Lower Radiator hose

[rick@brubakerbox.com (Rick Alexander)]

In the cooling troubleshooting section of Bentley it states that the lower
radiator hose may collapse at highway speeds only.

Has anyone experienced this? What are the symptoms?

I'm asking because Rolling Roc has had some overheating issues lately that
I'm having trouble sorting out.

History: '86 16v original with 250K

Symptom: Overheats sometimes but only after 45 minutes. Makes it an "out of
town" problem only and a real PITA. It will idle all day long as long as the
fan is on. I know it is overheating because the temp gauge says so as does
the oil temp gauge. Besides it's hard to ignore the steam from the cap and
the boiling that is visible in the overflow tank. Additionally it is
extremely slow to fill at times.

Work done: Full tune up, timing correct, valve timing correct, flush and
thermostat changed, examined the tank to block hose for clog and found none.
Have not done a leak down due to a few known small leaks (weeping at the
bottom of the radiator and the overflow tank).

Current Status: This evening it spit the upper hose fitting off of the
radiator. I've ordered (for pick up Sunday) Radiator, lower hose, overflow
tank, cap, fan switch.

Have I missed anything?

Rick Alexander
http://www.brubakerbox.com
http://clubs.hemmings.com/hams/
http://clubs.hemmings.com/vwsrus/