2 questions about temp and clutch

[KCPSG]

OK I have 2 questions

1st here is a pic of mt temp gauge after driving for awhile and after some searching I found out that the black mark (that would be @ 10 o'clock if gauge was straight) is 248* and it looks like I am running just below that, this just started since I got the car down here to Louisiana. Is this running too hot? It never ran that hot the whole time I had it in Kansas City (hottest was @ 9 o'clock)

2nd
I hate to ask,but what is a good tell tale that your clutch is nearing the end of its life? I was told when I got this car that the clutch releases a little higher than a new clutch, so I was wondering how much longer I have til I have to replace?

BTW the clutch catches nearing the end of pedal release.

[jester911]

I would say that is a little hot. It looks like you are probably running about 230 or so.

Were you sitting in traffic with a/c on? Also if your engine is running in the pic your oil pressure gauge seems to not be working.

[KCPSG]

I had just gotten home from this afternoons drive, so yes the motor was running when pic was taken, however correct me if I am wrong, but its my understanding that when you are stopped that the "druck pressure" will drop to 0 and then the "oel" pressure will climb.
Just as soon as I give it gas the "druck pressure" goes up, but not as high as the owners manual says it should (4 - 4 1/2 bar @ 5000 rpm) IIRC

[svandamme]

if your clutch is going , you'll have plenty of warning

especially in 2nd gear, you would notice it's slipping
eg , your pedal is completely out, your engine revs , but you're not getting power to the wheels...

it starts with little bit of slipping, then progressively gets worse
it can take a long time before the clutch is completely gone though
so you can plan the repair long ahead

[svandamme]

about your pressure, you should have oil pressure at idle
at no time should your pressure show zero with a running engine...

you could try hooking up a second gauge , to see if it's your sender or your gauge who's showing wrong info

it could also be your sender, or maybe there actually isn't much pressure...

[KCPSG]

Originally posted by svandamme
about your pressure, you should have oil pressure at idle
at no time should your pressure show zero with a running engine...

you could try hooking up a second gauge , to see if it's your sender or your gauge who's showing wrong info

it could also be your sender, or maybe there actually isn't much pressure...

How much pressure should it show @ idle (and BTW thanks for the reply/info) I will hook another gauge up to it as soon as I can get my friend to come over here and swap w/me for a few minutes.

[masraum]

That is the temp that my '88 used to run here in Houston during the summer, pretty regularly. You can take some relief from the fact that the factory didn't think it was a problem until it hit 250 since that's where they set the thermostat for your fan to come on. I didn't like mine running that hot either. I sealed around the cooler since the old sealing had worn away, and I sealed the large open area behind the valance and under the cooler so the air that went in the front pass bumper/fog light would have no where else to go but through the cooler. For me those changes amounted to the running temp running between the 9 o'clock area and the mark below it. If I got in traffic it would get hot, but once I started moving it would drop right down. To me that was completely fine.

On a G50 car the location of the clutch engagement shouldn't change since it has a self adjusting hydraulic clutch. Mine always engaged very close to the top of the pedal travel, and I have heard many other G50 people voice the same thing.

Yep, when the clutch starts going you'll get slipping under heavy accel or in 5th if you floor it at low speed as Stijn said.

And again, he's right, that oil pressure would freak me out, is your gauge/sender bad or not hooked up or do you have a serious problem??

[svandamme]

Originally posted by KCPSG
How much pressure should it show @ idle (and BTW thanks for the reply/info) I will hook another gauge up to it as soon as I can get my friend to come over here and swap w/me for a few minutes.

don't know the us gauges myself

but mine shows 2 when warm and idling , i think that's a different scale than yours is...
2 is the first mark on my gauge

[masraum]

At idle with a hot engine I'd expect anywhere from 10-15 psi. THat would show around 1bar or just below on your gauge.

Here's a link showing something similar to how I ducted the air through my cooler. Thom is doing it to his second cooler, so it's on the opposite side of the car, but you get the idea.
http://vintagebus.com/mocal/

[KCPSG]

OK now I am getting a little panicked, I am hoping that the gauge is just bad. I have gone outside to make sure the connection was good (and it was). And as I said earlier it does read pressure when driving, so after looking @ my bentley manual it sounds like one of 3 things
1. The sender
2. the Gauge
3. The engine has severe wear to the bearings

Boy I hope it not the bearings, I'm not ready to eat that cost (not yet anyhow)

is there a way to test the gauge w/a multi meter? and what is the process?

