2.7 oil temp seems low

[robotman]

75 911, the oil temp never goes above 120 deg. I run it hard today, 75 deg outdoors and i read the oil temp when i got back with thermocouple dipped into tank. It reads 115 deg, isnt this to low?

[Porsche-O-Phile]

In a 2.7, there's no such thing as the temperature being too low. I'd consider myself lucky.

But I'd double-check. That does sound like it might be a faulty temperature sender.

[kach22i]

Isn't there a thermostat for the front trombone cooler? That could be stuck open.

However even stuck wide open that seems like an unreal low number.

Has to be a faulty reading somehow.

Should be 170-200 normally.

[T77911S]

sorry, your temp aint 120 deg. get it fixed. i would say this is more important than the oil pressure only in that you will likely run hot before you loose OP.

sending unit most likely, but could be gage.

[rluciano]

Originally Posted by T77911S

sorry, your temp aint 120 deg. get it fixed. i would say this is more important than the oil pressure only in that you will likely run hot before you loose OP.

sending unit most likely, but could be gage.

Read the original post, he said he used a thermocouple dipped into the oil tank. Only thing I could guess is thermostat stuck open and a fancy cooler upfront.

[stlrj]

Originally Posted by robotman

75 911, the oil temp never goes above 120 deg. I run it hard today, 75 deg outdoors and i read the oil temp when i got back with thermocouple dipped into tank. It reads 115 deg, isnt this to low?

I know what you mean. Lately my 3.2 has been running so cool in the morning that the trombone ( 74 911 w/ an 86 3.2 ) never gets warm. I mean it stays stone cold even after an hours drive.

It must be normal since it seems to heat up as the day warms up though.


Cheers,

Joe

[T77911S]

Originally Posted by rluciano

Read the original post, he said he used a thermocouple dipped into the oil tank. Only thing I could guess is thermostat stuck open and a fancy cooler upfront.

even when the Tstat is wide open, it WILL NOT COOL THAT MUCH. why do you think oil temps hit 220+. if the loop cooler and engine cooler worked, people would not be taking them off and putting on real oil coolers, they would just remove the Tstat.
i was running some back roads with my brother last year, 80-100mph, my temps were 210, maybe a little higher, do you think the Tstat was closed? no, the coolers just dont cool that well. and yes, i had replaced the Tstat already becuase it was stuck closed.

not to say the Tstat is not bad, i figured that was a given. but the engine oil should still get hot. maybe his definition of driving hard and mine are different. i just want to make sure he does take a chance and over heat it.

[robotman]

Can i use a hand held laser sensor pointing at the tank under the fender?
I havent got a chance to check further since Sunday, but the car does not have a cooler mounted up front just a small cooler on the passenger side rear of the car next to the engine. I also thought i would see at least 200 deg, i am bringing home a stainless temp sensor with a fluke meter and laser temp sensor to double check.

[cgarr]

Cool is good but you should at least try to get it up around 180 to remove the moisture. The oil helps cool the engine up around the cams, are you getting a good oil flow to the cams? How is the oil level in the tank when your driving? does is run low when driving then fill when at idle?

[RoninLB]

Originally Posted by T77911S

sorry, your temp aint 120 deg. get it fixed.

ain't no way a 2.7 runs at 120F

[pkjense]

Are you running rich by any chance? How is your timing? I have a Mocal cooler and thermostat on my 2.7, so I tend to run fairly cool, usually about 170 max if air temp is 70ish. However it was quite cool the other day (50) and I ran an hour on the highway and never went above 120. I have been dialing in the carbs to get rid of a flat spot, so i leaned the mixture screws a quarter turn, and that brought the temp up 25 degrees in about 15 minutes at 65MPH. On the track that day I never ran above 170 degrees. Carbs are tuned now, and timing has been advanced as well and I consistantly run at 170 degrees.
BTW also HUGE performance gain.

