If you're worried take your time, but I'd buy a gauge or two, then you'll know when you're pushing it too hard, which is easily done. One can get for about 10-15 quid a dipstick that attaches to your oil light and makes it flicker if it gets to a certain temp and light solidly at even higher. Might be worth a shot if you don't like gauges.
I've been worrying about this over the last couple of days on my grand tour of the south of England. I even thought about asking @zed but he'd popped out to mildenhall I put it down to the ambient temperature being so high, I can just about hold the end of the dipstick, not the bit in the oil though. I never used to worry about this sort of thing, but I checked and rechecked everything, valves, timing, thermostat, carb adjustment, air leaks, etc.
I think if you have standard engine and carbs you don't have much to worry about, it's when you start changing things you're into the unknown.
I am sure it is just the rise in ambient but as zed said I will probably get a dip stick sender that lights my oil light up if oil gets to hot! What's the harm??
We are off surfing down at saunton putsborough if there are any waves but staying at campsite in Georgham just inland from Croyde Can't wait!! Just scared we might not get there!! Hence this stupid whittling!!
Oil pressure as was said above does show you when it's too hot because the oil thins, but temp might be a better indicator of how your engine copes with various conditions/speeds. Or one of each of course.
The flashy lightdipstick thingie is for a Beetle. On a bus it will be signalling panic when theres nothing wrong. . I use a dipstick thermometer that I checked was only one or two degrees different from an accurate theemocouple temperature probe I tried. My sort of tweaked 1641 would max out at 123 degrees C on a hot day and if it crept higher I would back off. More normally it sat at 115 degrees on a long run. I did once see 130 C driving as fast as possible down the motorway with I think the fan shroud flaps stuck partly shut. I did about 28000 miles like this before deciding that a scheduled 600km drive to Bergerac this summer might be speed limited by temperatures. So I went for full flow and second oil cooler in two stages: It dropped 10 degrees with just a new CB Maxi 3 oil pump and a full flow Fram HP1 filter. Mostly I think the old oil pump was more than a bit worn and adding another litre of oil to the system helped. Then I added a thermostatic controlled (over 80degC) external oil cooler with air scoop in series with the full flow filter. I still have the stock oil cooler as this cools the engine when not moving. And theres another litre of oil in there in the pipes and cooler. Now I get 80-90 degrees C on A and B roads and 105C if I drive at 65 -70 GPS mph on the motorway.
dont worry andy.... it will be raining if your going on holiday..... i should know went to scarborough a couple of weeks ago and it $issed down... for 36 hrs non stop....pubs were warm and dry thou...
Wow you have certainly gone to town, that is a massive drop in temp and clearly worth the hassle of fitting what sounds like, in effect a completely new cooling system! Mines a bog standard 1.6 type 1 I cruise along at 55. I have already decided just to check the oil temp half way down with a jam thermo and leave it at that, especially if the dipstick light is for beetle so will come on prematurely!
I fancy the dipstick temp light thingy but it sounds like it comes on at too lower temp! That would definitely give me the heeby jeebies!!
I fitted (if you could call it that!) one to a new 1776 and drove it for 30 mins at 65mph and it didn'y flicker, that's my sole experience.
It's adjustable so you can set the temp it comes on at. Main benefit is that I now don't feel compelled to jump out and grab the dipstick every time we stop!
