Mrs. Squirrel must find you a riot to travel with!
 

> Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2011 14:30:50 -0700
> From: camping.elliott@GMAIL.COM
> Subject: Oil level vs temp test
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> 
> A couple weeks ago it was mentioned here that one should see lower oil
> temp if the oil level was kept below the halfway point between the two
> notches on the dipstick.
> 
> Last weekend Mrs Squirrel and I went camping in our nearby National
> Forest. The drive that-a-ways saw oil temp rise from what appears to be
> "cruising" temp of around 190 degrees (F) to about 215 on the steep bits
> where I had to downshift to second gear (auto trans).
> 
> Ambient temp was in the mid-80s, and the oil level was 3/4's up from the
> bottom notch to the top notch, or halfway between the halfway point and
> the max point.
> 
> So this morning I lowered the oil level to the 1/4 point (halfway
> between the min notch and the halfway point between the notches) and
> have just now returned from the same drive, or at least the portion of
> it where I saw my first temp rise on the last drive. This is a 14 mile
> drive with an 1800 foot elevation gain. Like on the previous drive, I
> kept the engine to 3600 rpm in second gear on the steep bits. Today's
> temp is in the mid-80s.
> 
> I saw no difference: from "cruising" temp of 190F, the oil temp again
> rose again to around 215.
> 
> Perhaps a longer drive or one under different conditions might show the
> predicted improvement in oil temp.
> 
> --
> Jack "Rocket j Squirrel" Elliott
> Bend, Ore.
> 1984 Westfalia. A poor but proud people.
> 1971 "Ladybug"-brand utility trailer from a defunct company in San
> Clemente, Calif., now repurposed as The Westralia.
> 
> Sent from my kitchen.