Beetle stalls on long drives and hot weather.

Hello,

My Beetle (1641cc engine) has problems going for long trips or in hot temperature.

Its summer time here in Melbourne Australia and the temperatures can reach up to 100F (37.7C)

I drove to my relative's place a few weeks ago - a distance of over 40km. After driving it for over 30km though, the engine stalled and went dead. I pulled over and waited nearly two hours, then the engine "woke up" and I completed the journey.

On the way back at late night, it was slightly raining too, I stopped for 30 minutes at a grocery store and did some shopping. But the engine stalled again at an intersection - and it wouldn't start until after another miserable hour.

I also drove the beetle to the city - I thought the weather was going to be cool but it was not. Temps on the highway was close to 100F. After 15 minutes of driving, the car stalled again, I waited 30 minutes - drove it again and it stalled yet once more 500m later. I towed it back to my garage after that.

The engine is a relatively new 1641cc. All the tin work is in place. It was recently rewired. It has a new fuel pump. I also have an air scoop installed over the vents. The engine was installed over ten months ago. I think this is the first time I am drove it in the summer. I am however not driving it due to the problem.

And yes, I fill up my car with premium petrol 98octane- non-ethol fuel.

Can someone advice me?

Cheers,

CC

Reply to
CC
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First step is to find out whether the problem is fuel or ignition-related.

(I'm assuming that the starter *does* crank the engine, so it is not a problem of the engine seizing up.)

Find out if there is fuel in the carb at the moment it has stalled. You can look down the carb throat and watch the accelerator pump nozzle while opening the throttle manually. If there is a steady stream the carb is *probably* full of fuel. A better test is to actually look in the carb fuel bowl by taking the top off, but this can be dangerous on a hot engine.

Bring a buddy along on a ride. When it stalls, have him operate the starter while you check for spark.

------------------- Although rare, fuel starvation can be caused by "vapor lock" which prevents the pump from operating. Insulating parts of the suction line *may* help, but in my opinion putting an electric fuel pump up front is the preferred fix.

Check for fuel tank (non)venting. Remove the fuel filler cap as soon as it stalls. If you hear "whoooooosh", the tank is not venting properly, preventing the pump from working.

Heat can cause ignition problems. The coil may fail at a certain temperature, or the condensor may fail (short circuit or open) causing sudden lack of spark.

A problem like this one takes detective work and patience; there is no quick answer...

Speedy Jim

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Reply to
Speedy Jim

be caused by "vapor lock"

line *may* help, but in my opinion putting an electric> fuel pump up front is the preferred fix.> Heat can cause ignition problems. The coil may fail at a certain> temperature, or the condensor may fail (short circuit or open)> causing sudden lack of spark. (parts of thoughtful post cut)

Hello Speedy Jim,

Yes the starter does crank the engine. But it doesn't catch on... just whirls around. The ignition is electronic btw.

I am taking the Beetle back to the mechanic next week.

I am afraid I had great trouble with the Beetle ever since I had it upgraded to a new 1641cc engine. The starter motor had a faulty relay. Then the rockers(?) broke twice and I had to tow it back to the workshop. Then the fuel pump malfunctioned and set the engine on fire when I was driving it. Thankfully I had a fire extinguisher. Now the engine drops dead when I am driving on the freeway. Trying to drive into the emergency lane with no power on a busy freeway is NOT fun.

I love my Beetle but I think it wants to kill me. :)

Reply to
CC

I had the same problem for two summers with my 74. The group came up with my fix. Electric fuel pump mounted under the fuel tank. No more problem. The end. Dennis

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Reply to
Dennis Wik

When my car stalled on the freeway. This great dude pulled up in his 70s bug with an 1800cc engine. He came over to give me some help. But he also told me how he fixed his problem.

He hooked up the front bay airfilter of another 70s bug and installed it as an air scoop under the rear section of the floorpan. It allowed more air to be forced into the doghouse - and kept it cooler.

I think photos of it can be found here

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Reply to
CC

if you are having cooling problems, you first need to check if all the stock cooling system parts are there and working properly before doing more hacks to it.

Reply to
Eduardo Kaftanski

Possibly not the best choice for your location as the 1641 is known to run hot.

