Fuel line, pump and carb inlet temps

[scrivyscriv]

I'm posting this in the Bay forum instead of the Engine forum, since this is specific to the Bay engine compartment...

What would be considered an acceptable temperature range for the fuel system - fuel lines in the bay, mechanical fuel pump, and carburetor bowl?
Our engine bays get pretty hot, and I've read many threads on what was probably vapor-lock-related engine start/run failures.

I may or may not have had a vapor lock issue on the way home tonight and it's really got me thinking about this issue, which I believe may be related to the ethanol blended gasahol as well. Surely VW R&D didn't engineer a tolerance for alcohol fuels - ?

I measured +-145ºF at the top of the (mechanical) fuel pump, and about 120 or so at the carb inlet today after a pretty warm drive, in 85º ambient with about 105º street temp.

I love stock... I'm almost a stock nazi, say Stock Junior League nazi - with some exceptions I believe VW engineered an outstanding balance of cost vs performance... I run things as close to stock as I can, since things tend to work and last longer that way.. So that being said, I'm really curious if our STOCK fuel system is good enough for the hot weather we have down here in the dirty South.

Opinions and ideas?
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Robert in Memphis
Dünkelgrügen 1967 Java Green bug thread
Engine rebuild thread
If you're ever in the Memphis area, you are welcome to stop by for advice and help.

[airschooled]

Idea: the engine compartment sees a plethora of airflow on the road. The cooling fan is passing cubic feet of air through it every second. When you shut the engine off, all the components in that airflow are absorbing head from the lower end. Bob Hoover has a blog post where he thermo-probed many spots on his bus engine and found a drastic increase in temps once he pulled over. I'll see if I can find the post… The running temps of the fan shroud, fuel pump, and a few other things were almost air temp until the airflow stopped.

Thought: Gasoline with ethanol boils or evaporates at a much lower temperature than "pure" gas. The stock fuel pump with anti-boilover valve will significantly help smooth out hot starts with vaporized fuel.

Opinion: Stock and "stock" are different. I can not make calls in regards to engine kindness with "stock" engines.

Fact: I will IR gun my fuel system next time I remember.

Robbie
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[Wildthings]

ACVW engines have about the lowest engine compartment temperatures that can be found anywhere. A front engined, front radiator rig just boils compared to a ACVW. I would guess that a typical part on my old Dodge is probably 50-75°F hotter than the similar part on any of my ACVW's.

[busdaddy]

No need for any fancy temp measuring, I know if I get it warmed up good and park it for more than 20 minutes on a warm day it'll take WOT and 5-10 seconds of cranking to get it started, that's life in a world ruled by the corn lobby groups.
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