Your engine is overheating terribly. Your oil temp should be around 200 or lower. Cylinder head temps are probably well over 400. Most likely your EGR system is missing or not working. As a fix you need to get the ignition timing down to about 35 degrees total advance. Consider getting a real oil cooling system in place.

Dennis

Sent from my Windows 10 phone

From: Christophe Guilbert<mailto:cguilbert@PICASSO.UCSF.EDU>
Sent: Tuesday, August 22, 2017 7:29 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM<mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Subject: oil pressure problem on my 1983 air-cooled

Hi guys,

I installed recently an oil pressure gauge in my vanagon (air-cooled 2L
1983)

in a hot day (100F) , my (very annoying ) alarms triggers all the time
when I am idling. the pressure is less than 5 PSI for an oil temp of
250-260F.

I notice that the oil pressure really diminish over oil temperature
which is normal but I am wondering if I am within the spec .

When engine is cool , I have a PSI of 45. I have 20PSI around 240F when
the van is cruising at 60-65MPH, it goes down to 15PSI at 260F while
cruising at 60-65MPH.

I think my oil pressure is too low , What do you think ? . Do you think
my oil pump is guilty ? , I went cheap by not replacing it when I
rebuilt my engine.

Do you also think that the low oil pressure could  be the reason why I
have noisy hydraulic lifter when the engine is cold.

Thanks for any feedback

Chris