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Thu Aug 15, 2002 8:47 am

I have a 71 westy which has a 50 hp bug engine and an exhaust with a bunch of loops to end up with 1 exit pipe. There are also some "high performance" rocker arms on it. I am not sure if its a good idea to take it road tripping cause a couple of people have told me that the cylinder walls are too thin to move the mass of a bus without overheating. The bus also sounds LOUD when driven,but it sounds like it was designed that way. Problem is, that when I run the bus, it seems to get abnormally warm, and it doesn't want to start, like the fuel mixture is wrong. Solex 34 carb is on it now. Any ideas of some quick and dirty ways to isolate the problem will help. Cheers

Thu Aug 15, 2002 12:08 pm

What?? Some one stole your bus engine and replaced it with bug-power?? No they didn't thats what the busses came with till 72. yes it is too much bus for that engine, but it is geared higher to help compensate. your exhaust is a custom extractor type, better breathing, but louder by nature. Just make sure you have all the rubber air seals in place around the engine tin, and pay particular attention to how its timed and you should have few problems. Check the operation of your cooling flaps inside the engine and so forth. Good luck and don't overrev the beast.
Gary

Thu Aug 15, 2002 12:58 pm

Thanks 'O wise and noble one. Riddle me this Garyman. Does the "rubber air seals around the tin" you refer to include the rubber which goes around the horizontal part of the engine compartment and mates with the sheet metal "stuff" surrounding the engine? I ask because it ain't done right, and I did'nt really feel like doing it if its no big deal.

Thu Aug 15, 2002 1:21 pm

Thats what I mean, grasshopper. you want to make an airtight seal betwixt the top (cool) part and the bottom(hot) part of the engine. neglecting this will allow your fan to breathe preheated air and recycle it over increasingly hot pistons/heads until the inevitable lock-up occurs, leaving you "bummed" and stranded. You should be able to see the remnants of old seals in the back apron(its removable, yeah!) and should be fairly easy to replace with engine installed. replacing this seal (2 pieces, you'll see what I mean) is the biggest single remedy for hot running bus engines.

Thu Aug 15, 2002 6:43 pm

Thanks again Gary. Have fun. Keep it simple. Cheers,Matt.

Fri Aug 16, 2002 10:50 am

Also, if you have run your engine hot enough a few times, your oil is cooked and your heads could be loose (retorque the 4 under the rocker arms BEFORE adjusting the valves, see manual for specs on stud size ect. the Valves are probably tight and if the heads do take torque they will be REALLY tight. What happens is the bus starts cold but as it heats up and the valves grow longer (expand) they get even tighter and then the engine loses power and compression... that's why it doesn't want to start hot after shutting off, later...K

Mon Aug 19, 2002 7:59 am

Thanks K,
The guy I bought it from Drove it 500 miles to get it here, and it was a hot day. It was leaking oil from the underside,( not excessively) and when I adjusted the valves, they were leaking from the pushrods just a wee bit. Thanks for the advice, Matt.