ABF -in traffic -oil temp 104 deg...

Hi


....is 104 deg too hot ?
this seems a little too hot for oil, is this "acceptable" for VW ? -or do i need an oil cooler ?
I was led to believe oil temp of 80 deg is ideal ...!?



Thanks

 

my 16v runs up as high as 116 on a hot day, after a bit of thrash, then sat in traffic

you dont need to worry until you get to 120 really

104 is relatively cool

 

when stuck in a heavy traffic, mine will go up to 94-96 and then the fan brings will bring it back to 90-92... and over and over.

i hammered it hard for 20 odd miles yesterday, the oil temp maxed out at 100, so i guess it will vary from car to car depending on the age/condition of the sensors and wiring.

 

sounds normal....you want it to be at least 80deg before you nut it

 

whats the difference between the properties of the oil when at 70* and 80*... other than the temperature?

mine takes for ever to get to 80* etc

 

It fine. Normally 80degC on motorway and at 80mph in 5th and up to 113 in London's city streets on a busy day.

 

Viscosity.

Oil gets thinner as it gets warmer and therefore its lubricating properties are changed. So in theory the oil is slightly thinner at 80c then it was at 70c.

I presume that as the oil thins it protects internals from friction better and booting from cold can cause rubbing/scratching of some parts due to a lack of propper lubrication.

Typically things tend to expand as they get hotter, which is also applicable to certain elements of a car engine.

I always wait till about 86 before matting it.

 

but what is your's typical running temp in traffic?

when mine is fully up to temp, its about 86-88*.

it would take about 10 for me to be able to thrash it.

 

16v running temp in traffic depends on if its just been thrasehed, and if its summer or winter, but varies between 96-106.

On the motorway at 80-100 it will sit at about 96-100

God knows with the 8v as I got the MFA working one night, went back out the next night and it no longer worked again!

 

mine is usually at 90ish I have had it at 112 before, but i was trying (best word to use) to keep up with a Cayanne Turbo for 30 odd miles at very high speeds.

 

that temperature range is fine, depends on the oil that you are using too, thinner will get hotter too.

 

Mine is always sitting around 90 - 100 deg C though my ABF does run a little hot being in a MK2 with a standard 8v fan set up!!!

 

So my thoughts were ideal operating temp is 80 deg...
if oil gets thinner the hot it gets -surely there is going to be a point at which the oil isn't
providing the protection it should be !
The same logic is when the oil is too cold and doesn't do the job, allow the engine temp
and oil temp is get to "normal" operating temp before thrashing it.

apart from lubrication its supposed to transfers heat from these parts.

So then why do race / rally setups have oil coolers ?
why else do tuners sell oil coolers for ?

On a turbo car why have oil temps going into turbo which is 100+ degrees ?

 

and the hotter oil gets the quicker it just burns and obviously is less effective ...

 

anything over 120 degrees is something to be concerned about, if its under that, then dont worry, its operating well within its designed range

Do a google search on oil operating temps, you should be able to find some useful info

 

mine gets over 120 when im doing start stop traffic, sometimes closer to 130. am i to be concerned? any common probs i can check? i was planning on buying the neuspeed fan switch and thermostat that turns on the fan at a lower temp than normal from awesome gti as i think the these parts are at fault.

 

Fan switch is a good start.

Would also change plugs/oil/filters if not done recently - older oil tends to run hotter than fresh unused oil.

Also worth flushing the cooling system and making sure the appropriate and correct mixture of coolant is in there. (on avg you should be doing this once a year)

All of that plus the fan switches could solve your problem.

TBH if my car got to 130 oil temp I would be turning it off to cool down a bit and inspecting signs of head gasket problems....

coming onto oil cooling....

I was always told optimum running temps for oil were somewhere between 86-104 degrees.

The sump is used to take hot oil from the engine to a place where it can cool down, and is then re-circulated back into the engine. This happens over and over again and for a road car, coupled with a radiator this is enough to keep oil within optimum temps. An oil cooler simply adds to this effect, making sure hotter oil is being cooled (like water is in the rad) and circulated back into the engine, and is mainly used by track cars that are thrashing the engine and running at hot temperatures. Oil that exceeds (and I'm trying to remember off the top of my head) 104 degrees quickly loses the ability to lubricate and cool engine components as it should, which can lead to accerlerated fatigue and premature component failure. If you've ever pounded your car for half an hour it's not suprising to see oil jump as high as 110+ dependant on weather... An oil cooler normally brings temp down by about 10-15degrees dependant on size, which brings cars running hot (110+) back down to optimum temps for the oil to do its job.

I think that just about made sense.

 

cheers for advice, have just done a service last weekend including all mentioned bits so will replace thermostat and switch see if that brings temp down (sometimes when i get out of car after driving and i know its hot the fans not on, and then sometimes it is ) then ill see what if any damage its done. sorry g60 for nickin your thread

 

no offence taken -whats important is its an open discussion....and hopefully we actually
learned something for a change.

 

why is it some cars with the same engine will have different oil temps?

is that simply down to variances in the sensors and wiring or piston blow by etc?