hill climbing overheating issue

[silvertdi]

This weekend I went to a hilly part of the country with my 81 N/a rabbit.  When ascending the hills I'd have the fuel pedal to the floor and would often have to downshift to third.  Within a minute or two of climbing the hill the temp gauge had risen a bar or two higher than its normal operating temperature.  This seemed awfully rapid to me, even under full load.  Is there a problem? Could it be my cooling system?  Ambient air temperature was -10 degrees Fahrenheit.  I would think it could shed heat extremely effectively due to the delta in Temp.

[Doug]

A long hill could tax the engine enough to cause the temperature guage to rise. Is the cooling system pressurised? Squeeze the upper rad hose when the motor is at temperature to see if the hose feels under pressure. Maybe your timing is off a bit, low compression, coolant level low, etc. You get the idea that there could be a lot of different things happening here. You'll have to dig in to check things out.

[silvertdi]

Coolant level is fine, new phosphate free coolant, new hoses, new water pump, new head gasket.  System is pressurizing.  I did notice a very faint whisping of steam leaking from the radiator, but it is very faint.  Water level hasn't gone down in months and the coolant system is holding pressure.

[smutts]

Thermostat missing? If so the bypass hose will cause the coolant to bypass the radiator & stay hot. :?: