check the gage before you do anything else i shouldnt heat up that fast.

I looked on gaffrigs web site and the only differences in the oil temp senders is the size? I am hoping maybe the sender is wrong. also wouldnt it be more of a concern as to what the temp of the oil is that is going into the motor as opposed to whats in the pan? in other words why wouldnt you check temp after the cooler? why check the oil in the pan?

If you're running a crossover with a bypass and no t-stat you should remove and cap the bypass hose. You only need the bypass hose if you're running a t-stat. With no t-stat running the bypass hose you're limiting the amount of water that passes thru the block. The bypass is only needed with a t-stat as it bleeds of water to your exhaust when the t-stat is closed.

With no t-stat installed and with proper water pressure from the hose you shouldn't really see much engine temp running on a hose, maybe 100-110 degrees or so. It sounds like you're starving for some water maybe or the bypass is allowing the block to heat up.

I'm measuring oil temp coming out of the cooler but they say the best place to measure is in the pan. The pan readings should be a little higher than what's coming out of the cooler. Best thing to do is get an infared gun and shoot the pan, oil cooler and filter to verify temps.

As for having the proper sender, yes there are different sizes and you just need to order the proper size for the fitting you have. The reason I asked about the sender being the right one is the senders have specific ohm ranges and the sender should be matched to the gauge so you get proper readings on the gauge. If someone mistakenly installed a water temp sender the readings on the gauge will be tweaked. Just call up gaffrig and let them know which gauge you have and they can help you get the right one.

So should I put a t stat in the water neck or just cap both sides of the bypass? the water temp has never been an issue but I have noticed that there is a lot of water out the exhaust. I am thinking that the bypass is allowing the water to go straight to the headers and out the exhaust instead of flowing all the water to the motor. if I use a tstat should I drill a few holes in it and if so what size? thanks again for all the advice.

It depends.... I say that because in my opinion it really does....

You're boating in GA where the water can be quite warm (85 deg. + water???) and you're also running big cubic inches which probably makes a decent amount of power (800+??).... So, if you're running without a t-stat and there's no whip cream on the vavle covers from running too cold, I'd just cap the bypass and run without the t-stat. Also, if you're not making enough water pressure than run a restrictor...

If for some reason you're bent on having a t-stat then go ahead! If you don't have any high water pressure issues I wouldn't bother drilling the holes. Also, I would run a 142 degree t-stat, not a 160 for your setup if a t-stat is what you choose.

One thing for me is I like to keep things simple... If it runs good without the t-stat and temps and all are good then run it! If it ain't broke don't fix it!

well I will try capping the bypass and see what happens. are you saying to cap the bypass and run a restrictor to get more water psi? I think I need more water psi and I now know why its low. its all going out the exhaust and not through the motor with the bypass hooked up.

this is how my setup is, water temp always stays inthe 160-165 range. I think the bypass helps moderate water pressure spikes.

When you plug the bypass hose you may see an increase in water pressure so I'd cap it first and then see what you have. If you are not seeing enough water pressure at cruise speed (10 psi or more) then I would start looking at restrictors. At idle you're not going to see more than 2-3 psi with or without a restrictor, it really matters what you see while running.

Wobble, you're running a t-stat so you need the bypass hose, lakespeed doesn't have one.

Lastly, for accurate results test it in the water, not on the hose... The hose will not provide enough water volume when you rev up the engine and I also take a long time to cool down.

180-210*F is your target temp running hard.....you need that heat to burn off any moisture or gas off that's crept into the oil....160-165 "always" seems a bit too cool to me.

:bigbird:

You do not need nor you want 210 water temp. You do want minimum 210 oil temp however to burn off moisture in the oil. I run 130-140 water temp and about 240 oil temp running hard.