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