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FE Technical Forum / Re: When to pull an engine for health check and oil temps on long highway driving
« on: Today at 09:46:34 AM »
200*F for oil, or water, temps is just fine...no worries.
220*F for oil, or water temps is just fine....but getting up there.
Many choose temps in the 160-180 range and that is not ideal for many reasons...too cool.
But even 235*F is okay for one of these engines.
As long as those temps are under control things are fine.
"Under control" means the temp has been reached but the temp is sustained....not creeping up, or going up, down, up, down, quickly without a peak or sustained temp the engine reaches.
60 weight oil seems excessively heavy.
This is causing a lot more stress on the oil pump driveshaft, and cam gear driving that oil pump.
If your bearing tolerances are correct (depends on parameters of build) you should be able to run a thinner oil with no issues...a 10W/30 for instance.
Switching to a synthetic oil, after break in, is not a bad idea so long as you run an oil with a useful additive package for your needs.....Most synthetics these days are already set for anti-corrosion as well as coating/sticking to metal surfaces to prevent corrosion when the engine sits. Check into the specific oil you intend to use to learn the parameters of that oil formulation.
By the way, those formulations are subject to change every 6 months so check up on that from time to time to know what is in the oil....this stinks because it is effort we should not have to deal with, but it is the realities of engine oil these days.
Concerning your temps with the oil cooler....They do seem a bit high at 230*F while using an oil cooler....Maybe your oil cooler is too small, or not working efficiently.
But then you say you have the solid block so there is less water in the block taking away heat.
Again, as long as temps are under control it sounds fine.
If you are not running a T-stat with your oil cooler I suggest you install one.
With the T-stat you have better control over the oil temps, which serves the engine better.
Set the oil cooler T-stat around 195*F (meaning it bypasses the cooler until temps reach 195*F)
220*F for oil, or water temps is just fine....but getting up there.
Many choose temps in the 160-180 range and that is not ideal for many reasons...too cool.
But even 235*F is okay for one of these engines.
As long as those temps are under control things are fine.
"Under control" means the temp has been reached but the temp is sustained....not creeping up, or going up, down, up, down, quickly without a peak or sustained temp the engine reaches.
60 weight oil seems excessively heavy.
This is causing a lot more stress on the oil pump driveshaft, and cam gear driving that oil pump.
If your bearing tolerances are correct (depends on parameters of build) you should be able to run a thinner oil with no issues...a 10W/30 for instance.
Switching to a synthetic oil, after break in, is not a bad idea so long as you run an oil with a useful additive package for your needs.....Most synthetics these days are already set for anti-corrosion as well as coating/sticking to metal surfaces to prevent corrosion when the engine sits. Check into the specific oil you intend to use to learn the parameters of that oil formulation.
By the way, those formulations are subject to change every 6 months so check up on that from time to time to know what is in the oil....this stinks because it is effort we should not have to deal with, but it is the realities of engine oil these days.
Concerning your temps with the oil cooler....They do seem a bit high at 230*F while using an oil cooler....Maybe your oil cooler is too small, or not working efficiently.
But then you say you have the solid block so there is less water in the block taking away heat.
Again, as long as temps are under control it sounds fine.
If you are not running a T-stat with your oil cooler I suggest you install one.
With the T-stat you have better control over the oil temps, which serves the engine better.
Set the oil cooler T-stat around 195*F (meaning it bypasses the cooler until temps reach 195*F)