Well, I got the old thermostat out. It was closed. Brought it in to
test it. It seemed to work... Mostly... Once it was open, I thought
it looked like the lower area of the rod that the valve slides on was
rusty or some such thing, and tried to feel it with a knife (didn't feel
like sticking my hand in 180F water) and it seemed like it was rough.
Let it cool back down and it closed, but not quite fully. It seemed
like overall it moved slower than the other two I had, and it didn't
seem to fully close on it's own. Looks like for some reason that center
rod got rusty or some such thing and kept it from sliding as well as it
should.
Anyway, I replaced it with one of the spares (I used the German one, but
with the "double ring" rubber bit from the original), and I have yet to
drive it, but starting it up and idling/revving it does appear that it's
working better. I was seeing above 80C and holding up there, which I
don't recall it doing except in the summer, and I'm not sure it was as
quick/steady even then. Definitely made the heater warmer as well.
Oh yeah, one other thing. Did I hear that there's an electric water
pump in the heater circuit that if failed would cause my heat to be near
non-existent at idle, but revving the engine brings on the heat? (It
seems to stay warm for at least a little while afterwards).
Thanks!
Levi
Jim Cathey wrote:
I was wondering if someone who lives in a colder area could confirm for
me whether or not something around the vintage of my 83' 300D should
maintain temps even in winter?
Of course. Unless...
Also worthwhile to note that I have a greasecar kit installed, so I do
have another 15-20' of heater line, heating a 15 gallon tank of oil,
and
there's probably a 6' length of those lines that runs directly under
the
car out in the open, so I would imagine this all works effectively as a
second radiator to some degree.
I would think to more than a small degree. Is there any way you can
block the coolant flow to the greaser setup for a test? Your symptoms
certainly sound like a bad thermostat, but the heater loop (and
friends) bypasses this and if it's too efficient at sucking heat
out of the engine you would see your symptom. Of course, both
factors could be at work here.
Certainly a new thermostat shouldn't hurt, but your theory
could be right too. I for one am curious because I have this
pipe dream about 'greasing' the 200D Frankenheap, and if there's
not enough engine heat for winters it's a factor I would like
to know about! (Then I have visions about running the exhaust
pipe through the middle of the grease tank...)
topping off) works too well. I believe last time I disconnected the
upper radiator hose to fill. Is this what you're supposed to do?
It's what seems to work best at eliminating that nasty air bubble
in the head. Make sure you install the thermostat correctly with
the air bleed hole (or jiggle valve) up.
-- Jim
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