hi all,
can anyone tell me about these, they're a bi metal strip that open and close a port in the base of solex twin carbs on kombis and late type 3s.
i presume they close up when hot to give a richer mix.
im currently rebuilding a set of 32 pdsit and want to remove them as i see them as a potential vaccum leak and older type3s seem to run fine with out them.

any comments
thanks
Joel

on my bus that isnt there. Was wondering what was meant to go there... if your going to chuck em away ill take em...

but yea, my bus runs fine without them, got two sets of carbs and both dont have that and run fine...

u2u me or email me if your going to chuck em.

cheers

76camper i really wouldn't trust these they seem very old and worn probably the same reason yours were removed. there is a little adjuster screw on them but i've had no luck finding exactly what they do. The carb rebuild instructions just list them as being hot idle vavles

Joel

hmmmm, if your going to chuck em then u may aswell throw em this way because i will probably end up wanting them in the future and spend months trying to track them down. If you dont trust them then just take them off and see how the bus runs.... I havent seen a set of carbs with them on but im sure they serve some purpose... was only 30 years ago these cars were being made lol

HELP! Has anyone found any further info. on these little bi-metallic thingies? Have just acquired a new (1970) Auto. Fastback, and it has these. It idles VERY fast when hot Or warm OR, cold until after you drive a few hundred yards - then suddenly drops back to normal. Can't find any sticking-anything: linkages. chokes/fast idle etc. all look 'correct'. I can't see ANY mention in ANY Manual & have never seen these before. Were they only on Autos? Should they be removed/left/adjusted/cleaned/ignored?

[ Edited on 15-11-2006 by ACE_76 ]

wow old thread
i ended up ripping them off and just blanking them off no probs
they were just a vaccum leak and didnt serve any purpose anymore
i did end up giving them to edward dunno if he did anythign with them

but i also totally forgot i asked the same question about 5 years ago and got an answer

i'll have a look for the thread

but they were only fitted to autos and just opened a port to richen the mixture more when cold to prevent stalling

-Joel

still sitting in my spare parts box.

ACE_76; i think your car might have electric/automatic chokes. When you turn the ignition on current is run through a coil which heats and expands releasing the choke after a given period. Off this runs a fast idle linkage which, when the choke is on, will engage the throttle shafts and increase rpm until the choke has heated up and released.

So every time you turn your engine off for say more than 10 mins it will reset the fast idle...

Thanks guys. So we may have vacuum leaks too!
Aware of the auto chokes: have backed off the chokes/fast idle mechanisms, but motor still seems to run very rich, when first started anyway. Will learn more as we go through the tuning process...
I'd still like to know if anyone has any instructions for adjusting the bimetallic valves.
Will probably remove carbs soon and will have a closer look at them..

*** HELP please!

Has anyone got any info. on how to set/adjust these valves? Have now "reco'd" one carb., and couldn't work out how the thing worked. Just looked like a potential vacuum leak. It appears to have a small rounded valve partly covering, but not sealing, a hole into the carb base -- maybe there's meant to be something in the hole? Should the hole behind this little poppet valve part just be blocked off, or is it "OK" to leave as is?
Has anyone got these fitted & operating "as they were when new", who is confident that they don't cause vacuum leaks (or rich running)? I've not been able to turn up any further info. on these at all, and have not seen them on any other car (other than those previously mentioned here). Ours are on Solex 32 PDSIT's from early 1970.

*** HELP please!

Bump, I'm interested too.

this was the answer i got when i asked the same question back in '02 LOL, i'd totally forgotton i asked it was so long ago

Thanks Jeol (& Andy)...

I just found this on the Samba (part of a longer article on how to fully tune 32 PDSIT's on early-to-mid 1970's, 1700 & 1800 Kombis):

" The factory provided an cold enrichment device to the central idling circuit when cold and it also attached a "hot-engine idle valve" to the throttle bodies on auto-trans buses that provides additional idle air to the dual carbs when extra hot. These are both simple bimetals that have a little brass plug that "un-plugs" when needed. They only need to be clean to work. The cold enrichment device has a resistance heater with a wire attached to the box. The hot idle compensator is purely mechanical. "

This (allowing air in when hot) seems to contradict the notes from Andy (richening when cold) but maybe they're describing the same thing from different points. Will figure this out eventually... !

well i know for sure now that they were only fitted to autos
i've seen alot since that have just been removed and blanked off
as long as the chokes work they are better off gone
altho i dont even have the chokes working and it still starts fine all year round

-Joel