Bezare thread; had my VX for 7 years, AC has never failed or caused the engine, heat or anything to act up, in stopped, idle or highspeed traffic; something is going on with your unit, should not need to cut holes in your hood, has to be a circulation problem but sounds like you've been thru all that; if a compressor is putting alot of stress on the belt I guess that could overload and cause an abnormal heatup; bezare; my AC is ice cold, to cold, aside from the extra fan noise when I run the system I don't notice any strain on the engine