[KCPSG]

Well I just took it out for a quick spin to get the oil up to temp, but before I did I messed w/the connection on the sending unit next to fan shroud (took wire brush and cleaned up the post) then while engine was cold and running it gave me a pressure reading of 1 bar, then after taking it out for a spin and getting it up to temp the gauge is reading what it did before...0... @ idle.

@ 5000 RPM it reads about 3.5 bar maybe a little better.

Guess I need to make sure my gauge is good 1st before changing out sender or whatever else.

[svandamme]

yep , gauge first, then sender

you should get 1 xtra bar per 1000 RPM

so at 5000 you need more pressure than 3.5

on a cold engine , you should get more pressure at idle, since the oil is thicker... cold oil and idle should be 4-6 bar

normally , if your oil pressure is really low, you should get the warning light to come one, so there's a good chance that it's just your gauge...

i don't think your gauge has a scale reading bar's
but i'm not sure

[geof33]

That gauge should be floating around the first marking or so at idle. Your pressure at RPM's shows low too. I agree with the others. Check out all the elecrical first. Maybe your oil pump is on the way out,,,

[masraum]

Generally your '88 will top out at approx 4.5 bar (1bar is ~14.5psi) and it should be there between 4000 and 5000. Actually I think the specs say approx 10 psi per 1000 even though everyone always says 1 bar. I think the norm is 1 bar, but 10 psi ~2/3 bar is within limits I believe. 3.5 bar would put you at about 52 psi at 5000 which I believe is within min limits. I have also heard that these engines can go to very, very low readings at idle, but it definitely doesn't seem to be the norm. You might want to go to an autoparts store, buy an aftermarket gauge for $20-30 and plug it it. for testing. That would be the easiest way to see if your gauge is on or off.

[Oldporsche]

10 lbs / thousand rpms. bars at 14 lbs are 40% higher!

If your guage was in bars it would register lower.

I would get a good guage on it pretty quick. I have one installed on the motor itself. That way I can see what I'm doing when I'm under the hood.

Since its saturday, and I'm watching the mid ohio race with an incredibly cold beer, you guages look a little off level.

Good luck,
David Duffield

[KCPSG]

Thanks for all the feedback. I will try to find a cheap ol' oil pressure gauge and adapt it to check the pressure tomorrow.

One other question, I just noticed in my record book that the oil sender was replaced back in Oct of 99' are these prone to having problems and going out? I would think that it would still be good.

Also I am still running 15w50 mobil 1 (as that is what the PO had in it) would that cause any differences w/ the sender or gauge?

[Por_sha911]

If the PO replaced the Oil Pressure Sender and you are showing 0 at idle then is sounds like either the PO put in the wrong sender or, he replaced the sender hoping that there wasn't a pressure problem. You need to check it soon.
My `87 usually reads 1 - 1.75 bar at idle and up to 4.5 - 5 at 5K rpm.

[masraum]

It could be that the PO put the wrong sender in, that's a very good supposition. Running Mobil 15w50 is good, you'll get better protection if it really is low. My experience with synthetic oils as that the cold pressure isn't quite as high as dino oils because they don't thicken as much when cold, and when they get hot they stand up better, so they don't lose as much pressure. Mobil sythetic would not cause a weird reading.

Also, not always, but generally when the sender goes the pressure will peg at the top of the gauge.

[geof33]

I agree with Steve. When my sender went I was getting erratic readings, then it pegged.

So, your gauge is possibly the culprit or some other thing...

[KCPSG]

Well I went out this morning hoping to go to an Auto parts store to get an oil pressure gauge that I gould adapt to the fitting on the motor to get a reading (but everything is still closed) but when I started the car the oil pressure was reading almost 2 bar when oil was cold, after driving to get the oil warmed up and @ a complete stop the gauge is reading 0.
Now I am still going to get an pressure gauge to test, but my question is that if I am having internal problems, wouldn't the engine temp also get much hotter than normal?
My temp this morning only got up to the 1st black mark (about 194*)
I am hoping that my thinking is right on this. And its either the sender being the wrong one or that the gauge is wrong.

PS. also my oil light appears to be functioning....wouldn't it come on if there was a low oil pressure problem?