What oil temp do you guys normally see in a vw (2054) in a buggy? I've got the DH cooler, and a plate cooler with a fan, and saw 250 three times this last weekend. I'm thinking the sender in the gauge might be bad (autometer). When I checked the oil, it still looked and smelled brand new. Thanks.
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In an air cooler the oil is your ''coolant", you want to see temps (in the sump) that are comparable to what you'd see in the coolant system of an h2o pumper.
How is your jetting? Air coolers want to run slightly rich. Go lean and watch the oil temp skyrocket.
With our last 1600 race car, we initially had oil cooling issues and had a similar setup (no doghouse cooler, just an external cooler with a fan) and saw temps in the 230-250 range in a race with the air temp around 85-90. What we did was a 'ribbon' test to determine where the air was flowing through the car at speed and it turned out that we had the cooler mounted in a dead air zone. All we did was tied several short pieces of ribbon on the chassis around the cooler and then followed the car for a bit to see what ribbons were flapping around and which were not moving. Moved the cooler into an area that had better air flow and after that we typically saw temps around 180-210 which, according to our engine builder, is very acceptable.
What oil temp do you guys normally see in a vw (2054) in a buggy? I've got the DH cooler, and a plate cooler with a fan, and saw 250 three times this last weekend. I'm thinking the sender in the gauge might be bad (autometer). When I checked the oil, it still looked and smelled brand new. Thanks.
Also a stroked VW motor will run hotter the a 1600 motor. My Baja prerunner has a 2176 and I run the dog house cooler and two 78 plate coolers with fan's and I still run warmer then our race motors. Of course the prerunner is a baja bug with all the glass still in it so it is hard to get good air flow back by the motor and coolers. Also running a 33' Baja TA doesnt help. The prerunner now runs about 200-205 and about 220 when running hard in the sand washes. At the Score 2003 Henderson race during prerunning I pulled Brian Koneen (SP?) baja bug half way around the course after he broke his R&P. It was about 118 degrees out and I pulled him at times in 3rd gear. We were haulin a55. It was like having a skier behined me whipping him in the corners. I ran about 235 to 245 degrees with him behind me.
To check the sending unit, try removing your sender and make a jumper for grounding it. (It grounds in the block when installed.) Boil a pot of water and stick the sender in(must be grounded to complete the circuit.) Your gauge should read about 200 degrees, water boils at 212 but cools a little. If you get no reading, check the ground or the switch that powers the gauge.
If reads 200, you can probably believe the gauge you're getting too hot, you may not be getting enough flow through your oil cooler, either air passing through the cooler - on either side or oil to be cooled - clogged line or too small hose.
Are any other gauges crazy? you may have a crossed wire to your gauge
iv raced with oil temp at 300 for 300miles and it may have been hoter the gauge stops at 300 very respectfull type 4 motor builder told me to put a clock in the hole head temp is more impotant but if you put a head temp gauge in you will just worrie your self to death looking at it.
It also depends on where the sender is. My car has up to a 70deg. difference between the inlet and the outlet of the oil cooler. That means that it could read 210 or 280 at the same time. The important thing is that you are getting a large drop at the cooler. This is easy to check with one of those heat guns(infrared thermomerer) they have gotten pretty cheap lately.
where is your sender located? I always run the sender in the sump, where the oil is the hottest. I drill and tap the case at the bottom of the sump just to the right of the oil pump, just below the dipstick. In the 5-1600, We would regularly see temps around 240-250, and up to 280 when under a harder load (like uphill sandwashes). We ran a fluidyne cooler and the doghouse cooler. If the temp recovers fairly quick after a hard run, then I wouldn't worry too much. Sustained oil temps of 280 or higher are no bueno, eventually things will give up. I would be sure that the cooler is in good air flow and that the fan has a good shroud. The shroud should also have a by-pass flap that allows the extra air to pass through the cooler at speed. The fan will only let so much cfm through, and air can sometimes pack in front of the cooler.
Also, Air cooled engines are greatly affected by engine tune-up. Too lean or too rich will increase engine temp due to the fact that the cylinder heads can't dissipate the heat. So watch that as well.
As far as gauges, pre 1996 autometer gauges will not read properly with the current senders on the market. we recently ran into this issue, keep us scatching our heads until autometer tech support helped figure it out.
Originally Posted by Ryno
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