Date:         Tue, 9 Aug 2011 14:30:50 -0700
Reply-To:     Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Rocket J Squirrel <camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Oil level vs temp test
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

A couple weeks ago it was mentioned here that one should see lower oil
temp if the oil level was kept below the halfway point between the two
notches on the dipstick.

Last weekend Mrs Squirrel and I went camping in our nearby National
Forest. The drive that-a-ways saw oil temp rise from what appears to be
"cruising" temp of around 190 degrees (F) to about 215 on the steep bits
where I had to downshift to second gear (auto trans).

Ambient temp was in the mid-80s, and the oil level was 3/4's up from the
bottom notch to the top notch, or halfway between the halfway point and
the max point.

So this morning I lowered the oil level to the 1/4 point (halfway
between the min notch and the halfway point between the notches) and
have just now returned from the same drive, or at least the portion of
it where I saw my first temp rise on the last drive. This is a 14 mile
drive with an 1800 foot elevation gain. Like on the previous drive, I
kept the engine to 3600 rpm in second gear on the steep bits. Today's
temp is in the mid-80s.

I saw no difference: from "cruising" temp of 190F, the oil temp again
rose again to around 215.

Perhaps a longer drive or one under different conditions might show the
predicted improvement in oil temp.

--
Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
Bend, Ore.
1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer from a defunct company in San
Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westralia.

Sent from my kitchen.