Oil temp gauge question

[Daddylolo]

I've made about 300 miles with my 2000cc engine and it seems to go well, good performance, good power, good gas consumption, etc.

Recently installed a VDO oil temp gauge and after about 30 miles on the road I noticed what you can see in this picture:

Oil temp didn't go any higher but is this a good position for the sender?

On my type 1 I have it set in place of the oil drain plug witch gives a correct reading of the oil temp in the oil sump. I ask myself if oil in the release valve stays hotter because it doesn´t circulate as it is in a dead end?
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[Danwvw]

Anywhere near where the oil is flowing should be good. This looks like it is near the back of the engine there at the oil pressure by-pass for the cooler which should be oil just out of the oil pump. A good place I would think. 110' C is 230' F which is at the upper limit of oil temps I like to see on these engines. Mine never goes over like 180' F. but I have a smaller engine with a cam that makes it run cooler. With only 300 miles on your engine, it could still be running a little hot breaking in the rings.
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1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!

[SGKent]

I think it is normal but on the high side. Check again in 1500 miles.
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“Most people don’t know what they’re doing, and a lot of them are really good at it.” - George Carlin

[busdaddy]

The drain plug consistantly reads 20*f lower than anywhere else on the engine according to my experiments, how much fresh oil is going past that relief valve is always a question as well, it could be indicating out of the wind case temperature there.

As already mentioned that's nothing to freak out over, keep an eye on it though. What weight oil are you running?
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[bigbore]

On the type 4s I put them in the taco plate 230F I would consider high IMO my 2L runs at about 190F and climbing its about 210-215F when I see 230-240 I pull over and have lunch. running 20w50 has helped my engine a lot in temp.
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[Daddylolo]

[Wildthings]

A good location for an oil temperature sender is where most others install them so readings can be compared.

As for a Type I engine the plate under the oil pickup screen is a relatively cold spot on the engine as there is little flow in the oil directly above it, so it will give you a reading that is 5-15°C cooler than other location.

I think that oil temperature gauges tend to needlessly frighten people. If you watch the inside of your rocker boxes over time, if your oil is running too hot you will see a buildup of dark varnish. No varnish and your oil temps are likely just fine.

This is an engine I acquired that would had run on the oils that were available 40'ish years ago. You can see the mess that was made inside the engine by the byproducts of the breaking down low grade oils of the time that couldn't handle the heat of an aircooled engine. The engine also had lots of wear in places where you don't tend to see it very much any more.

[WhirledTraveller]

Whether measured at the relief valve or at the Taco plate, you're basically measuring case temperature not really oil temperature. Metal conducts heat much better than oil. The relief valve is probably a touch hotter because it doesn't get as much airflow. I think the only "true" way to measure oil temp is with a thermocouple down the dipstick and sitting in the oil not touching the case, but it's an awkward way to go about it and basically nobody does.
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1977 Westy, Automatic. Big Valve heads, CS Cam.

[cool karmann collected]

Just me then?

[mikedjames]

110 degrees C after 30 miles. No worries.

120 degrees C .. maybe worry, maybe back off 5mph.

I am happy when my 1641 T1 with an extra oil cooler sits at 110 degrees C and 65 mph.

The main thing is you see a stable temperature and its under 120 deg C If it starts to go up 5hen back off a bit.

My first engine I used to drive at 122 degrees C, speeding up or slowing down to keep it constant. Then I fitted a cooler and lost 15 to 20 degrees C.
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1974 VW T2 : Devon Eurovette camper with 1641 DP T1 engine, Progressive carb, full flow oil cooler, EDIS crank timed ignition.
Engine 1: 40k miles (rocker shaft clip fell off), Engine 2: 30k miles (rebuild, dropped valve). Engine 3: a JK Preservation Parts "new" engine, aluminium case: 26k miles: new top end.
Gearbox rebuild 2021 by Bears.

1979 Westerly GK24 24 foot racer/cruiser yacht Forethought of Gosport.
1973 wooden Pacer sailing dinghy

[RalphWiggam]

For reference I have about 1200 miles on my rebuild.

With my oil temp sender mounted in the bypass location I would read about 235f on a long highway run with ambient's in the mid 80f's.

I just switched to one of Phil's taco plate senders and now I read 205f ish on a highway run. Same sender unit.

Ambients are a little bit cooler now, but I'm certain the oil pressure relief location is measuring case temp at that location. I have also verified with an ir thermometer that my sender is pretty accurate and that the pressure relief location is much hotter than the bottom of the case.

[malcolm2]

my type 4 1911 in my 914 has an aluminum type taco plate with the sender in the middle of it. I see that outside air temp has more to do with my oil temp.

I drive to work, same route every time. if it is 95 and I pull up to a stop light the OT gets up to 220+ maybe 240 if we push 100*F. Idling the OP is low, so it is not moving around. Pull away from the light and the temp drops a bit. If it is 70 to 80 air temp, I don't see OT over 200.

Again, I think air temp has much more to do with it. AIR COOLED..... right? So 20 degrees on the hot side will make the OT stay 20 degrees hotter.

My 2 cents
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