[T3] 73 T-3 oil temp?

Wed Sep 8 20:12:53 PDT 2021

In the heat, with loose clearances 40wt is fine, but... why not go to 25W50?
I used it the last 50K or so miles of my last engine and that lasted 165K,
could still start it 
Down into the 40's....

Keith

Topnotch Restorations
topnotch at nycap.rr.com
http://www.topnotchresto.com
71 Squareback  “Hothe”
65 Notchback  “El Baja Rojo”
93 RX7  “Redstur”
13 Subaru Outback "Blendin"

-----Original Message-----
From: type3-vwtype3.org <type3-vwtype3.org-bounces at lists.vwtype3.org> On
Behalf Of William Jahn
Sent: Wednesday, September 8, 2021 10:53 PM
To: type3 at vwtype3.org
Subject: Re: [T3] 73 T-3 oil temp?

I am always told SAE 40 is too thick. Would it be wise to try SAE 30? Just
to see what the temps are. Autozone has STP SAE30 detergent oil , no idea
what the zinc content is . I still want to see what the cooler bypass relief
valve looks like. If the spring is weak it may not allow the oil to go
through the cooler. I do have a NOS spring and piston, also want to know if
the relief valve is free and not stuck. It's been there since 97 and I used
the one from the 73 case so that spring has to be pretty old and the
73 did get real hot once over 250.   I understand how thick oil may take
too long to open the path to the cooler. I ran Castrol for a few years. It
has no zinc yet it didn't hurt anything. This engine does not have more than
40K miles on it . If I go to SAE 30 and it runs cooler and I hear no noises
it might be ok , if I hear noise I can go back to SAE 40.  The Valvoline SAE
30 costs a lot just to see if 30 makes any difference.

On Wed, Sep 8, 2021 at 10:36 AM William Jahn <willjahn975 at gmail.com> wrote:

> I looked at Gene Bergs site last night and this is the main part . " I 
> have run hundreds of accuracy tests on practically every inexpensive 
> aftermarket gauge under $125 offered. Practically all read low in the 
> 212 to 260 degree range by 40 to 50 degrees on oil temperature and 
> head temperature gauges in the 250 to 550 degree reading range, again 
> being low by as much as 250 or more degrees. I tested about twenty 
> each of most brands such as VDO, Smith, Stewart Warner, Hawk, etc., 
> and found none without these problems.
>
> Oil temperature gauge readings would be 212 to 220 degrees on the 
> gauge when the true test temperature was 240 to 260 degrees. Head 
> temperature gauges read 385 degrees with a true test temperature of 550
plus degrees.
> When head test temperatures were upped to 700 degrees, the reading of 
> the gauge went up to 390 to 395 degrees. The price range of such 
> gauges was from $60 to $125. I swapped gauges with senders and got
different readings.
> I found nothing in that price range I would wish on my worst enemy. 
> Not one I tested could ever be properly calibrated or relied on in any 
> way for any valid information or even as a comparison from day to day 
> on the air cooled VW."
>
>  This is the video I saw talking about the VDO temp gauge sensor in 
> the oil cooler bypass spot.
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OBdOMmf1Pho&t=15s.
>
>  He mentions Gene Berg , talks about the thermometer down the 
> dipstick. I really question his  knowledge. He never actually shows 
> any tests or offers any proof.  If you want to watch it do let me know if
you see and hear.
> what I do.
>
>  I can test the sensor in boiling water to see what the ohm reading 
> is. I Realize boiling point changes at altitude so I need to find a 
> chart . The other thing I need to do  to really know is heat the 
> sensor to 212F and to actually know what the gauge reads. In order to 
> do this I would need to use a hot plate to boil the water , and have 
> the sensor connected to the gauge to know what the gauge actually 
> reads. The only info I have is 700 ohm cold and 22 ohm warm. I guess I 
> could get the sensor to 212F, check the ohm readout then use a 
> variable resistor set to that value and see what the temp gauge reads.
That may be the easiest solution.
>
>  All the decades VW never had more than an oil light and people lived 
> with this and it seemed to work. On the other hand I feel it's good to 
> have a temp gauge and pressure and voltmeter.
>
>
>
> On Wed, Sep 8, 2021 at 7:19 AM Jim Adney <jadney at vwtype3.org> wrote:
>
>> On 7 Sep 2021 at 11:39, William Jahn wrote:
>>
>> >  I read that Gene Berg said most of the VDO and other brands of oil 
>> > temp gauge senders were not accurate in a certain range , and I 
>> > can't recall
>> off
>> > hand what the range was. I'm also not sure if he was referring to 
>> > both
>> the
>> > gauge and sender combined.
>>
>> My recollection is that Berg simply said that all the temp sensors he 
>> had tested were inaccurate. I'm willing to assume he meant the 
>> combination of sensor and readout, since nothing else makes sense. I 
>> don't recall his mentioning any particular range, but the only range 
>> you're interested in is the one that just happens to be around the 
>> boiling point of water.
>>
>> Gene said this as an introduction of his Beetle dipstick sensor 
>> indicator, which is just an on/off switch that you wire in parallel 
>> to the oil pressure switch, so it also turns the oil pressure light 
>> ON at 212 F. This is quite reasonable since that's a good checkable 
>> point for oil temp.
>>
>> It was this note from Gene that made me realize that this was a good 
>> way for anyone to check the accuracy of their gauge. If you happen to 
>> live at high altitude, where water boils at lower temps, you may want 
>> to drive downhill a bit to do this test, or find a chart for boiling 
>> point of water vs.
>> altitude.
>>
>> --
>> *******************************
>> Jim Adney, jadney at vwtype3.org
>> Madison, Wisconsin, USA
>> *******************************
>>
>> _______________________________________________
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>
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