Oil temps - My '79 930 with trombone cooler

[jwasbury]

I've searched and read all 10,000 oil temp threads on Pelican...well it feels like I did anyway. I've got the fender mount cooler with all the goodies (fan, etc.) coming from Elephant Racing to upgrade the ol' trombone.

I have only gone higher than halfway on the gauge when stuck in traffic for an extended period. It has happened twice now since I bought the car in Nov-07. First time was last summer with ambient temps in the 90-100 range. 2nd time was this past Saturday. I got caught in a classic NJ traffic jam and probably sat in the stop and go for 30 minutes to go 1.5 miles to the next exit. Thing is the ambient temp at the time was probably 40-45. The temp gauge was above the middle point by enough to make me concerned...as soon as I got rolling again the temps came back down in minutes to well below the halfway point.

When I described this situation to Chuck at Elephant, he immediately said that something is not right if I'm getting that hot in traffic in 40 degree ambient temps. What is the opinion of this forum? Is this abnormal? I am certain that the trombone is getting oil because I can hear it clearly and the lines get hot. I plan to check the following:

*Confirm engine oil cooler is hot too - could be internal thermostat problem

*remove fan and alternator (having it rebuilt - another project) and look for mouse nests or crud build up on the cylinders and engine oil cooler

*check timing again (just did this last fall - set it to factory spec)

*replace and adjust fan belt (no evidence of slipping)

[RarlyL8]

Not moving (significantly) for 30 minutes at 45F will allow the temp to creep up above 210F. It should take it some time to get there though. My 28-tube brass unit does the same thing. Easy test is to just grab the loop with your hand. It'll be hot. I wouldn't be concerned about it unless the new cooler doen't cure that weakness.

[fredmeister]

If you checked both the lines at the connection to the trombone and they are hot. and they are not crimped or crushed along the rocker pannel, then you may have issues with the thermostat in the rear wheel well. Perhaps it is hung up and only opening partially. I had to rebuild my thermostat because it was not opening and the internal cartridge is available on Pelican for this.
Pretty easy to do once you manage to get the oil lines disconnected and it out of the fender. Just be careful because there are big springs in the housing under the caps that need to be removed.
Though the trombone is useless, and run the Carrera cooler with the fan and it should make a big diff. If you are gonna track the car it won't be enuff though.

[Miguel Antonett]

I believe it is completely normal to get hot if no air is flowing through the cooler. Even with a front valance cooler, if you don't allow air to flow through it - a la traffic jam, give it enough idle time and will over heat sooner or later.

[xbmwguy]

i found the wire to my oil cooler fan and wired it to my windshield switch. when isee the traffic getting nasty i hit the switch. works great even here in so. fla

[Tinker]

Half way on the gauge is 225ish? That's not extremely hot.

I got stuck in traffic coming back from a track in 90+ degree weather a watched my needle slowly climb into the 240+ range. I too was concerned but was told at idle and low speeds there is so little load on the motor that the heat won't likely cause any permanent issues. Once I got moving the temps drop down to their usual 180ish range.

My 930 (different car from the one above) was running unusually hot for a period of time and when I went to rebuild I discover the engine thermostat was toast. That would be my first thought / place to look as the engine oil cooler and fan should keep the temps generally in check (again, car above does not have an engine cooler which caused its temps to spike when stuck in traffic).

Tinker

[A930Rocket]

Half way or 9:00 is 212*F.

Originally Posted by Tinker

Half way on the gauge is 225ish? That's not extremely hot.



Tinker

[WERK I]

Don't mean to sound alarmist, but I hope you changed your oil after that. When oil is operated beyond normal operating temp ranges, it starts breaking down fairly quickly. You can bet the oil coming off the turbo bearing shaft is much hotter.

Another thing to check is the oil thermostat located near the passenger side rear torsion bar. I actually found one that was not fully opening. Put the thermostat in a big ol' pot of boiling water and found the thing opening less than halfway.

[jwasbury]

Thanks for the insights everyone. I am going to continue to observe the situation and check all the items per my original post. I think that my front cooler thermostat is working well...when it opens it sounds like niagara falls from the passenger footwell.

[DW SD]

if you run cold water from a garden hose over the cooler at idle, you should peg the temp at the thermostat opening temperature. That should tell you if it is working and at what temp it opens.

Doug

[Miguel Antonett]

Clever... however need to consider that there many other temp factors and components.