Low Oil Temps ...
12-18-2007, 08:19 AM
#1
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Low Oil Temps ...
Having Issues with oils temps getting up over 200* during normal cruiseing ..... 496 MIV motors with external KE 212* Thermostats and 3x18 HP style merc coolers ... Normal cruise 3000-4000 rpm the temps get up to 170-180 ... I did some testing this past weekend bypassed the cooler on one motor and Temps came up good .... Temps got around 230 and I assume would continue to go up if I had pressed on .. I am having milk issues in the top end but after the test run the oil cleaned right up ...
What are my options ? Should I bypass the water thru the coolers with an adjustable valve or bypass the oil around the coolers ? I have no doubt that if I go WOT for 10 miles things will be fine but the Norm would be a 1 hour cruise to the local watering hole @ 3500-4000 rpm and temps be where they need to be ....m
What are my options ? Should I bypass the water thru the coolers with an adjustable valve or bypass the oil around the coolers ? I have no doubt that if I go WOT for 10 miles things will be fine but the Norm would be a 1 hour cruise to the local watering hole @ 3500-4000 rpm and temps be where they need to be ....m
12-18-2007, 11:23 AM
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offthefront
Optimum oil temp for any oil according to SAE is 220 degrees. When I test the engine on my dyno we have a ball valve controling the water supply to the oil cooler to be able to control the temp as we would look for it in the boat or car. I would only worry if the temp climbed over 240-260 with conventional oil we've even run marine racing engines at 280 degrees with synthetic oil for a complete season with no bearing or oil related damage at all. Keiths system is one of the best on the market you may also want to contact them I'm sure you'll get the same reply. Best of luck Sincerely Laz Mesa
www.mesaracingengines.com
Optimum oil temp for any oil according to SAE is 220 degrees. When I test the engine on my dyno we have a ball valve controling the water supply to the oil cooler to be able to control the temp as we would look for it in the boat or car. I would only worry if the temp climbed over 240-260 with conventional oil we've even run marine racing engines at 280 degrees with synthetic oil for a complete season with no bearing or oil related damage at all. Keiths system is one of the best on the market you may also want to contact them I'm sure you'll get the same reply. Best of luck Sincerely Laz Mesa
www.mesaracingengines.com
12-18-2007, 12:16 PM
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Thanks Laz ... I'm thinking the water will be the best to bypass around the cooler.... its just confusing why the Thermostat will not do the job it is designed to do .. maintain a min of 212* ....m
12-18-2007, 01:00 PM
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I put an oil thermostat on my motor. Keeps the oil temps right where they should be.
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/mocal.htm
It's an inexpensive, nicely constructed piece that looks to have good flow charactaristics. Even when it's open, some oil goes through your cooler, but when it heats up and closes, all the oil goes through your cooler with little or no restriction from the thermostat.
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/mocal.htm
It's an inexpensive, nicely constructed piece that looks to have good flow charactaristics. Even when it's open, some oil goes through your cooler, but when it heats up and closes, all the oil goes through your cooler with little or no restriction from the thermostat.
12-18-2007, 01:40 PM
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I put an oil thermostat on my motor. Keeps the oil temps right where they should be.
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/mocal.htm
It's an inexpensive, nicely constructed piece that looks to have good flow charactaristics. Even when it's open, some oil goes through your cooler, but when it heats up and closes, all the oil goes through your cooler with little or no restriction from the thermostat.
http://www.racerpartswholesale.com/mocal.htm
It's an inexpensive, nicely constructed piece that looks to have good flow charactaristics. Even when it's open, some oil goes through your cooler, but when it heats up and closes, all the oil goes through your cooler with little or no restriction from the thermostat.
http://www.keitheickert.com/detail~ID~1035.aspx
12-18-2007, 02:36 PM
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Try a new sender.
I put new gauges on my boat not long after a motor rebuild. I noticed with the new gauges i didn't get very high oil temperature... the highest I saw was a bit over 200° after a solid 10+ minutes at WOT. So I added a thermostat at the end of the season.
After I put the thermostat on mine, I noticed I still didn't get the temperature coming up to where it should be, even though I was getting a slightly higher temp reading with the thermostat. So I went and got one of those infrared thermometer things for about $20 at harbor freight. Sure enough, the temp at the oil filter was getting up to right where it should be. A new sender fixed the problem. Not sure if the old one was crapped out or just not matched to the new gauges, but a new sender did the trick either way.
I put new gauges on my boat not long after a motor rebuild. I noticed with the new gauges i didn't get very high oil temperature... the highest I saw was a bit over 200° after a solid 10+ minutes at WOT. So I added a thermostat at the end of the season.
After I put the thermostat on mine, I noticed I still didn't get the temperature coming up to where it should be, even though I was getting a slightly higher temp reading with the thermostat. So I went and got one of those infrared thermometer things for about $20 at harbor freight. Sure enough, the temp at the oil filter was getting up to right where it should be. A new sender fixed the problem. Not sure if the old one was crapped out or just not matched to the new gauges, but a new sender did the trick either way.
