Thanks for the photos Dick.

PMOSSBERG2013-07-29 14:31:09

My TD looked about like Dick’s when I got it.  I added the tin around the pulley and also on the front by the flywheel. I reasoned that the pulley tin would help to keep radiant muffler heat from the engine.  Seems to work in this climate.  I rarely get over 200 degrees oil temp.  210 is the max recorded.  

Greg, Google “crankcase ventilation”.  In the photo, it goes to the underside of the bottom plate of the air filter.  

I have no doubt the doghouse cooler will be better, but the standard cooler in the shroud worked for millions of Volkswagens  so should work on mine! I keep thinking something else must be wrong! I haven’t tried a vacuum dist yet ( my car came to me with a Pertronix flamethrower on it).  I don’t need or want any more power, I don’t have this car for racing around the country! I am using the “mexican volkswagen” type header, do any of you know any simple tricks to get better flow through the manifold heat with this setup? ( I could port one end into the collector as suggested but that isn’t easy enough for me!! LOL) Not sure how much better it would work either.

 Thanks!

 Ed Service 

Ed, I did a super clean of all the engine parts, esp the fins on the cylinder jugs and it made a lot of difference on my non-doghouse 1600.  

I have checked all the items so far posted and they are all good. I just tried a vacuum dist, I like the way it runs but still have 220 oil after 20 minute run at 60 mph. The oil temp sender is in the plug on the bottom of the engine under the oil pressure regulator. Have any of you used the ” adrian” pressure regulator with the ball?  It does seem to me like it isn’t circulating oil through the cooler. 

All of the temperature control items have been removed from my engine. thermostat and all linkage and vanes. Would it be worthwhile to locate   these parts and reinstall them?  I KNOW they should be there, but would that be the cause of the overheating?

I removed the regulator and spring, all appears normal there.  I have a dual pressure control engine so mine does have the valve at the flywheel end too. I’m wondering if I’m worrying over something that really isn’t a problem though. my engine doesn’t seem hot even though the gauge says it is, I just drove it home from town and the gauge is reading about 220 but I can hold onto the dipstick without it being uncomfortable. according to the old VW guys that was the test for too hot.  I really like how it drives with the vacuum distributor though! that thing is staying on there! A person can spend a lot of money ” improving” things until they are a lot worse than where they started from!  My engine appears to be original, I mean never having been taken apart, not bad for 43 years! but she probably has some loose spots in her, that likely is why the oil light flickers a little when hot. It has about .008 crankshaft endplay.   I have bought a 1.9 wasserboxer and am tempted to make it into a oxyboxer for my car. VW cured most of the crankcase problems with the wasserboxer and I’d like to install it as a liquid cooled but there is a lot to be said for the simplicity of an aircooled engine in a car that is only driven in the summer and then only on nice days. The wasserboxer has an aluminum case, an oil filter, a proper bolt on flywheel and a proper rear crankshaft seal! It doesn’t appear very difficult to convert one to air cooled. 

Sounds like the gauge reads high.

Heat gun=surface temp of case? How does that compare with oil temp? 

I have came to the same conclusion that edsnova has, that my temp guage is lying to me! It got all the proper thermostat parts including a working thermostat and installed them today. Car is running beautiful!  All the cold engine stumbling is gone, engine warms up quicker fuel mileage even seems better!  Guage still at 220+ after a 20 minute run but I can hold onto the dipstick with no discomfort and even hold the oil filter for a few seconds, I couldn’t do that if the oil was actually at 220 degrees! I’m going to just assume 220 is the best for her!  Sure having fun driving it around handles and drives really nice, I would say better than most Beetles I’ve driven, Doesn’t seem to want to head for the ditch when you meet a truck like the Beetles I’m used to. I’ll drive to work with her tomorrow and check the dipstick with the temp gun like schu suggested  but I’m not sure I trust it anymore either!

  Thanks for the help guys! It’s reassuring knowing we have so much experience and knowledge to fall back on!  Now if anyone needs any help with their Deutz or Kubota tractor!