VDO Oil gage and temp sender question Options

[torakki]

A while back, I asked about how hot a 914 should run on a VDO gage with no numbers. Responses said, I need to look at the sender to see if it matches the gage. I had a chance to get the sender out so here it is.
After a high reving drive on a warm day, the temp went close to the red zone. Maybe a needle or twos width to the red.
Do I have a matching gage with sender?
Thanks!

[Superhawk996]

Yeah, that’s certainly hot for a 2.0l under the conditions you described.

You haven’t mentioned if you’ve checked the cooling fan to make sure you don’t have a shop rag or something a simple as a little plastic bag blocking the impeller and airflow. That’s quick and free.

There is something wrong but it’s going to take time, energy, and tools to diagnose it and ultimately to fix it. Continued long distance driving isn’t going to be healthy for it at those sustained temperatures (assuming displayed temp is accurate). Likewise, it’s not particularly healthy for the engine to be running with wide open flaps without a functional thermostat.


The underlying temp issue may be related to the electrical issues (wonky wiring, bad sender, etc) or it could be something internal to the engine (like oversized oil pump, plugged oil cooler, stuck relief valve, cooling flaps, etc). Paying a shop that isn’t intimately familiar with T4 engines will get pricy; effectively paying them to learn on your dime.

My advice would be to just proceed with selling the car. Disclose the issue and come to an agreement on price as you normally would.