Hot tunnel

[Konrod]

Hi all

Somethimng else I noticed in France this week was that when the engine/box is hot, the top of the gearbox tunnel gets very hot (the bit where your elbow goes) and the handbrake and its surround were hot enough to give a blister! There was also very hot air blowing out from under the side edges of the tunnel top just behind the window switches whilst it was moving

I was worried and took off the tunnel top, but couldn't anything obviously missing or out of place - gear gaitor screwed down, silver backed foam between that and the handbrake lever etc. Only thing that I did see was a 2mm gap between the handbrake where it comes through the fibreglass, but I guess that needs to be there.

So, are they all like this, oir am I perhaps missing some vital heat shield? Anyone know hoe to minimise this (and yes, I have ordered one of the Tufnol levers).

Cheers

J

[rens914]

get rid of you're catalic converters or empty them and the problem is solved
they can get very warm
downfall is that youre chassis tubes near the converters get fried too
the paint turns dark brown and blisters off
after that rust does it's work
get rid of those B***erds and chip the car
better for youre chassis, better for youre elbow, better for youre engine (it runs to lean) and more torque
only little problem could be the MOT
but
you could always keep them and put them back for the test
it's about 1 hours of work
rens

[dvs_dave]

Check the rubber gear lever gaiter for splits and fit around the base. They have a tendency to perish and split, and let hot air up from around the transmission tunnel and into the cabin.

[rens914]

dvs_dave said:

Check the rubber gear lever gaiter for splits and fit around the base. They have a tendency to perish and split, and let hot air up from around the transmission tunnel and into the cabin.

that's no solution to the problem
rens

[mwp]

Has happened to me, but only blister hot when in long traffic jams. Otherwise just very warm to warm as long as you are moving along nicely

[GG33]

Getting rid of the cats will not solve the problem...ASk me how I know this..
I solved the issue of the hot air blowing out by the window switches by fitting some high density foam beneath theremoveable cover. I also suggest switching the a/c on , this alleviates the problem somewhat.

GG

[rens914]

Don't talk bks
It does
seen it, done it, got the T shirt
rens

[Trainspotter]

Removing the cats certainly goes a long way to reducing in cabin temps. I put my cats back in when I went to France a couple of months back and the aircon was having a hard time keeping me cool and the gear knob was red hot even at speed.

With the cats removed the cabin stays a lot cooler (no need for the aircon much of the time) and the gear knob only gets hot when stopped in traffic for long periods (it got quite hot when queuing for Silverstone last week) and is cool to the touch when motoring.

I'm with Rens, ditch the cats, but also check the rubber boot and heat reflective matt under the centre consol to stop any warm air coming through the gear gaiter.

Jez

[dvs_dave]

rens914 said:

dvs_dave said:

Check the rubber gear lever gaiter for splits and fit around the base. They have a tendency to perish and split, and let hot air up from around the transmission tunnel and into the cabin.

that's no solution to the problem
rens

It's part of the solution....Mr. Know-it-all

[fredd1e]

+1 for no Cats. my previous T350c had Cats and I felt like the Aircon was a must have on.. current T350c has cats removed and I only use the aircon on the odd occassion. Tunnel and stick still get warm but not blisteringly hot.