How fast on the freeway? You might try dropping your speed to see if that helps with the problem.

It only wants to make sure that you'll still respect it in the morning.

Reply to
Luft Gek?hlt

Hello everyone,

Thank you all for your suggestions. I am taking the Beetle to the mechanic this Wednesday and I'll report back later.

Cheers,

YM

Reply to
CC

All the stock parts are intact. The mech did change the crank shaft pulley to a lighter - slimer but same size - one though.

Reply to
CC

Why is the 1641cc know to run "hot"? Its only a slightly bigger version of the 1600cc stock engine.

Can you elaborate please?

Reply to
CC

The 1641 has the same outer diameter as a standard 1600, but a larger inside diameter. That makes the wall thinner, so it deforms more when hot, making it more likey to rub the piston.

Reply to
Eduardo Kaftanski

It isn't that a 1641 runs any hotter than a 1600. Given that slip-in 88s are just bored-out 85.5s, the fin areas are the same. So, the 88s don't run any hotter than stock 85.5s for the same power output. But of course output of the 1641 is marginally more than the 1600 so there _is_ a bit more waste heat to get rid of. Not much.

The problem is that even moderate overheating that a 1600 would shrug off can warp the thinner cylinders of a 1641. Once this has happened, the 1641 can indeed run hotter because it is now far less efficient that the 1600 due to excessive blow-by.

Max

Reply to
Max Welton

On Mon, 19 Jan 2004 16:43:51 -0700, Max Welton ran around screaming and yelling:

87's for 1641,,,88's for 1679 J
Reply to
Joey Tribiani

Good catch.

Max

Reply to
Max Welton

Hello Eduardo,

Pardon me but I don't understand what you mean by outer and "larger inside diameter. And how that would make the wall of the case thinner.

Reply to
CC

its the wall of the cylinder the one thats thinner.

a 1600 is 85.5mm inside. a 1641 is 87mm inside. both have the same outside diameter, so the cylinder walls of the 1641 are thinner.

Reply to
Eduardo Kaftanski

Hello Max,

Um... you just said a lot of stuff I don't exactly understand.

First, Slip-ins 88s are bord-out 85.5s? I assume it simply means a reconditioned 85.5?

I don't think my mechanic machined the pistons - he bored out the engine case making the diameters bigger.

But- another question is why is - if the 1641cc is notorious for running hot - what about the bigger modified engines like the 1776cc and 1835cc? Won't they be seriously worse?

Cheers,

CC

Reply to
CC

On Tue, 20 Jan 2004 18:29:43 GMT, "CC" ran around screaming and yelling:

CC i think you are just getting confused...lets start over....the "overheating" issues are not due to the engines overall size(1776,1835,1915,etc) but they are refering to the *cylinders* overheating and causing (possible) warpage....that is why the 87's and

88's have been mentioned...they are the same cylinder as a stock 85.5 (piston's) cylinder, but have been bored out for the larger piston, resulting in *thinner* cylinderwalls....which can sometimes not shed the heat as efficiently as the thicker cylinders, and can cause them to warp...(because thinner metal will warp easier).... J
Reply to
Joey Tribiani

Hello Joey,

Ok, correct me me I'm wrong but you're saying that for the 1641cc - it is the cylinder that is bored out. Thin Cylinders will result in a less heat disapating machine.

For the 1776cc which uses the 92mm? cylinder- it will be the crankcase that is bored out to make way for the larger cylinder.

Am I right or wrong here? Thanks!

CC

Reply to
CC

On Wed, 21 Jan 2004 03:09:16 GMT, "CC" ran around screaming and yelling:

mostly...LOL...the 1776 uses a 90.5 piston and cylinder bore....the

92mm(with stock stroke is 1835) uses the same block *hole* size as the 90.5, so it too is a "bored out" cylinder....the 87,88 and 92's are often called "slip ins"....the 87 and 88 cylinders "slip in" to the stock case spigots...the 92 "slips" in to the bore for the 90.5 cylinder...so the heat issue becomes that the cylinder wall is much thinner than the bore size that was meant for the particular hole...(basically your post shows that you do indeed understand, so i should have just said "you are right"...LOL) j
Reply to
Joey Tribiani

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