FAQ 37
Question: I have a 72 superbeetle. I had the engine rebuilt to a 1641, had a oil cooler installed, and had some chrome added. (chrome fan shroud, cooling tin, pulley) Since then I can go about 30 miles or so and it overheats and goes out on me. I have to sit there a few minutes, then it starts up again. I have taken it back several times to the shop. They look at it and replace something. Last time the head was destroyed. A couple of times the engine got so hot it sucked up the valve covers gaskets and lost all my oil. Any ideas? Have you ever heard of chrome parts causing the engine to overheat? The guy working said that he took off the oil cooler and put back on a reg. black shroud. he drove it and it was fine. If you have any guesses please let me know. Answer: Chrome doesn't cool as well as plain black engine tin, but people run chrome all the time with no problems. The VW has a reasonable excess of cooling built in. I think the shop is giving you a run around. The 1641 is doesn't make any more heat than a normal 1600 cc engine. It is possible that they put a really cheap chrome tin on, and the air flow is bad. Did they use a chrome dog house fan shroud? By 1972, VW put a larger oil cooler on the Bug, and the fan shroud is larger where it covers the oil cooler, so people call it a "dog house" fan shroud. You can read up on VW mechanical issues in John Muir's great book "How to Keep Your Volkswagen Alive". I review this book in detail at: http://laudeman.com/bug_b_1562614800.html
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