Running cool?

[ehasler]

Now the weather has got a little chillier, my water temp can stay as low as 75 degrees, even when the car is fully warmed up (i.e., cruising on the motorway)

I always thought that engines shouldn't run too cool, as they are more efficient at higher temperatures, and running it too cool isn't good for it.

I had this problem on my Westfield, and it turned out that the thermostat bypass hose was piped straight back into the top hose leading into the rad, thus slightly warm water was being cooled by the rad instead of being fed straight back into the engine just behind the water pump. Re-doing the piping to feed this water into the bottom hose sorted the problem, so I was wondering if a similar thing is the case on the Tuscan.

Any ideas?

[Maf]

Hi Ed

I tend to watch the oil temp rather than water. My oil temp while cruising on dual carriageways at mo is a steady 65C. I wondered if this was a little low.

Maf

[mad-dot]

Have a word with the big man upstairs------tell him to turn the stat up

[TSS]

I get a bit concerned about my oil temp as well. On many journeys in this weather it never gets above 60C so I have to drive everywhere at low RPM. I mentioned this to my dealer last winter and was told not to worry about it. I’m beginning to wonder if I should insulate my oil tank!!

[andyvdg]

Mine's done this from day one and talking with other people it's seems common. On the way home yesterday my water temperature didn't get above 78. I think the problem is especially pronounced on light throttle cruising on the motorway. In winter I've seen the oil temperature drop down to about 40 degrees @ 70 mph!

Cheers,

Andy.

[ehasler]

I didn't think it was just my car, as I've heard other people mention this too.

I was just wondering if this is actually that good for the engine, as when the engine in my race car ran this cool, my engine builder was quite concerned about it, although I don't know if this was because it would actually harm the engine, or just make it lose a few bhp.

[Bitter'n'twisted]

My oil temp is also lower in the cooler weather.
But I don't think it's anything to worry about.
On a similar thread a while back I'm sure someone said
that the oil temperature is sensed somewhere that the cooler air will quickly cool it. (ie front of the engine). But the temperature withing the engine itself will be pretty much as usual (ie up to the normal max of about 90). A bit like your own body temperature really. You might feel colder on the outside in winter, but inside you're obviously always the same.

[Maf]

And why is it on a slightly brisk summer's evening moving the heater flap one notch from absolute cold generates air of a similar temprature to the winds of the Sahara Desert whereas now it is actually cold maximum heat is decidely luke warm? Eh? Eh?

[donaldhunter]

Maf said:

And why is it on a slightly brisk summer's evening moving the heater flap one notch from absolute cold generates air of a similar temprature to the winds of the Sahara Desert whereas now it is actually cold maximum heat is decidely luke warm? Eh? Eh?

Perhaps the heater control isn't really in control of the heater . On my Tuscan, there is no direct correlation between the control and the position of the heat mixer flap. Apparently the servo control motor can go overcentre, causing a fairly random output for a given input. With a bit of experimentation with the control I can always get the desired temperature, from cold air to the sahara temperatures you describe.

I am still looking forward to a warranty fix from my dealer.

[yohan]

My heater is binary, either on full or off - and it's been "fixed" once already. I get to the stage where one notch above the blue LED is still too hot. Winding it up to the hottest setting and then bringing it back down again helps restore more precise temp control - temporarily.

Never a dull moment.

[tuscan_thunder]

dunno if you guys let the car idle for a while before driving off but it seems if you let the oil temperature come up a bit before driving off, then it heats faster and stays higher.
probably due to less airflow over the nose knocking the heat out of the block.