HELP - engine running VERY hot

Quite the opposite I would think as they're wrapped around the manifold and force cooled by air from the fan. Without them the manifold (j-tube) heat will be radiating back at the engine. Probably small fry in the greater cooling scheme of things, but every little helps.

You have a problem different than a few bits of missing tin if the oil boils after 10 miles... either the oil isn't being cooled or nothing is being cooled.

 

Thanks Zed - If I take the flexible pipes off that run from the fan shroud, and can feel cool air blowing from the fan shroud, then I assume there is cooling, so do I then need to check the oil cooler to see if the oil is being cooled, and how would I do that?

Any suggestions welcome, as I want to try and check everything over tomorrow.

 

Well that would indeed show the fan was going round.
Another question: Does it have an aftermaket fan housing? I took one off @Purplepantyman 's engine and the internal vanes had fallen off completely blocking the air flow to the cylinders on one side. It didn't stop me fitting one to my own engine, but you might need to check that. Engine out and fan housing off.

Oil from pump hits a pressure relief valve. When cold and thick it pushes the valve piston down allowing the oil straight to bearings bypassing the cooler. Some still goes to cooler, but not enough for when the engine is warmed up. These do stick! If it's stuck down you have very little oil cooling. Access is via the large screw cap under the engine - there are 2 and the one you should check is the one nearest the rear of the bus. Unscrew, the spring will come out and hopefully also the piston. No need to drain the oil it will stay in the sump apart from half a cup full. Relatively easy to check so that would be my first port of call.

 

If the engine is getting boiling hot to touch, wouldn;t that suggest more that there is a problem with the fan cooling system rather than the oil cooling, or if the oil is not getting cooled properly, would that in itself make the engine case, alternator, etc get very hot?

I.e. what's making the engine too hot - fan cooling, oil cooling or both (although that would seem like a bit of a coincidence)?

Also, should I be checking whether the engine is getting hot at idle, or by taking it for a run? Last time it got hot was when I took it for spin down the motorway - could I eliminate anything by just leaving it to tick over for a while on the drive to see if it still gets very hot?

One other thing - i've just noticed a picture of a fan shroud which someone has for sale, and i've noticed there are some flaps at the bottom of the housing . I had to lift the housing up to get my alternator off - could I have dislodged something to do with these flaps and stopped air coming from the bottom of the housing ? I assume this air is directed onto the cylinders?

Sorry for my lack of knowledge!

thanks

 

If you have these flaps and were unaware of their purpose it's possible you inadvertently jammed them in shut position. They should be attached to a thermostat by a rod that would have prevented you from lifting the housing, and a spring on the rear should make them fail to open. Again without the spring you might have dislodged they could be stuck open.

Definitely something to look at particularly if your trouble started after you did this.

 

@grub where are you based? I wonder if someone local can be a second head (being better than one. Apparently)?

 

Don't forget that the cooling fan also directs air through the oil cooler as well as over the cylinder heads.

I'd think your best bet is to drop the engine - not difficult - and check that everything's in place, although if it has overheated so much, you may have other work to do.

 

I'm in Solihull.

 

There are a few people in that area. I wouldn't like to volunteer anyone (that wouldn't be fair) but at least one of them has basically the same location in his TLB name! Might be worth a PM...

 

Once you bite the bullet and decide to take the engine out, it's not a big job, you'd have it out and easily at hand in an hour or so, making all these checks very much simpler. As was said, you'll not excited to take it out but better there than on the hard shoulder of the roadway.

 

The only problem in taking the engine out is that i'd be wanting to put back a 1776 or a 1641 in it's place - if anyone has one lying around they would like to part with ??

 

If your engine is cooking itself then until you sort that out stay stock.
Then if you fix that you can then think about 1641 by fitting a kit . Or if it turns out you have cracked cylinder heads then its a no brainer..

Check the flaps move also the thermostat and if the rod from thermostat to flaps is jamming.
If you unbolt the thermostat and move it up and down the flaps should be clunking away and a spring should be pulling the rod up into the flaps open position.

I did once suffer from the thermostat to flaps rod jamming down and the engine ran quite hot for no reason one day then fixed itself.

My 1641 ran quite hot anyway with working stock cooling.

 

Ok guys - having a good go at this today as I can't use my bus!

Taken a few bits off to get a good look and taken some photos - here goes..

First the timing - the bus is currently set so that at tickover with the strobe light the crankcase joint lines up with the middle of the 3 notches in the pulley here..



Next the fan housing - there do not appear to be any flaps or actuating rod, so perhaps there is no thermostat system on my engine at all? Hope fully you can see here that the air from the fan is directed through the open hole you can see bottom right..



On the other side of the fan housing there are vents which I assume direct the cool air onto the oil cooler..



The oil cooler appears to be self contained in its own tinware (is this what they call the doghouse?) - hope fully you can see it in this shot which is taken from the back of the fan shroud - I assume there is no way I can check whether cool air is being directed from the fan onto the oil cooler as it all seems to be covered..



Looking from underneath, the right hand side of the lower tinware is in place..



But the left hand side is missing..



And finally, the underside of the engine looks like this - where can I find the screw for the oil pressure relief valve?..



thanks for you ongoing help everyone - it really is very much appreciated - hopefully I can get this sorted, but at the mo, I can;t really see ehat could be causing the overheating?

 

Someone with more knowledge will be along in a minute but if the timing is right and valves are well adjusted, it were me, id just be pulling the engine out, taking it to bits and assessing whats going on. You never know. By the time you reach the oil cooler you may have your answer...

Your problem is if its cooked anyway, it may just be good for a rebuild. But that's just me.

 

Thia is what one oil pressure relief looks like. The other is identical

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=type 1 dual pressure relief&client=ms-hms-vf-gb&sa=X&channel=landingpage&biw=360&bih=567&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&ei=f8YrVKX8F4vjO_GWgYAI&ved=0CDIQ7Ak#facrc=_&imgrc=M24AkpuqNOWdsM%3A;UyfHi7T75mTHMM;http%3A%2F%2Fmembers.trainorders.com%2Fandroid%2FVW08%2FGroovedOilPressureReliefPiston2.jpg;http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thesamba.com%2Fvw%2Fforum%2Fviewtopic.php%3Ft%3D304727%26start%3D20;350;309

And on opposite end from memory. Yours has been painted over in your pic but if you loom at your pic, start in the middle under the oil pump plate and work down the where the paint has rubbed off and go left you will find it

 

Just had a look at the oil pressure relief - the screw came off, and the spring & the piston just dropped out, so I assume all is ok with that?

Looking underneath, there is quite a bit of oil on the underside of the bus near to where the oil cooler is situated. That may suggest the oil cooler is leaking and spraying out oil?

Also, that flat piece if tinware is missing on the one side that sits between the barrels and the pushrod tubes - how are you supposed to fit that without taking the engine apart (like the barrels off?).

 

You have to take the cylinder head off. Is the flat piece actually in place?

Much better to take the engine out completely, then you can have a good look around...

 

@grub seems like that valve is nice and loose. Have you got a second one on that block? The pistons are slightly different on each so dont mix them up