Actually, your oil temps are very normal for the Wasserboxer.  For
awhile I ran an oil temp gauge in my Westy, but eventually did away
with it because it was just another "worry" gauge that I felt was not
needed.  My oil temps ran in that range with or without towing a
trailer.  It's when the temps reach past 230/240 is when you should
start worrying about oil breakdown.

On my air cooleds I've run over the past 40 years, they ran a
consistent 195-210f, Bugs or Buses (or my ex80 Vanagon).  My current
914 runs around 215/220 for most drives on a hot day, a bit cooler
when driving along the coast.  It will creep up a bit on a grade, but
Type 4 engines tend to run a bit warmer than their 1600 air cooled
cousins.
--
Jim Thompson
84 GL 1.9 "Gloria"
84 Westfalia 2.1 "Ole Putt"
72 411 Station Wagon "Pug"
75 914 1.8 "Nancy"
Full Timing Since March 1999
oldvolkshome@gmail.com
http://www.oldvolkshome.com
***********************************
On Tue, Aug 9, 2011 at 2:30 PM, Rocket J Squirrel
<camping.elliott@gmail.com> wrote:
> 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.
>