Oil temp question? Options

[torakki]

I finally got the '74 2.0L running well and went for a 20-to-30-minute drive. Temps were in the upper 80s and I'm not sure if the car was getting to hot.
Since there are no digits on the gage, I need to ask. I found a drawing of gages, so I think I'm in the 240 area. Not sure if the temp was still going to rise since I was back at home. The photo is from the passenger seat but from driver side, the "P" was mostly covered by the needle.
Am I still in the safe area? Thanks for any knowledge on this.

[Dave_Darling]

Hopefully they sent you a sender that is calibrated with the markings on the temp gauge. If not, the numbers are guesswork.

I like 212F for oil temps. That's the temp that the "normal" viscosity tests are done at, and it's one that makes sure that any water in the oil will boil out relatively quickly. At 180F the water will still outgas, but it will take longer.

IIRC, the Anderson book for aircooled 911s calls 230F "hot", 240F "too hot", and 250F "too damned hot". I'm pretty sure he was referring to non-synthetic oils, though. I wouldn't panic if a synthetic oil ran 250F for a while because they are a lot more tolerant of thermal abuse. I would, however, try to figure out why it was so hot and try to do something about it.

--DD