running hot (over heating)

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kevin444 · #1 Post by **kevin444** » Mon May 18, 2009 2:04 am

hey guys & (gals),

well went riding today at the local dunes / hills (Las Vegas /APEX) and damm was it hot. i'm talking 106+; this is the hottest its been since i've owned the dale. Dont want to make a long story here, but i stalled after running slow through some real rocky stuff (crawler trails) and could fire her back up, but would stall within seconds. at first i thought it was a fuel problem (pump would prime and then make a not so normal squal), and still may be the pump actually getting to hot, but im pretty sure it was running hot, by the temp of the spars to the touch. after lettting her sit for a while 10-15mins she was good to go, but seemed to over heat again once stopping after ripping it for a 15-20mins.

i guess im asking is what are you guys doing for heat? i plan on getting some evans asap, currently running the good old green coolant. i'm a new rebuild basically stock other than head work, pipes, intake etc......

oh, i've got all and i mean all new internals from the crank up including billet impeller......i also plan on getting some type of sensors asap just want to hold off for the trail tech....

thanks......

wistech · #2 Post by **wistech** » Mon May 18, 2009 3:03 am

I have had that happen at the dunes last year. Lots of hot weather and slow speed playing caused my fuel to boil in the tank. Had to let it sit for at least half an hour before it would prime the pump again. One it got going again I jacked the speeds up to get more ram air for cooling down the tank. it did the same think. the tank plastic is such agood insulator that it tAkes several hours to heat the fuel to a boil and a very long time to cool off. Its easy to see just pull the seat off and you can see the fuel roiling and bubbling.

rayspeed · #3 Post by **rayspeed** » Mon May 18, 2009 2:35 pm

I concur with the Wis... Some aluminum foil tape on the tank between it and the exhaust may delay the problem for a while by reflecting some of the heat and will radiate it out faster. Wraping the pipe would help and look at the routing and the insulation on your fuel lines and get them away from the heat as much as possible. With our circulating fuel system the temps of the gas just builds and only becomes a problem when all the factors start adding up. You could also add some flared out radiator scoops to grab more air but that will only help the motor. Evans will not make it run any cooler but it does provide more protection if the motor is getting hot also, but I would almost bet that it is a vapor lock kind of thing. In that kind of heat going slow you can probably only delay the problem... or you just need to go faster! Also if you are on the lean side of the spectrum the exhaust temps are much higher which can contribute.
Hope this helps,
Ray

jesshamner · #4 Post by **jesshamner** » Mon May 18, 2009 3:32 pm

Its no secret that the Cannondale was designed to go fast! You gotta keep it cool. Low speeds always make mine run hotter than I would like.

wistech · #5 Post by **wistech** » Mon May 18, 2009 4:58 pm

Id say is special rare cases like this just deal with it or install a fuel cooler heat exchanger in front of the rad.

kevin444 · #6 Post by **kevin444** » Mon May 18, 2009 5:39 pm

i think all of you nailed it.......my exhaust is wrapped however it was falling apart near the tank area and i was to lazy to fix it before we rode yesterday "figured i re-wrap it after we rode". between the heat and the fact that wrap was falling off it had to of been an over heated fuel problem.

going to re-wrap the exhaust and insulate the tank......you think that A/C grade aluminum tape will work?

as always,

thanks....Kevin

jesshamner · #7 Post by **jesshamner** » Mon May 18, 2009 5:40 pm

kevin, do you have the d&m kit or the status lights? The status lights will obviously tell you if you're running too hot. If you don't have them and you have the D&M, hook it up after one of these rides before it cools down to see how hot it really is.

Some simple things to do are make sure your radiator is completely clean, drill out the bleeder hole and make sure there are no bubbles in the cooling system, make sure your resevoir doesn't have any leaks, and get some rad scoops if you don't have them. Don't use louvers or a screen if you have those.

It may just be that the temperature outside is too hot but you should try to do every little thing possible to help it.

Canniboomer · #8 Post by **Canniboomer** » Mon May 18, 2009 6:28 pm

Keeping the tank at least half full, with more frequent topping off can avoid that problem.
And, having a larger suction fuelpath will minimize vapor lock. Liquids boil at a lower temperature under vacuum, so the bubbling will always start in the suction tubing first. Did we do your tank yet?, and with the pump inlet?,...or did you just gut the 4 fittings?
Likewise, a dirty fuel filter could cause the same problem between the filter and the pump, if the gasoline is still warm enough down there, since a plugging filter will create even more vacuum at the pump inlet --- sputter sputter, and the tank may not even be boiling.

Anyway, ........106F?......heck, just park that poor machine, and drink beer!
I'll be down there next week

so let's maybe do a night ride instead!)

kevin444 · #9 Post by **kevin444** » Mon May 18, 2009 8:30 pm

hey boomer!

no i have not done the tank or the fittings yet, and plan on relocating the pump to a safer and cooler spot. Glad to hear your finally going to make it down here. got your puller in a safe spot. Dave, i know i can just make a set of the lights, but i'll probably just have you bring a set with ya. i'm sure you'll be loaded with goodies either way. still trying to pick another dale up locally......$ tight now, and i got a wedding coming up soon......kinda hard to hide a quad!

as for the speed. were usually moving at a good rate, were no beer haulers......we leave them at site! we had a newly built smoker with us that was making adjustments to the carb's "banshee".....so the stop and go did not help besides getting lost in crawler haven.