Actually, that's a pretty good test...if you know what a normally hot
dipstick feels like.  It takes a little practice, but also an over heating
engine *smells* and feels hot.  John Muir's book deals with this pretty
well.

 BUT, there are other ways to tell that have to do more with deductive
reasoning than just feeling a hot engine.  f'instance: is all the weather
stripping in the engine compartment there and in good shape?  Is the
thermostat and flaps doing their job?  Is the fan clear of debris? If you
want to really be safe, install an oil pressure gauge and maybe even a
cylinder head temp gauge.  The problem with the formentioned tests is that
you can only check AFTER you've stopped which may not be in time to stop
damage from occuring.  The gauges will (hopefully) let you know sooner.

I happen to be a little paranoid after 2, count'em, 2 engines siezed up
while driving from low oil pressure.  One was my old '67 and the other my
'85 waterboxer.  However, I still haven't gotten around to installing all
the gauges that I would like

James

>James thanks for the input. I was told to feel the dipstick and it is not
>overly hot to the touch. Any other suggestions on what to test?
>Jared Roy

Red '93 SLC
Red '87 GTI
   and
'67 deluxe
'71,81,'85 Westies