On Jul 27, 2010, at 3:39 PM, Jake de Villiers wrote:

> 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
>

LOL!- I bet you & your vanagon look really COOL w/ that mod, Jake!
What is wrong w/ your cooling system?  I have the same engine & drive
in those conditions all Summer w/o the coolant temp-o-meter going
above 1/3+-, unless I am going very slowly in heavy traffixc or up a
steep grade, then it might go above 1/2 until I speed up, & then it's
back to 1/3.

YMMV,

Mr. BZ-no mods to be cool needed

>
>
> 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