Paul

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by robotman

thermocouple dipped into tank.

Is there anyway you can try this with a second Therocouple?

Others ways to measure engine temp:
http://www.ratwell.com/technical/VDOGauges.html

[robotman]

Didnt get to it today hopefully Friday i will post my findings, i am getting nervous over it. Where is the thermostat located?

[kach22i]

Originally Posted by robotman

Didnt get to it today hopefully Friday i will post my findings, i am getting nervous over it. Where is the thermostat located?

The part of the forum where you buy parts often has diagrams showing part location within a system. Try there and or do a search.

[fintstone]

Either the gauge or sender is bad...maybe both. It has nothing to do with the thermostat. A warmed up 911 2.7 without external cooler simply will not run under 180F. 210F or higher is much more likely

[pkjense]

Originally Posted by fintstone

... A warmed up 911 2.7 without external cooler simply will not run under 180F. 210F or higher is much more likely

Although I tend to agree, I did notice you are from Albaquerque, and robotman is from Michigan. I personally am in Canada. The point to this is we have had an unusually dry warm spring here, so we have had our cars out early (2 months!). I too, have felt my car was running cool, but then realized I am usually buried in snow into April, and just thinking about getting my car out now. So ya, I am running cool, but the air in the mornings and evenings is as low as 35F and usually doesn't get above 60 during the day. Nearly froze my ears off in the targa the other night. Thermostat on my mocal doesn't ever kick in.

Robotman, is it possible you are in the same situation in Michigan? Anybodyelse in the great white north experiencing the same thing?

BTW fintstone, I would trade NM for Canada any day! Love the southwest.

[fintstone]

Originally Posted by pkjense

Although I tend to agree, I did notice you are from Albaquerque, and robotman is from Michigan. I personally am in Canada. The point to this is we have had an unusually dry warm spring here, so we have had our cars out early (2 months!). I too, have felt my car was running cool, but then realized I am usually buried in snow into April, and just thinking about getting my car out now. So ya, I am running cool, but the air in the mornings and evenings is as low as 35F and usually doesn't get above 60 during the day. Nearly froze my ears off in the targa the other night. Thermostat on my mocal doesn't ever kick in.

Robotman, is it possible you are in the same situation in Michigan? Anybodyelse in the great white north experiencing the same thing?

BTW fintstone, I would trade NM for Canada any day! Love the southwest.

I would not expect the thermostat of an external cooler to open under the conditions you describe...but certainly would not expect any sustain ed operation of the auto to resut in telps of close to 180F. That is how it is designed. As far as Robot...it was pretty warm...and a temp of 120F is clearly incorrect by at least 50F.

Originally Posted by robotman

75 911, the oil temp never goes above 120 deg. I run it hard today, 75 deg outdoors and i read the oil temp when i got back with thermocouple dipped into tank. It reads 115 deg, isnt this to low?

[crashr]

I have a 1975 911 that I installed a 3.2 in. I had a simliar problem with what appeared to be a low reading. I replaced the temperature guage and got a much hotter reading. I believe Warren had a posting a long time ago that compared the sender voltage vs temp. I used this to verify that my sender was not the issue.

[robotman]

Ok new thermocouple reading is 205 after hard drive 70s and 80 mph.
Outdoor temp 75.
I had a bad thermocouple on my fluke meter, first time reading.
Now i have to fix the gauge or sensor what is the voltage out put from the sensor to temp readings, does anyone have a chart. I searched but cant find one.

[fintstone]

Should be no voltage out of the sender. It is basically a resistor connected to ground. Bets bet is to borrow a gauge to sustitute in. If none available, and your connections are good, the most likely culprit is the sender...because of the conditions it operates under are more extreme than the gauge. Gauges of that era are usually off a bit as well. I had to fix both in my '74.
Make sure you have the right sender as there are several depending on your gauge. Often they get mixed in an engine swap. Your stock sender should be a 150C one.