Date:         Thu, 2 Mar 1995 12:05:56 -0500
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         wolf@NetHeaven.com (Wolfram v.Kiparski)
Subject:      Re: Engine Overheating Problem


>We own a '79 2.0 litre T4 panel van which runs a sweet as a nut apart from
>it's overheating. It pulls well in all gears, accelerates well and doesn't
>miss a beat. But whenever we pull up we have to put up with that worrying
>'hot' smell we all dread!!!  

Does it run poorly at all, when you smell that hot smell?

Air cooled engines do get hot.  I remember the first time I started driving
an air cooled VW around.  It took me a while to get over the nervousness
everytime I smelled that "hot smell."  It is a "hot smell" that is quite
differnet from the "hot smell" of a water boxer.  But the Bus ran well, got
good gas mileage, and never missed a beat for tens of thousands of miles
with that "hot smell" that eventually faded into the background of
familiarity.

When I fried the engine of my last Bug, the "HOT SMELL" that emanated from
that poor engine was very alarming, and very different.  I smelled like
something mechanical was going to die, and it did.  Qualitative, yes, but
true.

Wolf

P.S.  Do elaborate, the hot smell you may be smelling might not be normal,
and a sign that something is wrong.  I don't mean to suggest that you
ignore it, just that it might be "normal" for an air-cooled engine.