My engine temps are high...real high, Paging Jake Raby Options

[purple]

Hey Yall,

I just installed my Cylinder Head temp sensor under the plug on #3, didnt cut the wires and installed everything as per VDO specs.

I also hooked up my oil temp gauge and to my delight, the sensor actually works.

Now, the bad news...

My engine runs hot....REAL hot.

According to Jake, this thing should be severely damaged by now. At idle it'll get up to 350 on head temps pretty quick and stay there.

After driving a little it'll get to 400 and stay there, going down to 350 when sitting at a light. If i start cruising at 45mph or so, it'll get to 400 and a little beyond, i think i've seen as high as 450 on there. Just cruising in 4th gear going 45 will do this. The thing is, the engine sounds fine. I was expecting to hear wierd noises or see smoke, but it just keeps thrumming along. What's going on here?

About the engine:
hydraulic lifters.
no lower air diverter (plastic flap thingy) on passenger side
no lower engine tin on driver's side
pretty much shot seals around the engine tin
no warm air guides
stock 76 exhaust manifold to cobbled shitty motorcycle dual exhaust, 1 per cyl bank
weber progressive carb
what looks like a 009 on there (mallory and promaster are on the way)

What can I do to lower these temps? is my engine toast? (it seems to drive just fine, if a little slow)

It had run-on and was pinging on the last tank of gas (regular) but now i'm running premium and those things seem to have stopped

Help me guys, jake, what can i do? timing? too lean? what?

[purple]

@toon1
the gauge and sensor are brand new from jegs, the exact sensor and gauge combo i've seen on this forum at least eleventy thousand times.

timing, i have no idea, dont have a timing lamp

unknown miles on motor, odometer stopped at 49k~ and i have since fixed it and rolled it to 0, now it's got 150 on it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

it's not leaking oil, because the crankcase vents arent connected to anything

the engine is surprisingly oil-cakeless

i dunno what rich or lean plugs look like: i assume rich is wet looking, lean is white? mine are dry and blackish

in order to replace the tin...substanctial engine dis-assembly is required, as the front and rear tins are missing on drivers side, and the baffle plate, which reqires removing the pushrod tubes, AFAIK

and dropping the engine is probably going to have to happen too, huh?

I know i have to fix the tin and seals, i have to drop the engine to do this dont i?

I'm scared of opening up the engine, because every project i've done on this car ends up leading to another more difficult one. like i'm really looking forward to the 'pulled exhaust studs' issue since i've got later exhaust

i'll set the timing when i put the mallory on there (wiring i'm excellent at, it's mechanical stuff like timing that is new to me) any tips? which timing lamp should i use? can i do it right the first time? should i take it somewhere?

[ConeDodger]

@toon1
the gauge and sensor are brand new from jegs, the exact sensor and gauge combo i've seen on this forum at least eleventy thousand times.

timing, i have no idea, dont have a timing lamp

unknown miles on motor, odometer stopped at 49k~ and i have since fixed it and rolled it to 0, now it's got 150 on it (IMG:style_emoticons/default/smile.gif)

it's not leaking oil, because the crankcase vents arent connected to anything

the engine is surprisingly oil-cakeless

i dunno what rich or lean plugs look like: i assume rich is wet looking, lean is white? mine are dry and blackish

in order to replace the tin...substanctial engine dis-assembly is required, as the front and rear tins are missing on drivers side, and the baffle plate, which reqires removing the pushrod tubes, AFAIK

and dropping the engine is probably going to have to happen too, huh?

I know i have to fix the tin and seals, i have to drop the engine to do this dont i?

I'm scared of opening up the engine, because every project i've done on this car ends up leading to another more difficult one. like i'm really looking forward to the 'pulled exhaust studs' issue since i've got later exhaust

i'll set the timing when i put the mallory on there (wiring i'm excellent at, it's mechanical stuff like timing that is new to me) any tips? which timing lamp should i use? can i do it right the first time? should i take it somewhere?

Is it a compensated guage? Reads the ambient when the engine is off and cold?

Timing.