308 hot exhausts

Hello there,

New Member here...

I was wondering if anyone could pass on a bit of advice. I'm in England and have just bought an Amercian 308 GTS QV which is fine apart from the heat generated from the exhaust. The question is: "Is it normal for the rear registration plate area to get so hot that, after only half an hour's run, it becomes impossible to touch??"

The area is very close to the exhaust and whilst I would anticipate a certain amount of heat, a warped registration plate and bubbling paint might be a touch excessive! Should the cat be knocked out ?

Secondly, my mechanic wanted to me to discover whether the fuel pumps primes itself before the engine cranks and the igition is in the on position.

Many thanks in anticipation,

Col

Col, welcome. Sounds way excessive heat. The fuel system should be checked as well as the usual ignition problems. Sounds like there is raw fuel in the silencer/cats. And yes, the Bosch system normally briefly activates the pump with ignition first turned on.

regards, an ex-pat in USA now.

Col,
If you could do without the cat, I think you'll find you'll be better off in the long run. It could have an internal disintegration causing increased heat (and decreased performance) or as Indy said, some unburnt fuel making its way into the cat and burning (unlikely if you have spark at all 8 cylinders). If HM requires the cat, there are several improved versions available that are superior to the original design. If you can run without sans MOT mischief, you'll find a cooler engine compartment, much more performance and an improved sound.
best regards, and a hearty Texas welcome,
rt

With or without the cat, need to find the source of raw fuel, is this a later car, ie with lamda control? Often find that the frequency valve system quits, dumps mucho petrol into exhaust. more info needed, probably shouldn't drive, I have repaired many fires on these.....

regards, Brian

Thanks for the advice RT and Brian!

Ive passed this onto my mechanic who tells me that the mixture was set up wrong and that fuel was getting into the exhaust. He tells me that this was not helped by a tiny fracture in the rotor arms.

Apparently (Im no mechanic myself!) a lot of the American stuff has been ripped out of the car, including the lamda and air pump. Hopefully the cat's gone with it too - is there any way of telling, short of removing the thing?

Many thanks again

Colin