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Date:         Wed, 20 Mar 1996 23:05:19 -0700
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         rickgo@halcyon.com (Rick Gordon)
Subject:      Re: Overheating symptoms?

At 11:06 AM 3/20/96, David Schwarze wrote: >Rick Gordon writes: >> >> I'm going to argue these numbers a little bit - my opinion only, nothing >> personal. The advice is sound though - you'll learn a lot more about the >> engine >> under load with gauges installed. >> >> With these stats you'll never get over any mtn passes, at least not in the >> summer. The heads are going to get hotter than 350F, hell that's their >> normal operating temperature! If you're climbing a mtn with it, start >> worrying over 550F. Oil temperature can arguably get hotter - water doesn't >> boil out until 210F. Oil pressure will get lower as the oil temp rises. >> Also the head temp sender *will* mount in the spark plug hole in a 1980 >> engine, and its pretty much the same as the 78-83. The head temp gauges are >> kind of pricey - if you only get one, put it on #3 cylinder. > >I appreciate your response, Rick. I agree that the heads get hotter >than 350 - that figure was based on having the sender installed in the >stock sensor location, which is tapped into the side of the head. My >engine indicates around 250 under light load, and goes up to ~325 going >up long hills. Listmembers have reported much higher temps at the spark >plug, and I believe it. What is important though is being able to see >the temp increase over "normal", which works no matter where you locate >the sender. > >As for the sender, I am using the VDO sender and there is no way it will >fit. The spark plug is recessed and there is maybe .050" clearance >around the plug. You can mash the sender in there but there is no way >it will lay flat. This is for stock heads and Bosch plugs. If one were >to have the spark plug hole flycut a little it may fit, or it may fit if >you use a different sender, or different plugs. But why mess with it? >There is a nice place to mount the sender already tapped into the head >which won't interfere with the spark plug. > >I should elaborate a little more on oil temp too, I guess. I mentioned >not driving the bus hard if the temp goes over 230. I didn't necessarily >mean to pull over and let it cool at that temp. My opinion is that if your >gauge is reading 230 the oil is probably more like 280 at the bearings, >and under an extreme load I wouldn't want to count on the oil protecting >the engine at that temp. If you're using synthetic oil, maybe higher >temps are permissable. My engine only hits 210 degrees going up the >grapevine (a 4,000 ft 6% grade). If you are seeing temps of 250+, it is >my humble opinion that your engine is overheating. :) >

I think the sender location is the key here. And I'm running it in a 1980 engine - the sender fits just fine. I had to cut the washer off the Bosch plug to keep the height the same (not sure that it really mattered but it made me feel better). .. Where the oil temp sender is located may also affect things. I have mine in the drain plug - which is the last place the oil hits before going into the cooler. I would think that this would be a good place to measure the oil. Also I was thinking that 230F was the middle of the gauge, I think actually 210F is, so I'd agree that 230F is starting to get up there. And the only time mine did get to 250F it *was* overheating - that was when I pulled the engine! The gauges saved my butt on that trip - I knew when I had to just pull over and let things cool down. I don't recall the grade but it was going over the North Cascades highway. I guess that I would agree that 230F is nothing to pull over about, just a heads-up alert to start watching things, especially that oil pressure. What I found was that it seems to be good to get the oil over 210F regularly - just to boil out water and other volatile contaminants.

so now that we're violently agreeing, see ya later -rick

Rick Gordon Bainbridge Island, WA, USA ------------------------------------- rickgo@halcyon.com http://www.halcyon.com/rickgo/ finger for PGP public key fingerprint -------------------------------------


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