I too have learnt new stuff from this, thanks.. This is my first aircooled so I'm learning all the time andnthere are some good tips above. Cheers
ive noticed at service stations everyone opens theyre engine lid when stationary, presumably to cool the engine down? Is this a good idea/necessary?
I only pop the engine bay hatch to check the dip stick handle. If its too hot to hold straight after you stop then the engine is getting too hot. Oh and to disconnect the battery so it can't be nicked. Then I lock it up ang go have a cuppa. They are probably showing off their shiny engine bays!
I recently helped a mate buy a van. Rock solid body, knackered engine (much better than the reverse!) He (seller) said he ran the van with some foam lagging propping the engine lid open to prevent overheating. I smiled politely and suggested he would have been better off using camper tinware rather than beetle. The poor engine just cooked itself by recirculating hot air blown out the bottom of the van and from the oil cooler exhaust. The engine was missing the majority of its cooling tinware, a thermostat, flaps and was a catalogue of bodges It still ran and pulled well! Amazing things these flat fours!
There is a thread on thesamba.com where one of the regulars deliberately took his bus through Death Valley yesterday. It was 123F or over 50 c . His engine survived without trouble. He stopped and took temperature readings as he went. And having once driven in an airconditioned car and stayed in the hotel in the Valley that is hot. Like opening the oven. His engine lid was shut. It also keeps the dust out. And one of the pleasures of the aircooled engine is that in traffic jams provided tickover is fast enough the oil temperature drops. If its hot just gently press on the gas and it cools quicker.
i seen a programe couple of weeks ago about egypt full of white type 2 s for taxi s all running round with there engine lids open , so must do some thing , think of the tempetures there owen n w
The Open Lid Syndrome is still with us ...its not in the JM guide is it? Can't check as I slung my copy years ago.
Oh well I reckon it must have been started by a watercooler hoping to kill off aircooled and /or their owners.
Being slightly less negative...the best way to cool your aircooler down after a long drive is to let the engine run for a while. As above, the fan'll bring the temps down pretty quickly.
They aren't the classic air cooled campers though i dont think, they are the new built brazilian type bays with the golf engine and the radiator on the fronts like the new ones you get from danbury motorhomes ect
I put a pressure gauge on recently, you take off the stock pressure switch and replace it with a sensor that has both a switch and sensor. only issue is that the switch on that triggers at 10psi or lower instead of 7.5psi on the stock switch. when my oil temp goes just above 210F, as it does on motorways in this weather, the oil pressure warning light comes on or flickers the first time you stop at a junction and idling, showing that the oil is starting to thin. A couple of miles at slower speeds the oil temp drops to 190-200F and the oil light stops flickering at idle. I think you can get a tee piece so you can run with both the stock pressure switch and the pressure sensor at the same time. I read somewhere that oil pressure should be about 10psi for every 1000rpm when at normal running temps, I dont have a rev counter, but I think I am running at about that or slightly better. Does all this sound about right to the more knowledgeable people on here? BTW I have a 1600TP 34pict3 carb
The ambient temperature of air around the van would rise if you were sitting in traffic as it would be warmed by the engines in the vehicles.
I spent a month Cairo and at night everyone drives with their lights off, flicking them on momentarily every 10 seconds of so. They think having the lights on flattens the battery. I wouldn't ask an Egyptian for car related advice...
The temps your gauge is showing sound on the low side to me. 210*F is barely 100*C, and it's normal for the oil in a type 1 to go a lot higher than this (120*C if you really cane it). The pressure switch in the dual units can be a real pain if you hammer it and the bearings are a bit tired - it'll flicker or even come on in a most annoying fashion. T-ing off the the original switch is a good idea.
