Has anyone had their oil relief valve(s) be the source of their engine running hot?

Does one or the other valves stick open or closed or in between?

It is the last thing I haven’t checked or fixed.

Stock 74 fuel injection. 2.0
My flaps close real good, timing good, plugs read well, engine clean with proper seals.

(The only thing not stock is a pertronix flame thrower coil.)
My engine oil will often get to 220, and maybe even 230, measured with long turkey thermometer, down the dip stick hole. Weather temp about 95. My oil is 20/50 vavoline VR1

I’ve had the car 20 yrs, and never remember the gauge getting anywhere near halfway which is about 215. (Read on the dipstick thermometer)

Common issue for the 914 2.0 motors , they run hotter, and you are referring to the oil temps at 220-240? What i ended up doing is installing and auxillary oil cooler and in 90 + degree heat i typically dont see temps over 210-220 max now. I have the Tangerine racing pressure valve too. you could do the valve but you will still have some higher oil temps and head temps on a 2.0 motor in hot humid conditions. SO my advice is get a Aux oil cooler. mine has a fan on it too, helps cool that oil down. Mounted up to the right of the trans under the rear trunk.

Phil

other things that might be a factor is the type and weight of oil, air flow over the heads,
timing is an issue too advanced it will run hotter, and lean running will as well. so timing, oil flow and weight, and make sure your not running lean. the gauge might not be compensating for ambient temps, you are 90 degrees out, they are calibrated for 70 degress so i think it might be reading hotter than the oil actually is due to the ambient temp. VDO's are like this, so maybe get a gauge that is more accurate, or a Manley Dip stick gauge.

Phil

- where in the S.E. are you?

I am in central Florida, near Gainesville
I am measuring oil temp with a long probe.

With tape and a white pen, I wrote down the temp #s on the gauge, the same numbers I saw on the probe.

I had the car 20 yrs in California. weather was still 90s+

Air cooled cars run hotter than water pumpers.

230F oil is nothing to be concerned about especially in 95F ambient temp weather.

Thanks superhawk,
It does keep running well, even when the gauge is 230. So it could be fine like you are saying.
It doesn’t stall out or struggle. I just don’t ever remember seeing the temp so high.
So it had me considering one of those oil valves not working.

Worthy of a repost here for reassurance on what was considered normal and where the red zone starts.

Images for the 200C sender are OEM as shipped. Normal configuration.

The lower images are for those cars that over the years have had the improper temp sender (120C or 150C) swapped into the system which affects the gauge calibration.

Click to view attachment

Do you have a cht on plug 3? Those oil temps are not bad (although the change might be). I would be more worried about head temps.they might be going up too but not necessarily.

I do not have a cylinder head temp sender or gauge.
Just the normal CHT, that goes to the ECU. (That has that little extension)

If I get one,
What are the good #s for the cylinder? And what is considered too high?

Dakota Digital makes a nice CHT. We set the warning flash at 400 deg. Beyond that and it gets dicey.

Oil temps seem normal. As a motor (bearings) ages we see higher oil and head temps.

Mine is set the same way.

Same here. I set mine to 375 cause it takes me a while to notice.

Side note:

If oil temps are creeping up over the years - don’t discount the possibility of debris obstructing the oil cooler itself.

Stuff I’ve seen over the years:

• Cottonwood fluff
• Rodent nests
• Oil mist that attracts dust and cakes up clogging air passage

This one was on a 911 engine I tore down - have seen 914 coolers as bad or worse.
Click to view attachment

amazing how shitty they get even without oil leaks to stick the rubbish on,pulled my shroud to do altenator rebuild and found leaves ,bird feathers and all sorts.
Combine that with oil leaks it gets out of hand,what many don't see is oil leaks making a mess on the engine case underneath which provides cooling hence the fins on it ,can amount to 10 or more degree's on max temp.

i have a Dakota Digital CHT gauge, Aircraft Spruce is another one and they have gauges that can track 2-3 or all 4 cylinders if you want to, but the #3 being the hot one is the one to keep an eye on. not too hard to install, you can run the wire up the center tunnel and to the console .