hello folks while doing a long drive from broome to darwin recently I decided to leave the engine hatch open on my 1975 kombi it seems to keep the engine much cooler. cant see any reason while this would do it any harm but wanted to check.

mmmmm...should be closed...to form a seal.....but if it works for you....

How do you know it's cooler?

One minus point is that it would suck Dirtier air in and coat your engine.

yeah - but against that it would be sucking at a lower pressure drop - there fore more air.

Hmmmm
dirty air Vs more air

Out in the desert - i would go for more air

be no different to running stand offs

[Edited on 27-5-2003 by blue74l]

The rear of a Kombi creates a low pressure/turbulence area and yes, it will provide more cool air. VW did go to a lot of trouble to keep dirt out of the upper engine cavity and it might be wiser to bow to their superior technical knowledge...

Remember, engines are not designed to run cold, but within a specific temperature range.

Yeah - we need a better definition of "much cooler"

If it drops it to 70C - no need

to 100 - yeah ok

to 130 - woops better get it fixed when/if i get there

yep I go for keep it closed, the fan then removes all the hot air from the engine bay & the coolest, cleanest possible air is drawn in from up high, some of the fine dust & dirt drawn in through the open engine cover must settle & stick to oil covered bits inside the engine tin therefore decreasing long term cooling efficiency?

DEFINITELY CLOSED!!!!!!!
Have you guys never stood behind and air cooled VW??????????????
Where does all the spent cooling air get pushed????? Try sitting on the bumper after a long run.
Ask your self, why would VW fit a seal to an engine lid? Not to keep dust and water out, that already enters from the vents above.
You say it runs cooler? Some data please, cyl head temp + oil temp before and after, run time for test each, ambient temp, engine rpm road speed etc.
Then please explain to me how it does?

Better still, remove the all the tinware, it onl hinder air flow doesn't it?
:cry:cry:cry:cry:cry


Oh, MOX3772, this is not directed at you, it is a very valid question, that's what the forum is all about!!!
I just think some of the answers leave a little to be desired, and I'm in a ranting mood

interesting theory i would still rather the hatch closed

Stay calm Andy

I am basing my comments on the fact that if i run standoffs on my beetle the temperature drops 10C on my oil.

What about baja's and buggys - they dont recycle and blow up

Numerous people prop the bottom of the deck lid on a beetle open for cooling

They are all wrong? - just asking

Mox said "I decided to leave the engine hatch open on my 1975 kombi it seems to keep the engine much cooler"

He has not told us if he put the gauge on he was talking about.

Guess i will go back to sleep and leave the answers to the experts.

[Edited on 28-5-2003 by blue74l]

Hey Blue, just having a rant. Need to do that evey now and again
Firstly, definitely not saying I'm an expert, just my experience/opinion.
Standoffs? Not sure what you mean?
Baja's and buggies are a very different case. The main one being the inlet to the fan on an up right motor, and the lack of an enclosure that allows them to draw cool air in. Type 1 motors also run sucessfully as an industrial motor (from the factory). A kombi and a type 4 motor are VERY different. Opening the engine lid will suck in spent cooling air, and a type 4 fan draws air in at the end of the crank. Look at the elaborate set up on a type 3.
As for proping the deck lid on a beetle, all the ones I've seen space out the top, not the bottom??
:thumb

Quote:

Originally posted by Andy Hey Blue, just having a rant. Need to do that evey now and again

Mmmmmm.... might have to leave it open one day and post the difference.
Also been planning to test the time to reach operating temp with & without thermostat.
Like everything else ONE DAY!!!

i noticed in cairo, egypt, where the taxis are bay window kombis that most had their engine lids open, and that was in the summer at 45C and humid.

Ahhh.... now there is food for thought!

very interesting........ as a famous person use to say!

Maybe I should do some temp testing and invent some Hoodjacks for a Kombi!:bounce

Blue74L is correct as regards beetles,
but the airflow on them is completely different

i dont know if its a good thing, but my bus has no tinware and a huge frickin hole in the rear hatch since it was converted to subi power. anything wrong with this?

bbck

that is fine cause your cooling is the radiator up front. It is not air cooled and sucking the air from the area

Baybuscamperkid, looking at your avatar, with no windows, cooling will never be a problem
The Cairo bus's are interesting!!! Any hard data anyone?

avatar is in loving memory of my deceaced free spare parts kombi. the radiator on mine is mounted inside the rear hatch to let air flow thru the hole in the hatch

Not much luck from an enquiry on type2.com.
The best reply I got was one person said the engine runs cooler at very low speed, but hotter as you speed up. No hard data though. Another thread mentioned the engine ran 30-40degF hotter with the rear engine tin missing???
I'll run my own tests and post some numbers.

Andy

i am still betting it will be like a T1.

Engine tin missing on the inside would mean it is pulling air over the exhaust system and would heat up the air that is to be blown over the engine. Result hotter motor

Engine tin in place and rear hatch open would mean it is pulling a more "ambient" temperature air but at the risk of sucking in leaves and plastic bags. The air would not have been dragged over the exhaust.
As a result i "believe" you would have a cooler engine.

Back to the originaal question - are the air intakes clear? Nothing blocking the air flow.

Now andy - off ya go. Get some test figures so we can put this one to rest.

Next we are gunna see all these kombis driving across the Nullabor with the rear hatch open!

:bounce Work for the dole:bounce unemployed people at Ceduna & Echuca,
counting Kombis going past ei engine lid open or closed / elephant ears or not & percenatge of vehicles that made it to the other side within 3 days:bounce:bounce

At least you won't get done for speeding if it's all the way up, no number plate

Greetings
kind of on the subject of type 1 cooling,
Anyhoo(i hate that pronunciation!),
I ran my type 1 AD numbered case 1600 TP engine in my 68 for two weeks without the bottom cylinder shrouds and without the tinware around the bellhousing.
Besides dust getting in, at 24degrees Catmo. temp. my dipstick gauge showed 80 degrees C cruising at 50-55mph for ages then 90 degrees C going 70mph after 5minutes and then down to 75 C after going 40mph(60 speed zone) for a couple of minutes.
I dont know the cylinder head temps but it seemed to cool alright without these peices of tinware. I think i may have caused slight differences in cylinder cooling from top to bottom without the bottom shrouds, but this might not have been significant(hopefully).
Useless info, I know, but some of the more nutterly people (like myself... ahem) may be interested.

Cheers,
Josh

Tinware, pfft.
(kidding)

sorry guys been travelling ( with the hatch open) and have only just got to the computer. yeah I was the one who was gonna get a temp gauge fitted but i didnt in the end. I dont have any facts about how much cooler it is running but after a 2 hour drive i can rest my hand on the engine without it burning and the dipstick feels nowhere near as hot as used to.

I thought I'd post the results in a new thread.
http://www.aussieveedubbers.com/forum/viewthread.php?tid=7051&page=1#pid5...
Happy reading.