I managed to lower the temperature of my 1.9 WBX when driving in 100+ temps
by making cardboard deflectors for the D pillar air intakes and propping the
license plate door open.

These steps moved the needle about an eighth of an inch lower and helped me
relax a little during a long, hot and arduous trip.  ;)

I think the open license plate door was more of a factor in that will
extract hot air from the engine bay into the low pressure area behind the
van.

YMMV

Jake

On Tue, Jul 27, 2010 at 11:44 AM, neil n <musomuso@gmail.com> wrote:

> Hi all.
>
> My '81 was air cooled. There's a cold air outlet on frame in engine
> bay. The tub on my engine lid may be holding excessive amounts of heat
> on hot days. Pic: http://tinyurl.com/23sdnyc I know nothing of air
> flow, etc. stuff so....
>
> Theory: install ducting on cold air outlet to direct cooler air into
> tubbed portion of my engine lid.
>
> I bet there's lot's of air whooshing around in the engine bay at
> highway speeds. Would that whooshing air interfere with the air coming
> out that new short piece of duct?
>
> Can anyone guesstimate if this would actually help cool that area? I
> can provide pics if need be.
>
> I will also install cardboard at air cleaner in driver side area
> behind tail light. Archives suggest that the WBX uses a cardboard
> piece to help intake pull in cooler air and not hotter air from engine
> bay.
>
> Thanks!
>
> Neil.
>
> Why I'm curious about air flow:
>
> This pic gives rough idea of what resides in tubbed portion:
> http://tinyurl.com/25859ye  Coolant sensor at front of head in a
> cutout at firewall.
>
> In hot weather, engine consistently:
>
> - throws coolant sensor error code: 'Intermittent short to ground'.
> - turns MIL (check engine) light on at highway speeds
> - hunts at idle when shut down for 10 or so minutes, then restarted.
>
> Changed coolant sensor, no difference.
>
> Theory: excessive heat in tubbed portion of lid causes coolant sensor
> to get too hot. Resistor in it then zeros out allowing near or full
> electrical flow. i.e. recently, on a flat section of highway, 100F
> ambient, MIL stayed on at ~ 60 MPH. I propped the license plate door
> open hoping to get better air flow at tubbed portion of lid. The light
> then stayed off.
>
> A3 Bentley mentions that if MIL light comes on while driving, certain
> "serious conditions" such as an overheated CAT may cause this. This
> led me to the "excessive amounts of heat" theory.
>
> --
> Neil Nicholson '81 VanaJetta 2.0 "Jaco"
>
> http://tubaneil.googlepages.com/
>
>
> http://groups.google.com/group/vanagons-with-vw-inline-4-cylinder-gas-engines
>

--
Jake

1984 Vanagon GL 1.9 WBX 'The Grey Van'
1986 Westy Weekender/2.5 SOHC Suby 'Dixie'

Crescent Beach, BC

www.thebassspa.com
www.crescentbeachguitar.com
http://subyjake.googlepages.com/mydixiedarlin%27