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Tue Aug 05, 2003 11:50 am

what is the 'average' oil temp. I always thought it was about 220. But I just went cruising in my ride for the first long-haul (10miles) and the oil temp just kept on going up. finally topped out at about 235.

does this sound terribly high to anyone? Im about to check the plugs to see how its burning. I know it was running lean until I up-ed the idle jets last week. should be good now.

thanks
-chris

Tue Aug 05, 2003 3:26 pm

seems a bit hot, what is your engine set-up?

Tue Aug 05, 2003 4:16 pm

its a 1776 with dual 40s. 044 heads, ratio rockers, ss valves, blah, blah.

I did check the plugs and they were a beautiful shade of tan. I don't think Ive EVER owned a vw that was running that ideal. I usually run them on the 'fat' side. I just went out for another cruise and it never went over 220.
the first time it was about 90 out, and now it's a little cooler out.

I think it should be good :?: but I will check my valves in the morning and run it again.

any ideas?
-chris

Tue Aug 05, 2003 7:16 pm

I judge if mine is too hot by holding the dipstick. If it's too hot to hold, it's running too hot, if I can keep it in my fingers it's ok. I guess it depends on your pain tolerance, but it seems like a decent rule of thumb for a vehicle without a temp. gauge! :wink:

Wed Aug 06, 2003 4:01 am

...agree; it's on the hot side of things!...I'm running a similiar engine set up and when pushing it on a HOT day I reach temps of 200F...on normal days it's dead stable at 185F...check your timing...

Thu Aug 07, 2003 8:22 am

Check out what VW recomends -> http://www.1800vw.bizhosting.com/oil_tem_pres.htm

Thu Aug 07, 2003 8:38 am

well, Im at a loss. checked the valves yesterday and they were a bit tight, readjusted those nice-nice. then double checked my timing. Im at 5' at idle and a total of 28' advance on my 009. I believe 28-30 total advance is what you should have.

Damn thing still ran at 230-235. I might pull back on the timing a little and see if that helps. what do you think?

Also, I have a monster Fastboy muffler and header on it. Its my understanding that a too unrestrictive exhaust is as bad as a too restrictive setup. due to the fact that the engine (depending on size) need a certain amount of backpressure to create torque. Im thinking about going down to a quite-pack or dual quite-pack. what cha think of that?

thanks
-chris

Thu Aug 07, 2003 8:31 pm

There are many factors that produce excessive heat. See this page on overheating -> http://www.1800vw.bizhosting.com/hot_motor.htm

Thu Aug 07, 2003 9:44 pm

run synthetic oil - mobil 1 is my favorite :!:

Thu Aug 07, 2003 9:49 pm

dont forget too, if its a fresh engine it will run hotter too due to the closer tollerances adding friction.

Fri Aug 08, 2003 4:36 pm

i used to stress out all the time when i had a temp gauge....."OH ITS 221!"
i fuckin tossed that thing. from what ive learned over the years from talking to people and my personal experiances.......you have a 1776 so yes its gonna run a bit hotter. its 90 outside so its going to run hotter..your driveing uphil against a headwind....its going to runhotter...etc etc etc. gradual increases are ok, what you need to worry about is sudden spikes in temp increase or extream temps. every motor is going to run different from one another, ones might be comfortable at 190.....yours might cruise at 210. i suggest NOT to read the Gene Berg catalog on heat. im not saying he is wrong. but if you do you will probably never drive your vw if you go by his temps. ive asked several shop owners on his theory....i received several different answers. so i made up my own mind. if my motor blows, then it was to hot.