12-18-2007, 04:51 PM
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Try a new sender.
I put new gauges on my boat not long after a motor rebuild. I noticed with the new gauges i didn't get very high oil temperature... the highest I saw was a bit over 200° after a solid 10+ minutes at WOT. So I added a thermostat at the end of the season.
After I put the thermostat on mine, I noticed I still didn't get the temperature coming up to where it should be, even though I was getting a slightly higher temp reading with the thermostat. So I went and got one of those infrared thermometer things for about $20 at harbor freight. Sure enough, the temp at the oil filter was getting up to right where it should be. A new sender fixed the problem. Not sure if the old one was crapped out or just not matched to the new gauges, but a new sender did the trick either way.
I put new gauges on my boat not long after a motor rebuild. I noticed with the new gauges i didn't get very high oil temperature... the highest I saw was a bit over 200° after a solid 10+ minutes at WOT. So I added a thermostat at the end of the season.
After I put the thermostat on mine, I noticed I still didn't get the temperature coming up to where it should be, even though I was getting a slightly higher temp reading with the thermostat. So I went and got one of those infrared thermometer things for about $20 at harbor freight. Sure enough, the temp at the oil filter was getting up to right where it should be. A new sender fixed the problem. Not sure if the old one was crapped out or just not matched to the new gauges, but a new sender did the trick either way.
12-21-2007, 10:00 AM
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Hmm. I'm all out of ideas.
Is there a chance your thermostats aren't functioning properly? I don't know how you'd really check that.
Has this always been a problem? Are the motors stock except the oversized oil coolers?
I'm not sure exactly how that thermostat functions, but if the oil coolers are drastically oversized and the thermostat doesn't close off flow to the oil cooler at low temperatures (which is how mine function) maybe enough oil is flowing through the cooler even at low temperatures that it will just naturally prevent the oil from warming up until you run the piss out of it.
Is there a chance your thermostats aren't functioning properly? I don't know how you'd really check that.
Has this always been a problem? Are the motors stock except the oversized oil coolers?
I'm not sure exactly how that thermostat functions, but if the oil coolers are drastically oversized and the thermostat doesn't close off flow to the oil cooler at low temperatures (which is how mine function) maybe enough oil is flowing through the cooler even at low temperatures that it will just naturally prevent the oil from warming up until you run the piss out of it.
12-21-2007, 10:17 AM
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if the oil coolers are drastically oversized and the thermostat doesn't close off flow to the oil cooler at low temperatures (which is how mine function) maybe enough oil is flowing through the cooler even at low temperatures that it will just naturally prevent the oil from warming up until you run the piss out of it.
I'd say you hit the nail on the head. The other determining factor is oil quantity. Do you have a big oil pan? If you have a large quantity of oil, it stands to reason that it will take longer to heat up. With say a 14 qt. oil pan and an HP6 oil filter, you could have close to 18-20 qts of oil in the whole system. It will take a looooong time to heat up this much oil. However, you will need it to keep the temp managable when you stand on it for extended periods.
I had a similar problem in the past and after talking with Mike at CP Performance, he told that they had switched manufacturers of the thermostat. If you have an older (2 or more years) one, you may want to change the thermostat. They also changed up the design a little on the oil coolers with built in thermostats. They used to leak enough oil past the thermo. that it would never heat up. I don't know if they changed the design of the unit you have, but it may be worth a call to CP and speak with Mike (ext 17). Hope this helps, Eddie.
12-21-2007, 10:33 AM
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I'd say you hit the nail on the head. The other determining factor is oil quantity. Do you have a big oil pan? If you have a large quantity of oil, it stands to reason that it will take longer to heat up. With say a 14 qt. oil pan and an HP6 oil filter, you could have close to 18-20 qts of oil in the whole system. It will take a looooong time to heat up this much oil. However, you will need it to keep the temp managable when you stand on it for extended periods.
I had a similar problem in the past and after talking with Mike at CP Performance, he told that they had switched manufacturers of the thermostat. If you have an older (2 or more years) one, you may want to change the thermostat. They also changed up the design a little on the oil coolers with built in thermostats. They used to leak enough oil past the thermo. that it would never heat up. I don't know if they changed the design of the unit you have, but it may be worth a call to CP and speak with Mike (ext 17). Hope this helps, Eddie.
I had a similar problem in the past and after talking with Mike at CP Performance, he told that they had switched manufacturers of the thermostat. If you have an older (2 or more years) one, you may want to change the thermostat. They also changed up the design a little on the oil coolers with built in thermostats. They used to leak enough oil past the thermo. that it would never heat up. I don't know if they changed the design of the unit you have, but it may be worth a call to CP and speak with Mike (ext 17). Hope this helps, Eddie.
