made the difference.

also it will rise to normal temp when I stop at a light but when driving around the gauge reads about 1-2 ticks above C.

I live in Phoenix AZ and the temp at night is around 60-75 most the time.

Mista 2 · 04-24-2008, 06:29 AM

how long are you driving for? if you dont have a termostat then it will take a long time to warm up. when stoped at the lights you wont have air going through the rad so with a lot of cars them temp goes up a bit. do your thermos kick in?

lsgheero · 04-24-2008, 02:41 PM

well latest example would be about a 1.5 hour drive striaght highway miles 75-80 mph whole way. thermostat should work its only about 6 months old.

muffinman · 04-25-2008, 11:13 AM

I'm in Florida my cars been sitting for over 6 years I just started running it again a couple months ago and the weather down here has been in the 90's. I had the car running in my driveway for over an hour and the temp only went up about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way and the front fans kick on for about 20 or 30 seconds and it seems to go down or stay about the same. By the way coolant and thermostat are over 15 years old (knock on wood)

sickof5sfe · 04-25-2008, 11:55 AM

you havnt changed your coolant for 15 years and you live in florida!? wowzas

muffinman · 04-25-2008, 12:00 PM

haven't started the car in over 6 years so i recently started but i'm not driving it yet other than occasional around the block just to unglue the tires from the driveway.

F0Bman · 04-25-2008, 06:50 PM

Check for leaks?

attack eagle · 04-30-2008, 07:47 PM

sounds exactly like the new Tstat has failed open. That is the first place to look since new doesn't necessarily mean it is ok.
take it out and see if it is open.
if not open, put it in a pan of water and boil it to see if it is opening early.
was this an oem unit or autozone?

Btw great forum, guys. Hoping to finally be joining your ranks in the fall. Almost bought an mk1 12 years ago but the numbers didn't add up and went british instead. Wound up doing minis, full size, dsm, and was looking for an mk1 2 years ago, but found out we were preggers again so I went BMW wagon. but I am now looking for a fun DD/commuter car to get me back and forth to Uni. again... we'll see

04-23-2008, 09:42 PM	#1 (permalink)
lsgheero RAR! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 614 Thanks: 7 Thanked 27 Times in 27 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	Im not complaining but..... Okay I'm not going to complain but i think this is a little odd. My car when driving around (mind you i do most my driving at night on the freeways because its no longer bumper to bumper) my temp gauge barley rises from C now I have checked and the car isnt overheating best I can tell but does anyone elses mk1s do this? Just kinda curious. now the one thing I have done is about a year ago when I got this car and put the new engine in I did replace the whole cooling system (all hoses, pipes, rad, etc) perhaps that made the difference. also it will rise to normal temp when I stop at a light but when driving around the gauge reads about 1-2 ticks above C. I live in Phoenix AZ and the temp at night is around 60-75 most the time. Last edited by lsgheero; 04-23-2008 at 09:43 PM. Reason: stupid butter finger typo

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04-24-2008, 06:29 AM	#2 (permalink)
Mista 2 Cage Fighter Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Adelaide, Australia Posts: 461 Thanks: 16 Thanked 21 Times in 21 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	how long are you driving for? if you dont have a termostat then it will take a long time to warm up. when stoped at the lights you wont have air going through the rad so with a lot of cars them temp goes up a bit. do your thermos kick in?

04-24-2008, 02:41 PM	#3 (permalink)
lsgheero RAR! Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Arizona Posts: 614 Thanks: 7 Thanked 27 Times in 27 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	well latest example would be about a 1.5 hour drive striaght highway miles 75-80 mph whole way. thermostat should work its only about 6 months old.

04-25-2008, 11:13 AM	#4 (permalink)
muffinman Brain Surgeon Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 1,811 Thanks: 24 Thanked 102 Times in 99 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	I'm in Florida my cars been sitting for over 6 years I just started running it again a couple months ago and the weather down here has been in the 90's. I had the car running in my driveway for over an hour and the temp only went up about 1/4 to 1/3 of the way and the front fans kick on for about 20 or 30 seconds and it seems to go down or stay about the same. By the way coolant and thermostat are over 15 years old (knock on wood)

04-25-2008, 11:55 AM	#5 (permalink)
sickof5sfe doing a secret build >:D Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Richfield Minnesota Posts: 363 Thanks: 11 Thanked 4 Times in 4 Posts iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	you havnt changed your coolant for 15 years and you live in florida!? wowzas

04-25-2008, 12:00 PM	#6 (permalink)
muffinman Brain Surgeon Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Ft. Lauderdale Posts: 1,811 Thanks: 24 Thanked 102 Times in 99 Posts My Google Map iTrader Rating: (1/100% )	haven't started the car in over 6 years so i recently started but i'm not driving it yet other than occasional around the block just to unglue the tires from the driveway.

04-25-2008, 06:50 PM	#7 (permalink)
F0Bman Cage Fighter Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 257 Thanks: 0 Thanked 3 Times in 3 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	Check for leaks?

04-30-2008, 07:47 PM	#8 (permalink)
attack eagle No Skills Join Date: Apr 2008 Posts: 1 Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts iTrader Rating: (0/0% )	sounds exactly like the new Tstat has failed open. That is the first place to look since new doesn't necessarily mean it is ok. take it out and see if it is open. if not open, put it in a pan of water and boil it to see if it is opening early. was this an oem unit or autozone? Btw great forum, guys. Hoping to finally be joining your ranks in the fall. Almost bought an mk1 12 years ago but the numbers didn't add up and went british instead. Wound up doing minis, full size, dsm, and was looking for an mk1 2 years ago, but found out we were preggers again so I went BMW wagon. but I am now looking for a fun DD/commuter car to get me back and forth to Uni. again... we'll see