Beetle overheating

ftt · Post by **ftt** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 10:24 am

I heard a couple of my friends say that you should try and avoid traffic with a beetle as it could overheat and some even take on fire.. It this correct? if so would you guys suggest changing the fuel lines to braided hoses, or what would you guys suggest?

Thanks.

Post by **calooker** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 11:47 am

There are many reasons why beetles have engine fires, the two factors that cause this, is fuel and ignition, to cut a long story short if fuel gets out of the fuel system and onto the ignition system you will cause a fire, in some severe cases fuel can also be ignited by a very hot exhaust. Another way of the engine catching fire (this one happened to me) is if you use an aftermarket pancake paper element filter and gets fuel onto the filter and saturates it from fuel standoff, and during driving the motor backfires thru the carb, it will get the paper filter burning.
Make sure all your fuel lines in the engine compartment are new, (some have been in for 30+ years) use high pressure fuel lines (cheap insurance), make sure there is as little joints in the fuel line as possible clamp all the ends, the fuel filter should be placed as far away from the dizzy as possible and fixed down, make sure the fuel lines are fixed down and not rubbing up against anything that will damage them. Fuel lines should not run close to the exhaust pipes. There is no need to fit braided hoses they are not cheap, a mission to keep them clean & tidy once oil and crap gets into the braiding they look real sh*it, but if you insist on fitting them, it will be up to you.
If all your cooling tin is in place and the motor has the ignition correctly set up and carb is in tune, oil level is OK then it should not overheat, and using it in traffic should be fine.
An overheating motor will grind to a halt and give you plenty of warning, before it ever catches fire from the high temps.

ftt · Post by **ftt** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:15 pm

thanks calooker. I appreciate the advice. We only got the car yesterday and I am looking quite forward to playing with it

I will post pics tomorrow.

Post by **eben** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:25 pm

Talking about overheating..... I installed an oil temp sender into the 'taco' plate of my type IV powered fastback last week and I could never get the oil temp over 95 degrees doing about 140 on the N1. This is amazing since i can remember driving my parents 1800 GTS caddy hard ( exactly the same guages) and the temp would go up to about 120 sometimes.....

ftt · Post by **ftt** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:38 pm

That's awesome eben. Sheesh, Didn't think that it would be that low.

ftt · Post by **ftt** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 12:39 pm

cool even.

Post by **Tony Z** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:06 pm

make sure that ALL THE COOLING TIN IS THERE, especially the little deflector plates under the cylinders.

One of the biggest reasons for a beetle catching on fire is lazyness.
Yes, people are LAZY.
Look into your engine bay, chances are you will see the fuel filter on the left side, just above the cylinder and near the dizzy... if this gets hot, it will probably melt or leak...--- fuel, heat and sparks = FIRE
Move this filter to the flexible line next to the gearbox and replace all the other flexible lines while you are at it... 95% of all fire possibilites are now solved (assuming you do a decent job). And all it takes is an hour.

ftt · Post by **ftt** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:13 pm

Thanks Tony Z. I will have a look tonight.

Post by **calooker** » Tue Nov 08, 2005 2:45 pm

Oil temps can be affected by many things, but one rule applies, too hot oil and you will fry your motor.
The VW Motor should be called an Air/Oil Cooled motor, not only an air cooled motor. Everything you do to increase the power will simultaneously increase the heat. Only so much cooling can be done with air so Oil becomes the next essential element for eliminating heat.

Ideal air cooled VW Oil temp. is 85 to 95 deg & 110 Max, @ 120 deg things start to go wrong, so make sure your cooling system remains in perfect working condition, if you are missing any items on the cooling system it will affect temp. Lean Carb Jetting can increase oil temp. by up to 10 deg. Deck Lid Stand-Offs on beetles can lower temp. by 10 deg. The Oil Temp. varies directly with the Air Temp outside. Motors with High Compression run slightly hotter.
It makes a difference where on the block your picking up the oil temp, it should be picked up before it goes into the cooler. Check the gauge to see if it is reading accurate with hot water and a thermometer (for peace of mind) and compare readings . Timing and Jetting of your carbs makes a big difference.

ftt · Post by **ftt** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 9:30 am

Thanks guys.. Last night I got the beetle to idle, The fuel to air was way out. Running way to rich. It does hunt though so I wonder if the cam might be done? I also had a look at the fuel filter and it is like you said, right above the exhaust manifold. This weekend I will move it and get new fuel pipes.

Post by **Tony Z** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:10 pm

car is hunting, dont even think about the cam. My car idles at 800rpm and can stay on at 300 when cold (if I let it).

You got a vacuum leak. Check the rubber boots on the inlet manifold.

Do yourself a really big favour.... get the HEYNES MANUAL for the beetle...

Post by **calooker** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 1:45 pm

Tonyz is right, must also check inlet manifold gaskets at heads as well as on carb base, in fact replace them, if the problem persists it is likely that your carb is worn out and in need of replacing with a new one, you can get yours fully reconed, that will also cost $$$, I would rather replace with a new Solex / Brosol 30/31 carb you will also need an adaptor if you are currently running a Solex PICT-3 34. Make sure the rubber boots are clamped tightly on both ends, both sides. A new replacement Solex / Brosol 30/31 carb local will be around the R1100 if you lucky, the 34 will be much more.

Post by **Tony Z** » Wed Nov 09, 2005 4:25 pm

Work everything through with the manual and keep us posted. We can always help. How are the plugs, wires, dizzy cap and rotor, points and condesor?? Not expensive to replace.

ftt · Post by **ftt** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 12:50 pm

Thanks for the help guys. I will keep you posted. First things first.. I will check the front brakes and move the fuel filter.

Tony Z wrote:Work everything through with the manual and keep us posted. We can always help. How are the plugs, wires, dizzy cap and rotor, points and condesor?? Not expensive to replace.

As far as I know the motor was redone not long ago. But that could have been a sales pitch from the owner

Post by **calooker** » Thu Nov 10, 2005 2:14 pm

One quick check you can do (maybe a bit late) is pull and push on the pulley with some force, if it has any inward or outward movement then the motor has worn bearings or not rebuilt properly (wrong shims) 99% of the times the mileage is high and wearing out the bearings , you should not feel any movement not even just a little bit, that should tell you something.