Engine not getting to temp

[kyngfish]

So in Florida this was no problem. But now I’m in the Pacific Northwest and basically if it’s raining or cold - my engine temp stays juuuuust below the 194 degrees hash Mark.

Normal?

And if not - and since I have my car up on stands. How do I get at the two thermostats and test them? The front one I’m assuming is in the oil cooler and the other one on the engine somewhere but I can’t find anything in the Bentley manual and I haven’t found a good thread on the issue.

Cheers.

[MichaelSJackson]

I'm in Seattle. I have a '78 SC with the trombone oil cooler. If I start and wait for it to heat up, it levels out at 180. Just driving around, it sits at 210.

In the SC, a thermostat sits in the front of the rear fender. Before the oil travels forward. I've never had to play with it.

[kyngfish]

Originally Posted by MichaelSJackson

I'm in Seattle. I have a '78 SC with the trombone oil cooler. If I start and wait for it to heat up, it levels out at 180. Just driving around, it sits at 210.

In the SC, a thermostat sits in the front of the rear fender. Before the oil travels forward. I've never had to play with it.

If I’m driving in weather below 70. Doesn’t matter how long I drive. It will sit below that 194 hash. Only time it climbs higher is if it’s really hot or if I’m sitting in traffic.

[mo-mon]

Based on what you have observed, I believe all is well & normal. If you really want to check, the engine oil thermostat is the one to test. It is in the "triangle of death" area. The one that you replace the o-ring on. That involves a partial engine drop for my carrera.

[Reiver]

Yes, that is normal for an oil cooler unit equipped car.....my SC (with that Carrera Oil cooler) stays at 185/190 in cooler weather even tho I block the cooler off mostly....

[911 SLANT]

I run a 9 row front oil cooler and my car has not reached 180 in my last 4 drives. It's a fresh rebuilt motor. Only has 250 miles on it

[shadowjack1]

I was just up in Blue ridge GA. Temps stayed in the low 40's. My temp never went above 180. I loved it.

[kyngfish]

Thanks for all the feedback. I thought it was bad for the engine to not get to temp? 210 or so?

[RedCoupe]

The issue is that the fan is running full blast, winter and summer. So, when it is really cold out , even with both thermostats shut the oil is still being cooled by the cold engine parts.

[GH85Carrera]

I took my 911 out on Sunday for a 35 minute cruise to just get the oil warm. It was 74 degrees outside, and full sun. I had the AC on low, and the oil thermostat never did get hot enough to send oil to the front oil cooler, so I could not really check the oil level. I returned home, and put my hands of the oil lines by the front oil cooler. They were just ambient temp.

Even last summer driving to Key West., FL the engine never got above 220 while in stop and go traffic.

[pampadori]

I normally see temps just under the 194F hash mark if its not above 65F ambient. If i drive with RPMs above 3500 like when cruising about 75mph, it will touch 194 and sometimes a little higher if its a longer drive.
If i drive it "hard" with lots of wot pulls to 7000k then i'll get it above the first hash and in between the it and the next hash mark.
However, if its 90F ambient than it runs much warmer esp at highway speeds and when flogging it hard.

I guess my point is that I don't see a drop in temps when i spin the fan faster like other people mention. At least not when there is load on the engine.
A lot of people change out the gauge or the sender and they aren't matched to one another. That could be an issue too where the gauge might not be accurate due to the wrong sender being used.

[kyngfish]

I guess I’m not going to sweat it then