thermostat and flaps?

[mathaus]

Iv'e just bought a 1971 Campmobile and am in the process of fitting a new engine.

I have removed all the bolt on parts from the old engine but it seems that I am missing the thermostat and flaps?

Does anyone have a diagram of what they look like and where they should go?

Can you buy these parts new? If not does anyone have a spare set up for sale.

This is the only thing stopping me from refitting the engine so any help would be appreciated

Thanks

Matt

 

[Guest]

You might find that the thermostat and flaps are not there from the factory. Apparently quite a few UK engines didn't come with a thermostat just for the fact that its quite a temperate climate and were deemed not needed.

 

[Araon]

you can get the new thermo stats quite easilly not sure on the bracket though...just given a setof flaps to Strongy but think i still have a thermostat and bracket, but to be honest i would go new if possible, regarding the flaps if you cant find new give fbi / volksheaven etc a shout they may break a shagged fan housing for you (may charge you for the full housing but you'll save on the postage)...

 

[Tofufi]

You might find that the thermostat and flaps are not there from the factory. Apparently quite a few UK engines didn't come with a thermostat just for the fact that its quite a temperate climate and were deemed not needed.

I've never ever heard that one before :shock:

They are an incredibly important component, and help both the engine warm up time, and improve the demisting and heating. Not to mention the flaps really do aid cooling

 

[currylager]

Ripped mine out, never had them fitted on my first bus and removed them when i had my current engine out. I was concerned about them sticking and causing overheating, you can also lift the fan housing up a lot higher without that stupid linkage in the way. Made a dynamo swap an absolute doddle and i've never had overheating probs with either bus :wink: .

 

[67 BAY]

Got some in barnsley 07979460118 Steve.

 

[Tofufi]

Ripped mine out, never had them fitted on my first bus and removed them when i had my current engine out. I was concerned about them sticking and causing overheating, you can also lift the fan housing up a lot higher without that stupid linkage in the way. Made a dynamo swap an absolute doddle and i've never had overheating probs with either bus :wink: .

You do as you like - But I promise you, my engine will run cooler, and my heating will work better

Does your heating put out warm air by the time you reach the bottom of your road? The flaps direct more air through the heating system when cold, which drastically aids demisting and heating on startup.

I have never heard of a single instance of them seizing shut. The thermostat is designed to fail in the open position

Personally, I run them, and never had a problem.
All the above is my opinion, just saying why I run em

Here is a site that can explain better than I possibly could:

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/2691/flaps.html

edit: Having said all the above, if anyone is binning their flaps, thermostat etc, let me know

 

[Guest]

You might find that the thermostat and flaps are not there from the factory. Apparently quite a few UK engines didn't come with a thermostat just for the fact that its quite a temperate climate and were deemed not needed.

I've never ever heard that one before :shock:

They are an incredibly important component, and help both the engine warm up time, and improve the demisting and heating. Not to mention the flaps really do aid cooling

took my engine in the van to my local aircooled mechanic before christmas, he wasnt surprised as he'd said it was the 4th UK engine hed seen this year with no thermostat and it was obviously from factory and i shouldnt be worried with the explaination above, so i assumed it was normal.

 

[angus]

Couple of thermostat/flap type pictures at the bottom of this page - hope it helps:
http://www.mystuffonline.co.uk/3.html

 

[Tofufi]

took my engine in the van to my local aircooled mechanic before christmas, he wasnt surprised as he'd said it was the 4th UK engine hed seen this year with no thermostat and it was obviously from factory and i shouldnt be worried with the explaination above, so i assumed it was normal.

Does your van have a standard VW fanhousing, or an aftermarket doghousing job?

Would you expect vans in places like America, South Africa to have thermostats, or vans from places like Poland and Russia to have them?
(I.e. cold places or warm places to have thermostats fitted)

 

[mathaus]

Thanks for your replys.

I think I will fit them as soon as I can get hold of some

 

[currylager]

Ripped mine out, never had them fitted on my first bus and removed them when i had my current engine out. I was concerned about them sticking and causing overheating, you can also lift the fan housing up a lot higher without that stupid linkage in the way. Made a dynamo swap an absolute doddle and i've never had overheating probs with either bus :wink: .

You do as you like - But I promise you, my engine will run cooler, and my heating will work better

Does your heating put out warm air by the time you reach the bottom of your road? The flaps direct more air through the heating system when cold, which drastically aids demisting and heating on startup.

I have never heard of a single instance of them seizing shut. The thermostat is designed to fail in the open position

Personally, I run them, and never had a problem.
All the above is my opinion, just saying why I run em

Here is a site that can explain better than I possibly could:

http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Downs/2691/flaps.html

edit: Having said all the above, if anyone is binning their flaps, thermostat etc, let me know

Thanks for providing me with that link, very informative, and i'm not afraid to admit i might be wrong on this one :wink: . I may consider looking out for some flaps if i'm pulling my engine at some point :roll: , but i'll carry on being the guinea pig at the moment as i've had no probs .

 

[Justin & Muttley]

Deffo with Tofufi on this one - they were designed into the system for a reason...

 

[D-FENS]

2 points here that are beyond question.

All original German Bay's left the factory with flaps & 'stat regardless of the market they were headed to, if it's not there it's because it's been removed.

The concern over the flaps getting stuck closed could be a valid one, especially if everything's old and a bit rusty OR the engines been apart and put back together by persons unkown. However, removing the flaps altogether is a major no-no as they are intended to direct the cooling air over the hottest part of the engine, namely the cylinder heads, when in the fully open position.

If overheating is a concern (motorway in the summer etc.), fit a temp gauge and keep the flaps & thermostat.

A.

 

[Tofufi]

The concern over the flaps getting stuck closed could be a valid one, especially if everything's old and a bit rusty OR the engines been apart and put back together by persons unkown.

Don't forget that oiling the bearing surfaces for the flaps is actually in the VW service schedule

Thanks for providing me with that link, very informative, and i'm not afraid to admit i might be wrong on this one :wink: . I may consider looking out for some flaps if i'm pulling my engine at some point :roll: , but i'll carry on being the guinea pig at the moment as i've had no probs .

Having said all of what I've said in my above posts, I will now admit my bus actually doesn't have a thermostat fitted (my bug does, however), only the flaps as I made a mistake when reassembling the fanhousing and put the control rod down the wrong hole in the cylinder head

I will pull mine at some point to rectify this, and do a couple of other jobs.
At least on an early bay it is a fairly simple operation to remove the engine.

 

[Air Cooled Rookie]

Mine's the same as Tofufi's bus: I have the flaps fitted, but no bellows unit. The flaps are pop riveted in the full open position. I assume that the engine is getting over cooled a lot of the time, but haven't got all the bits to correct the problem.