Engine Care without dials

Discussion in 'Mech Tech' started by Little Nellie, Nov 26, 2019.

  1. To be truthful, there were times when I worried, like in Spain and oil temp went up to 120C and the oil light came on, but I have a VDO pressure sender and the oil light terminal trips in at a higher pressure than stock. I've now spliced in the original sender and it's no longer a worry.

    I'd add that I originally fitted gauges when I was worried about overheating. I got it up to 140C going over the Alps, but this turned out to be due to the automatic transmission slipping. The engine is still strong even though it uses a fair bit of oil.
     
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  2. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    One thing that gets extremely hot is the cylinder heads when you have to slow down from say 60-70mph into a traffic queue or worse turn off the engine.
    Air flow drops, heat still stored in the metal.
    Its the same as @paradox hill climb.
    On a Type 4 this could be head cracking time, hence the preference for CHT gauges on Type 4 engines..

    After a few minutes at idle it all cools down, a fast idle or driving gently can work better.
     
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  3. matty

    matty Supporter

    Don’t drive it like a modern car

    Keep the revs up, anticipate hills and drive steady.
     
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  4. Little Nellie

    Little Nellie Supporter

    Good knowledge here. Like the foot on the accelerator controlling the fan speed especially at idle concept.
     
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  5. Cheek - mine goes at least 50
     
  6. mine does 50 and that's enough for me.
     
  7. JamesLey

    JamesLey Sponsor

    Mine goes 60! Vroom vroom.
     
  8. Mine'll do 80 if you put your foot down. The fuel gauge moves in the opposite direction to the speedometer, mind...
     
  9. Mine cruises along nicely at an indicated 100-110:thumbsup:*









    *my speedo is marked in km/h:D
     
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  10. Mine never broke down :eek: so I must be doing something right , you can’t trust these gauges timing lights n meters n stuff :D especially if an idiot is using them :D
     
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  11. Merlin Cat

    Merlin Cat Moderator


    :) my mate the old mechanic reset my timing after the proper garage had left it with a backfire whilst driving. We then drove a few miles and stopped and listened to the engine. He said ‘listen, that sounds like a happy engine to me, timing sorted’. It certainly stopped the backfires and ran v nicely since :)
     
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  12. bluerustybucket

    bluerustybucket Supporter

    the guy who's set mine up a few times always says the same ! your ears are the best gauge. the wife is used to me turning the radio down now !
     
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  13. Maybe when you get good at it, but my 63 beetle didn't think so and left me stranded in the wilds of Northumberland with a seized engine in snow in winter. I'd upped the advance too much and it ran great but expired after 100 miles. That was 25 years back and I know a few things now.

    I reckon I can balance my carbs quite well by ear though.
     
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  14. Don’t set your ignition timing “by ear”.
     
  15. I try to limit driving on interstates and drive on 2 lane state highways where the posted speed limit is 55...people drive 60-65 on those roads and the sweet spot for my bus is right in between. It runs quietly at that speed and the gauges stay happy. I drove for years with only an oil temp gauge and it was great for telling me when I was pushing it and when to back off. Approaching 70 mph, the bus feels like it’s starting to work a lot harder and is much louder. The handling also starts to feel vague and floaty.
     
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  16. mikedjames

    mikedjames Supporter

    I drove my bus for the second time at 70mph with the modern 30mm foam soundproofing in the engine bay and its a lot harder to 'use your ears' to tell if it sounds right. No need to shout at passengers in the back either..Wind noise and gearbox noise now almost louder than the engine.

    At idle I sometimes have to look down at the gauges to see if its still running..

    With my new (11000 miles) JK engine and the full flow cooler setup off my previous more stock and 20 degrees hotter running 1641s I couldnt get the oil temperature over 95 degrees maintaining 70mph on fairly level roads for 10 miles..

    Steering still precise and no tendency to drift off line at that speed except if its windy.. ( probably the PTFE/brass bushing I fitted in the steering box a couple of years back. . Slightly springy so you can over tighten the adjuster slightly).
     
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