Over heating.. after the fact?

[BumbleBus]

Not really finding an answer to this sorry. I've been taking my bus camping a couple times in upper 80s ambient recently. Taco place oil temp never goes above around 200-210 (I know it reads a little low probably though) and when I pull over the engine is cool to the touch and she's running very well as far as I can tell. However, when I get to camp and shut'r down after a couple minutes the dipstick and area highlighted below are uber-hot... like searing, can't touch them kinda hot. Is this normal or should I be worried that the natural cooling off process is not working properly. Thanks for any info. I'm still paranoid I'm missing a buried mouse nest or three.

[airkooledchris]

That's called heat-soak I believe, where it's hotter to the touch a little bit after you turn it off because the fan isn't cooling it all down anymore.

It's why you don't pull over and just stop suddenly when you are running hot, rather you slow down and drive gently so it can continue to cool itself off without the heat soak.

how do you know your taco plate reading is low?

if your really worried, get a CHT sensor from Dakota Digital. then you can freak out about how it's too hot ALL the time. ;p
really though you could then at least get an idea of where your at.

how do your plugs look? if they look like your running way lean it might be abnormally hot. I certainly wouldn't assume you have any kind of problem solely based on the fact that your engine is hot 10-15 minutes after shutdown.

[BumbleBus]

It's why you don't pull over and just stop suddenly when you are running hot, rather you slow down and drive gently so it can continue to cool itself off without the heat soak.

That makes sense. I'll make a mental note to at least idle for a minute or three after a hot drive.

how do you know your taco plate reading is low?

I don't necessarily, but have read that because the sensor is in the undercarriage airflow it's always getting cooled a little bit by the air. I'm building patterns with it more than anything and so far am comfortable with the patterns I'm seeing.

if your really worried, get a CHT sensor from Dakota Digital. then you can freak out about how it's too hot ALL the time. ;p

Heh, heh.. yes, good idea. I have no money for that currently though. One of my parts busses came with a VDO oil temp so that was my first route.

how do your plugs look?

Plugs were on the blackish side when I last checked and that plus the roughly 15-16mph I'm getting makes me think too rich if anything, but I'm still learning the ins and outs of this unknown motor so figured running a bit rich is better for now than running a bit lean.

Thanks for the info!!! I'll keep track of it. I just couldn't believe how hot it got.

[SlowLane]

Well, um, this ain't gonna help a bit with the heat soak (and frankly, it sounds pretty normal for driving in 80+ degree weather), but you really ought to consider putting an air filter on that carb.

I know, I know, the air is cleaner in Montana, but it isn't that clean.

[BumbleBus]

I know, I know, the air is cleaner in Montana, but it isn't that clean.

Haha.. old photo during a state of disrepair, but it was all I had to work with.. there is an oil bath filter on there.

[BumbleBus]

There... just to prove it to you. Heh, heh. For being a progressive it's really not been bad so far as near as I can tell (I can't tell much with my lack of experience). It's a Solex TCIC 34, which there isn't much info out there for, and I recently tuned it to "best lean idle" based on Weber's specs and there really isn't any dead spot or stumble or any icing issues etc. so far. Seems like a decent carb actually. Dwell dipped a bit to around 45.5 after my most recent tweakings, but she really is running pretty well as far as I can tell. Not that I don't want to go dualies again someday, but for now it's ok since I'm broke as a joke. She's getting me out camping in the backwoods nearby so that's good.

[Amskeptic]

Haha.. old photo during a state of disrepair, but it was all I had to work with.. there is an oil bath filter on there.

That is not an oil bath air cleaner, like the original VWs all had up to 1973. The oil bath air cleaners were magnificent. The K&N style washable elements that you apply a smear of oil to, are actually pretty lousy at filtration.
Colin
(p.s. I have recently discovered that there is next to nothing that you can do to mitigate heat-soak. Even after a hot desert highway run, the heads cool down amazingly quickly down the exit ramp or into the gas station. Sitting there idling to help it cool is almost a waste of our precious time. These stupid cars keep telling me "just drive us.")

[BumbleBus]

That is not an oil bath air cleaner, like the original VWs all had up to 1973.

The local FLAPS guys could not get a replacement filter nor had ever seen a Solex carb like the one I have (despite it being a progressive clone) so I bought the "oil" recharge kit. I should have been more specific. I would hope it's better than nothing anyway.

These stupid cars keep telling me "just drive us.")

Thanks for the info on the heat. I won't worry about it anymore.