Normal oil temp on an '84?

[mike cobine]

Can someone tell me what normal oil temperature is on an '84?

What are some of you getting on yours?

Thanks.

[Jim T.]

Re: Normal oil temp on an '84?

Have a 85 which has the optional cooling system. My oil temp usually is a couple degrees higher than what the coolant temp is reading. The different seasons of the year more or less dictate how hot the oil will be. What is neat about the digital dash readout of coolant temp is that while you are driving you can see the temp climb up and know when the thermostat opens becasue the temp will drop several degrees.

[William C.]

Re: Normal oil temp on an '84?

When we were testing an '84 out at the Desert Proving Grounds, the oil temp ran about 10 degrees above the water temp under "normal" driving conditions.

[mike cobine]

Thanks. I was hoping

that someone would post a few numbers of what they are currently getting.

Thanks.

[Mike Yager]

Re: Thanks. I was hoping

Mike:

I used to own an '85 Corvette that I bought new in '85. Sold it about six years ago. When I bought the car, I was concerned at how hot the oil would get - typically 220 degrees on a warm day in the summer. Asked the dealer about it and he said it was normal.

The fastest I ever saw in that car was 141 mph. I remember glancing at the oil temp and seeing it at 250. While I still had more road and the car still had some steam left in it, I backed off, thinking this could not be good for the engine. I did not have an oil cooler. I don't think the '84s were much different. These cars run hot for both the cooulant and oil temp.

[Chuck S.]

Re: Thanks. I was hoping

I also remember my 87 oil temperature being higher than coolant temperature, and it making me a little uncomfortable. Unfortunatley, I can't remember any actual temperature readings.

At work, I was accustomed to large industrial engines which were designed for oil temperatures at least 10 degrees BELOW coolant temperature. When those engines have oil temperature higher than coolant temperature, it means that thermal expansion of the pistons is more than that of the cylinders...not a good thing. Of course, these engines had oil coolers that were thermostatically controlled as was the coolant temperature.

After having the 87 for awhile, I saw that nothing bad happened, and I assumed the GM engineers had worked to different design criteria than Cooper-Bessemer, Clark, Worthington, et al, and that oil temperature well above coolant temperature was normal for C4s.

[Joe C.]

Re: Thanks. I was hoping

Mike:

I have an '85 with Z51 (includes HD cooling). My cooling fan kicks in at 227*, and out at about 190. With the A/C on, the fan is constant run.

When the car is at op temp, the oil temp is always about 10-20 degrees higher than coolant temp. On a hot summer day, if I leave it idle, and it reaches 227* (fan kicks in), the oil temp is around 240* at that point.

[mike cobine]

Great, Thanks

I'll pass this on to a friend who knows someone complaining his oil is too hot at 230 degrees. He will appreciate it.

Thanks,
Mike

[Clem Z.]

Re: Normal oil temp on an '84?

GM went to mobil 1 in the corvettes so they could do away with the oil cooler because mobil 1 is good for 300+ degrees before breakdown. even in race engines we tried to keep the oil temp no more than 20/30 degrees above the water temp.