TheSamba.com :: View topic - Overheating westie UPDATE!!!! Please read!!

Mon Jul 11, 2005 5:13 pm

Ok, "SlowLane", MIghtyart, Randy In Maine, Weinerwagen and others,

I checked my oil cooler...it is clean and dry on the outside. No rats nests or wasp homes....
This is for Slowlane: i checked under the bus and yes, all my spigots and tubes are there, so that is ok...BUT! i did notice, while the bus was running and i was behind it watching the belt spin and racking my brain as to why this is happening...that there was hot air coming out of the rear drivers side of the bus....i wish i could take a pic, but my cam is broken....so let me explain what i am talking about:
Ok, so there is a muffler on the back of the bus...long and cylindrical....on the passengers side, is the exhaust pipe, and on the driver's side, there is another pipe that connects to the heat exchanger box...this is what i need to talk about....the point where the tube coming off of the muffler where it joins the heat exchanger is well....the heat exchanger is like "eating" this metal tube coming off the muffler and it looks like it was shoved in there and the heat exchanger is like all bent and crumpled around the metal tube and there is a gap....in this gap, there is hot air coming out onto the ground...would this "gap" have anything to do with the overheating prob?????
Yes, another question!!! YYYaaaay!!! Are u guys ready to kill me yet???? My question is: does the plastic tube coming off the aircleaner blow or suck up air? I did put my hand over it and it seems to be sucking air gently...ok...question #2: Does anyone have a pic of their air cleaner and which direction the tube off of the aircleaner should be pointing...i want to see if my is going the right direction....man, i wish i had a camera...but guys...i have to move out of the house i am in, and into my bus temporarily...possibly...so money is a pretty big prob at this time...anyways..i just want to get this bus fixed before it dies or then i will REALLY be up the creek!!!! Sorry to be such a pain...i just need some help...you guys are really great!! thanks for all your help!! Connie.

Mon Jul 11, 2005 10:03 pm

Connie, it would really help in visualising what you are describing if you could give an estimate of the size of things while you're describing them. For example, the tube that you describe as being "eaten", is it about 1/2" in diameter, or is it more like 2" in diameter?

If it's 1/2", then that would be the EGR tube, but it has no business going into the heat exchanger. It should lead into a rectangular metal box (the EGR filter) that has an outlet on the other side leading up into your engine compartment. If it is being fed into the heat exchanger, that's worrisome. You could have exhaust gases being fed into your fresh air system from this pipe. That wouldn't contribute directly to your overheating problem, but it could mean carbon monoxide poisoning every time you drive the van. I hope I'm wrong about this.

If it's 2", then that is the main part of the "crossover pipe". It's a pretty sturdy piece and I can't really see how it could be "eaten" by the heat exchanger.

I've put up some photos I took of my exhaust system laid out on my driveway with the various parts more or less relative to one another. See
http://www3.telus.net/~randoboy/westy/

Viewed from the top down, of course, it will all look a bit different than when you're looking up at it from underneath, but I hope it helps to illustrate how the bits hang together. I apologise for the image size, and I'm afraid you'll have to view the JPGs one at a time. HTML manipulation is not my bag.

Hope this helps.

Tue Jul 12, 2005 10:39 pm

Hi again, Connie.

I've been poring over the photo you supplied of your engine. I was going to take a crack at annotating it to point out relevant bits, but I'm hopeless with Photoshop. I note that in an earlier post you said you had a Bentley manual. The Bentley should describe things much better than I ever could.

I was hoping the pics I took yesterday might help, but it seems unlikely. Judging by the distributor vacuum can and the EGR pipe in your picture, you seem to have a California-spec engine. Or maybe I missed something and everone already knew that. Anyways, the layout of CA-spec exhaust pieces differs wildly from the rest of the universe for this vehicle. See Bentley pages 26.2 - 26.4 to see the differences.

So if I'm correct and you do have a CA-spec engine, then my ramble about EGR tubes is totally off base. From the looks of the Bentley diagram, what you are describing as "eating" the tube is nothing more than the normal sleeve fit. The pipe off the muffler is supposed to slide into the pipe coming out of the heat exchanger, and there should be an exhaust clamp with a ring of gasket material holding the two pipes together and preventing exhaust from leaking out.

If you do have a CA-spec motor, keep in mind that it is supposed to be timed differently than a Federal motor. The timing is supposed to be 5 degrees AFTER TDC. With a Federal motor, it's 7.5 degrees BEFORE TDC. If your motor has been tuned to Federal specs, then yes, that could very well explain your heating problem.

Now the crumpled-up part: is that the tin part of the heat exchanger, a few inches away from the muffler itself? If so, then what you have is a slighltly mangled or corroded heat exchanger jacket. It is unlikely to be contributing to your overheating problem, since the hot air coming out is outside your engine compartment, but it will reduce the amount of heat you will get in the cabin. Probably not a problem in Florida. You should be able to patch it up with JB Weld or the like, depending on how big the hole is.

The air cleaner sucks air. From the picture of your engine it's pointing in the correct direction.

Cheers.

Wed Jul 13, 2005 10:53 am

Thank you for describing everything right!!! And yes, i do have a Cali motor...i am in the process of learning how to do the timing...as i think that is my major problem. I spoke to a vw mechanic and he agreed. I will keep you posted. And thanks again for all your help! Greatly appreciated!! Connie.