In a message dated 96-06-24 16:13:40 EDT, SW@smus.bc.ca (Shawn Wright)
writes:

<< 
 Anyone care to comment on this topic when it comes to waterboxers? My 
 '88 shows 2500-4500 rpm as the 'green' zone on the tach, and 5250 (I 
 think) as the redline. During our last trip, I drove 3rd gear at 
 about 4200-4400 rpm for up to 20 minutes at a time with no problems. 
 Temp gauge usually went down slightly - climbing the same hills in 
 4th at 2800 rpm or so caused temp to rise slightly. I felt it better 
 to rev higher & keep the coolant moving...
 Is 4500 a safe speed for extended periods like this?
  >>
Water temp[ is rarely a problem in the waterboxer.  I,ll bet your oil temp
was over 260F.  When taking hills, running a lower gear is correct thing to
do.  Using higher gear leads to lugging.  This also causes bearing damage and
can also cause the valaves to heat up.

Dennis.