Date: Mon, 25 Mar 2002 21:54:26 -0800
Reply-To: warmerwagen@HOTMAIL.COM
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Robert Keezer <warmerwagen@HOTMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: Longevity of Conversion Engines
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Perhaps this is the reason so many air-cooled VW's emigrated to the Pacific Northwest where air condtioning is not too important. That is, on the western side of the Cascade range. We are water-cooled here.
Robert
1982 Westfalia
----- Original Message -----
Wrom: MVRESKPNKMB
Sent: Monday, March 25, 2002 9:48 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Longevity of Conversion Engines
one thing no one has considered about aircooled engines is air
conditioning, something that car buyers began to demand in increasing
numbers back in the 70's. air conditioning puts quite a load on the
engines, especially at idle and low rpm ... like city driving and
waiting at traffic lights/stop signs. trouble is, that's the time when
the aircooled engine gets the least amount of cooling (from the fan)
...
porsche didn't have the problem as much, as it was essentially an
oil-cooled engine, plus it had two extra cylinders to create the
torque necessary for the air conditioning compressor.
so what to do? watercooled engines don't have the problem ... they
have radiators with cooling fans to draw air through and cool the
antifreeze. so a 4-cylinder watercooled engine can handle the air
conditioning better than a same-size 4-cylinder aircooled engine.
simple economics ... if you want to sell cars in the u.s., you have to
offer air conditioning. how many aircooled buses out there actually
have air conditioning? versus how many of the watercooled buses? i've
only seen maybe half a dozen aircooled buses, in the last 30 years,
that had air conditioning ... and that's down here in the southeast.
on the other hand, i've only seen TWO watercooled buses down there
that did NOT have air conditioning.
for what it's worth, i started driving vw beetles in 1958 ... moved
'up' to squarebacks in 1968, and into buses in 1970. it was 1986
before i ever had any car with air conditioning ... just never
realized what i was missing. :) or i got too old to keep sweating like
that. either way, it's a luxury that i like, and intend to keep
getting in any car/bus/truck/house/boat/airplane/office/whatever that
i get in the future. :) so i'm seduced by the wet side of the farce
... by that first 1986 watercooled bus. and i'm afraid i can't go back
... no matter how many water pumps i have to replace.
it's like diesel engines versus gasoline engines ... it's not 'more'
maintenance; it's just 'different' maintenance. the trick is, do the
maintenance that the engine (and bus) requires and you'll be ok. don't
do it, and any engine will fall apart on you, sooner or later. like
the old Bardahl ad used to say "pay me now, or pay me later." :)
joelGet more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download : http://explorer.msn.com
