I have tried and tried for an actual specification and had so many different replys it is amazing. The question is. What temp should the oil temp in a 2l kombi normaly be? Please let me know if you actualy know. It will vary depending on tin-ware, oil type, seals, what type of sender and where it is and where you are driving etc. What I want to know is, is there a specific temp at a specific speed, after a specific time etc.
The answers I have been given range from just over 90 to 160!!!!
My engine is only 15000 ks from total rebuild. I have a dip stick sender that sits in the sump oil and reads within 1oc. At 80 kph in 40oc after about 20 min reaches 125oc but can get to 132oc on hills etc. The tin-ware etc is 100% all seals etc perfect. There is NO air cooling problem. I may have an internal problem but have no way of knowing what the temp should be. Can you help.
Thanks
Philip
So please if you have
what sort of guage is it? is it compatible with the sender? That might explain it. I read something on the Berg webiste about cheap guages and senders. This might be your problem if nothing else is wrong.
I run an autometer sender and gauge on my 2L type IV (but converted to upright cooling in my beetle). It feels like it is getting a bit hot lately - on a cool day it holds 210F (100C) but when the day is hot it climbs to 230-240F (110-116C) which is when I pull over and give it a rest. This may be an acceptable range but the inlet manifolds are f'ken hot to touch so I play it cautiously especially since it is a new motor. I'd be interested in what the "normal operating temperature" is. Maybe do a search in the type4rum on shoptalkforums.com - perhaps that could yield some info?
MIne is the same as Dasdubber's, and so are most of my Kombi friends. Unless you run an external oil cooler, I think thats normal.
Rob...
Boxer Power
Member of DMLRK.....Die Mittler Lebuns Resto Komeradschaft
It's a question like: "how long is a piece of string?"
The bulk oil temperature can be anywhere from that of the engine case at start-up to whatever 'steady state' it reaches during driving... On that day, under those conditions of load, speed, tempearture, engine tune, driver habits, air pressure, outide temperature, fuel quality, heater-lever position, etc. There is no 'standard'. There is a concept such as "normal for my engine" however.
Desirable temperature from the OIL's point of view is 80 or 85 to 110, or so.
The indicated oil temp. is a symptom of how hot the engine is getting as a whole.
Althought the bulk oil can reach up to 130-140 according to various sources (for otherwise 'OK' VW engines), it can experience hotter temperatures briefly at various points inside the motor (behind pistons, inside the bearings, near heads).
What is desirable for any particular engine depends on it's condition & how it is used etc.
You should be able to sense (smell' feel) if the engine is overheating after a drive. The accuracy of the reading is less importatnt than the TREND, once you get a feel for where the "normal range" for your engine is. The oil temperature shoud read much higher in hot weather & when going up long hills. Provided it is not really "overheating" due to mechanical problems, this should be no reason for alarm.
Personally I think over a "true" temp of around 125 is a signal to "go easy". Over 120 is too hot for common oils... Though the real questions should be: "what factor/s is causing some part of my engine to get so hot?" and "is this condition temporary, or is my engine at risk?".
Oh, I've got a bit of string somewhere...
G'day,
What ACE_76 said is pretty right. The thing is that Volkswagen didn't put temp guages in any aircooled vehicles (to my knowlege) so no specification info would have been written up (not that I've seen anyway). I've owned and driven many VWs over the last 40 years and have only had one with a gauge in it and this was the only one that I worried about the temp in.
At 40oc ambient temp I would say that 125oc at 80kph would be fairly normal. I did 650ks accross Arnhemland NT in My '77 2lt Kombi camper in Sept '97 with the gauge sitting on 140oc and was a bit worried but if I hadn't had the gauge I wouldn't have known any difference.
Pleased to see that all the seals are good and don't drive with the engine lid open thinking it will run cooler, it doesn't!! in fact it will run approx 10oc hotter.
Where are you up to on your trip?
Cheers, Ian.
Excentric (wife says) VW nut, having owned 250+ VWs in 40 years.
Those two reply's are probably the closest to the trueth we are going to get. I just printed them out and stuck them in my workshop manual. Thanks guy's!
Rob...
Boxer Power
Member of DMLRK.....Die Mittler Lebuns Resto Komeradschaft
Yep I have asked this question here before many times... Its a very frustrating topic!
I have a sensor drilled into my sump... i dont let it go over 120 degrees...
I have a 2L Auto Kombi
Getting elephant ears was the best idea I have ever had
i was told by a vw mechanic to back off when the guage hits 120 , they also told me its normal to be around 110 , the engine was a type 4 mild cam hydrolic lifters electronic ignition also was auto , i found in any sort of warm days i couldnt get to much over 90 kmph before the guage hit 120 , it was frustrating especially on long trips to valla, if i had any idea what a oil cooler was when i had that bus i would have put one in for sure.
to me 110 always seemed to hot but i am no expert
gravity wont get you high
I too have a speco gauge for my bus, i havent got it over 110 yet... You might think that you tinware is sweet, we spent hours minimizing all the tiny little gaps between the tinware. In some places put a bead of cheap silicone aswell. There are a few things you can do to make your engine run cooler besides elephant ears and all that. An engine that is running too lean will run hotter, so make ur mixture a little richer and see if that helps. High compression engines run alot hotter than low, so if you can check your compression. And timing, an engine with too far advanced timing will run hotter than a car with more retarded timing. But by doing all this you will be loosing power and performance, but it comes down to what your after. Do you want that bit more power at the cost of a hot engine or do you want to make it easy for ur engine and take it easy.
Just to throw in another spanner...
What about a Type 3 with a 1600 TP??
In winter i can sit on 110-115kph and it doesnt get much above 95degrees, but the other day it was hotter (27/28ish) and i hit 110 degrees after about 1 hr sitting on 105kph. This is a new engine so i am worrried about overheating. Are the engine temps for kombi's & T3's similar? I heard somewhere T3's run a tad hotter???
I can do skids.
In the Wet.
On Oily surfaces.
