Oil filter temps vers oil temps???

[Mr Gadgets]

Ok, I have been seeing high oil temps as I have previously mentioned here. I have the temp sender mounted in my remote oil filter pad. This unit is the Fram HP6 setup. My Gafrig gauge tells me I am hitting 250/260*. I did a test this past weekend to see what is really going on. I taped a thermocouple to my oil filter, plugged it into my Fluke meter and when my dash gauge said 250* the Fluke meter said 203*. My question??

Has anyone compared the temp of the oil filter to the temp of the oil going through it?? I know they wont be equal, but 40 some degrees is quite a spread. I have a suspicion that my Gafrig is goofy!!

Thanks for any input.

Dick

[Grog]

Although I haven't measured the filter temp, my Gaffrig sender is tapped into the base of the remote oil filter. I get 240° after a hard run. I tested my sending unit in a pan of boiling water and it was dead perfect on the gauge.
You can do the same to check yours. Just make sure the water is boiling rapidly such that it is turning to steam to make sure the temperature is as close to 212° as possible.

Good luck.

Greg

[88Fount33]

Take the engine Oil Temp probe out of the housing, and rig up 13.8v source (or what ever your regulator is set for on the boat) and gage in your garage and place in boiling water, should read 212 on the gage, if not then calibrate with fingernail polish mark on the glass for 212 so you will know. (Check the TC also this way to verify it reads correctly.) TC's do not always function properly either. Also, contact on outside of filter would introduce the heat loss of the filter body and also how well the TC was "touching" the filter body.

[blue thunder]

I have shot my filter with an IR temp gun and got similar differntial as you did with the fluke Mr G. Just curious, what temp is the engine coolant running when the oil is at 250F?

BT

[MACDAD260]

Hmm... I used an IR temp gun to check my oil filter and it read the same as the gauge so I figured the gauge was correct. A liquid like oil has enough mass to hold heat for quite a while. I would think that the temperature of the oil in the filter would be almost identical to the oil coming from the engine. Especially since it is moving all the time.

Check your Fluke thermocouple by putting it in a glass of ice water. It should be 32*. Then put it in a pan of boiling water. It should be about 210* at our altitude. If it is correct then I would say your gauge is off. Good luck.

[Mr Gadgets]

Thanks guys, all good ideas! I will use them to check further.
Water temps are showing in the 140-150 range. That is with a Stainless Marine crossover and 142* stat.
I have trusted the Fluke for years, and have boiled water to check it. I will try the ice cube trick. I had the thermocouple taped to the housing, using a wad of tape right over the junction of the thermocouple. There is a possibility that it may not have made good contact, but I was confident that it was.
Gafrig has two different oil temp gauges, I am wondering if I have the proper sender. I have two, so I will swap them around and see if things change.
Now if i can boil the water right in the boat, that would be a big help..

Thanks guys,
I will let you know how this turns out.

Dick

[blue thunder]

[QUOTE=MACDAD260]Hmm... I used an IR temp gun to check my oil filter and it read the same as the gauge so I figured the gauge was correct. A liquid like oil has enough mass to hold heat for quite a while. I would think that the temperature of the oil in the filter would be almost identical to the oil coming from the engine. Especially since it is moving all the time.

QUOTE]

I'll check my temps again when I get up and running again... Wind can have a significant affect on IR surface readings.

BT

[Mr Gadgets]

Ok, just finished boiling water. The Fluke saw 212* when boiling was well underway. I couldnt get 32* in the ice water, but did see 28* on an ice cube in the freezer and 34* on the cube in the ice water. Wasnt too worried about the ice side. I trust my meter is pretty close at the 212* mark. Doug, I may be a little closer to sea level?? over here by the Lake!!

I called Gafrig today, not sure which one I ened up with, just used the number in my lastest catalog. But Ron told me that I should see

126 ohms at 250*
64 ohms at 300*
35 ohms at 350*
not much of a scale if you ask me, but I was able to see a solid 265 ohms at 212*.

So I come to the conclusion that my gauge is working properly. So now I ask myself, why the high oil temps. I just rebuilt the sea water pump and I have checked the oil cooler, no debris in the water passages. I do have a Keith Eckert remote oil stat, that I have not bypassed, because it is a pain to do.

I may not have enough water passing through the headers to keep the oil cool, but I dont have that water psi gauge yet. Santa forgot me on that one.

Next thing up, is what causes high oil temps in a motor?
Detonation, too much timing, etc??
I am presently running about 30* timing with the dist locked in. I started at 34* but backed it of because of my rod ratio and not wanting to get too much timing? No one seems to be able to pin it down as to where I should be on timing with my long rods. I have not had the time to run it at different settings to see if things get better or worse. So where do I go from here.. any ideas!!

Thanks
Dick

[Wally]

Mr Gadgets....check the oil flow direction through the cooler.....it should be going against the flow of water for max cooling and not with the flow of water.......maybe something to check out.

[formula31]

Originally Posted by Wally

Mr Gadgets....check the oil flow direction through the cooler.....it should be going against the flow of water for max cooling and not with the flow of water.......maybe something to check out.

Yep, what he said. Worked on mine.