Most of the newer vans have insulation kit on the
bottom side of the panels. My van has it but the
floorboard and tunnel still got very hot, especially
near the gas pedal. I added two layers of Astrofoil
insulation to the top side of the whole area and that
really
helps.(http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/photos/LastBetweenSeats.jpg)

All of the heat in this area comes from the air that
exits the radiator/AC Condensor. Make sure there is
nothing blocking the flow of this air. I wouldn't
recommend storing anything inside the spare tire,
especially anything that you don't want to cook
thouroughly.

Good luck,

Tim
--- Marshall <mjruskin@SHAW.CA> wrote:
> Hi Volks:
>
> Quick question:
>
> Is it normal for the gear selector lever on an
> automatic to get very hot near the base?
>
> If it isn't normal, what does this indicate?
>
> My gear selector lever gets very hot near the base -
> I can barely hold onto it for 6 seconds before it
> becomes too uncomfortable to hold.   This was noted
> during highway driving on a cool day.
>
> The whole base of the console become very hot as
> well, it radiates uncomfortable amounts of heat into
> the cabin.
>
> TIA;
>
> Marshall Ruskin
> 84 Westy, auto, air
>
>
> ---
> Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
> Checked by AVG anti-virus system
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> Date: 8/25/2002

=====
Tim Hannink
Goldibox - 1987 Vanagon Camper, Wolfsburg Edition
Winter Park, Florida
http://home.earthlink.net/~tjhannink/
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wolfsburg_campers
http://photos.yahoo.com/tjhannink [Vanagon] Album

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