Cooling issues
Asked by mechanic1968 Aug 29, 2014 at 09:01 PM about the 1970 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
I have a 1970 Volkswagen Karmann Ghia with an engine cooling problem most of which
is resolved but i want to remove the guts of the engine cooling dampers so that they are
always open will this cause any ill effects?
4 Answers
Do you live in a cold climate area. Like New England?
mechanic1968 answered 9 years ago
Live in Pa but the car is not driven except on warm sunny days, it lives a very sheltered life
Ok, first of all, I'm really not sure what you are calling cooling dampers, but I know that many mechanics have their own terms for things, so I am assuming you mean the engine baffling: that being the flexible material around the engine itself that seals the engine compartment. It occurs to me that you could mean the cooling fins on the engines, or even possibly parts of the blade at the front of the engine. But with an air-cooled engine, I would not recommend "removing" anything. Every component in an air-cooled engine's design for cooling is critical, engine baffling being one of the most important. I also don't see how you can "mostly" address a cooling problem in an air-cooled engine. If it's cooling while you are driving 40 mph, but overheating when you are stuck idling, it's most likely the fan. Hint: you can not truly inspect the fan unless you drop the engine and remove the shroud. Mine was cracked to the point that it was hanging on by a thread, but we could never see it with mirrors. If you haven't done it, it 's not that hard and it could keep you from ruining a perfectly good vw engine.
