After it overheats!!!

[begood56vw]

Hello folks, I've read a lot of posts where folks talk about their engine overheating and what to check after it cools down.

My question is if I'm on a long trip in a VW Bus (2020cc engine with ALL the tins) and the engine starts overheating (say 220*,230* or 240* temp gauge) should you stop and turn off the engine or let it idle to keep air circulating within the engine? Thank you all in advance.

[Alstrup]

NO! Slow down and downshift, or pull over and let it sit at 2000-2200 rpm for 5 minutes so it can cool itself down.
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=435993

[Brian_e]

I have found with mine it cools off best if you keep driving, but only go about 35-45mph with minimal load, and the engine revved. Sitting idling doesn't keep the fan spinning fast enough to do any good. The faster speed also helps the oil pump move more air through the oil cooler faster.

Have you checked your temp gauge accuracy? Lots of gauges are not all that accurate. Also, having a good quality oil makes a HUGE difference. I use Driven DT50 in the summer. It was designed for air-cooled engines, and it will have no problem running at 240deg. for hours. I have tested and proven it will do it.

Brian
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So more or less the lazier and stupider you want to be, the nicer quality parts you need to buy.
-Modok

Narrowed beams, Drop adjustable spring plates, Bus disk brake and IRS kits.
www.type-emotorsports.com

Type E Engine Parts and Supplies
https://type-emotorsports.com/collections/engine-parts

[slayer61]

Hi Brian. What location is your temp sensor that you're okay with that temperature for a extended time?
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[Glenn]

250*F is my limit
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Glenn
74 Beetle Specs | 74 Beetle Restoration | 2180cc Engine
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[Brian_e]

It’s mounted in the top of oil filter adapter.

2332cc in a heavy loaded baywindow. It has done 2500+ mile road trips each summer for the last 6 years. 36k miles on it now. 106deg for hours in the wind 2 summers ago. It ran 240deg for hours. I have oil temp, oil pressure, head temp, and AFR gauges, and I monitor them closely when things start to heat up.

Oil temp isn’t some arbitrary number you don’t dare to exceed. If you design and build the engine with the idea it will be run in those conditions, and you use new modern oils built to withstand high temps, there is no reason it won’t work.

I spoke with the engineer at Driven, and 240 for an extended period is nothing.

This isn’t 1976 with old single weight Dino oil and no oil cooler. Use modern oil, and build it correctly, and it will work fine.

Brian
_________________
So more or less the lazier and stupider you want to be, the nicer quality parts you need to buy.
-Modok

Narrowed beams, Drop adjustable spring plates, Bus disk brake and IRS kits.
www.type-emotorsports.com

Type E Engine Parts and Supplies
https://type-emotorsports.com/collections/engine-parts

[Cusser]

[begood56vw]

Thank you all for your input. I have a 2020cc build by Steel Buggin, original tins, IRS rear with (Benco) freeway transmission, oil filter to thermostat then eventually to a Setrab oil cooler. I haven't driven my 1959 Bus on long trips, but I'm planning to do so in the coming year. Right now, I have around 2k miles on the odometer and can't wait to take it for looooong trips.
I'm also running Brad Penn 10w40 oil and it seems to be working fine for now. Anyway, thank you all in advance.

[74 Thing]

Do you have dual carbs? If so make sure you are getting enough air into the engine compartment so that the carbs aren't steeling the air that the fan needs. Sometimes you have to modify the tin that goes over the transmission or duct in some additional air to help. There is a way to test by taking a long length of small clear tubing which you can get at the hardware store and securing one end in the engine compartment maybe attach it to the fan housing and then run it into the passenger compartment and put the other end into the top of a plastic water bottle that you slit the cap on. With the engine running if the water is pulled up and into the hose then you need more air. If the water level remains constant in the hose and bottle then you are good.

These engines are both air and oil cooled and Brian indicated that new oils help a lot which you are using.

[begood56vw]

[sled]

oil temp is important, but CHT is more important.

220 is definitely not over-heating, and arguably, 240 isn't either.

I would think your remote Setrab should have no problem keeping oil temps in check as long as the engine is cooling itself like it's supposed to. Is the fan on a thermostat? if so, it should cycle as it cools the oil down. After a long highway run you can pull over and let the engine idle (or hold it around 2000) and listen for the fan to cycle on and off, this means it's cooling the oil sufficiently.

(I run a setrab cooler and fan in all my split buses and all my customer buses and they don't overheat in the summer)
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drive your split.

[slayer61]

[begood56vw]

[oprn]

Back when I still had the '69 Bay window Bus if the oil temperature approached 250*F I would back off 5 mph and carry on. That is all it took to stabilize it. If I was running 65 mph, slow down to 60 and all is good.

I do the same now with the street Buggy. If I am running at 70 mph and it slowly climbs above 230*F (and it does on a hot day) I back off to 65 mph.
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Our cars get old, we get old but driving an old VW never gets old!

[74 Thing]

Definitely verify your oil temperature against your gauge for accuracy-mine reads 15 degrees too high.

The best way I found to do this is pull over and take your dipstick out then use a long wire thermometer-some multimeters have this and stick it down the tube and into the oil and you will get an instant reading and can compare it to you in dash gauge reading so you know what the real temp is and do not worry when you do not have to.

Tuning is a big part of running cool as well as the load that you are putting on the engine as everyone suggested above.

Get your car out and drive it, a lot!

[94touring]

Long range cruise 2180cc bus guy here. I went with the biggest oil cooler I could find off flebay, mounted it under the bus, fabbed up an air scoop, and it's virtually impossible to go over 220f for me. I deleted the stock cooler. I cruise 70mph and sometimes pull a small trailer. I run synthetic oil and even if I did hit 240 wouldn't be too concerned. I prefer 200-220.

[94touring]

Also... I found at slow speeds, say 45mph and below, an oil cooler isn't even needed. Once you're above 60-65 in a bus the stock cooler can't keep up. Get a dakota digital under #3 plug to watch your head temps. Those are more important.

[richparker]

A 2275cc for my bus. 27k on the build with lots of long road trips under its belt. This year it’s seen 2k to SoCal, a trip to Flagstaff, a trip to Silverton and a trip to Albuquerque, all towing a 1973 Allstate trailer. Normal oil temp for my bus is 220° and it flirts with 240° every now and again. I’ve only had it really heat up once, I pulled over, popped the deck lid and set the rpms to 1200. The oil cooled 40° in under 5 minutes and we were back on the road.

I have CNC ported CB 044 heads and they rarely get over 375°. So head temp isn’t an issue for my engine.

It has a type 4 oil cooler in place of the type 1 cooler, a FI velocity ring, external cooler w/fan with oil filter and 180° thermostat. It also has working factory thermostat and flaps.

This is what I mostly see, this is from our spring break Cali trip.

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[begood56vw]

[mikedjames]

I would start worrying above 260 degrees and slow down back to 250 degrees and just carry on.

But as many people say, the cylinder heads are what suffers with high temperatures, the oil temperature is only a secondary indication of things getting too hot.
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