To all:
I presently have a 1.9L engine split apart. As near as I can
(geometrically) tell the camshaft is half submerged (with oil at the top
notch of the dipstick). I would hazard to guess that this was the
designers intent. With the oil at the lower notch on the dipstick the
camshaft is totally out of oil except for the lobes. Either way the
lobes "shear" the oil, which I do not think would contribute to windage
since they(the lobes) only protrude 3/8" from the shaft. It should also
be stated that my observation would describe a static condition. It
would be intuitively obvious that the oil level is lower when the engine
is pumping oil. To me you are describing a potentially disastrous
situation if the surface of your cams are not being properly cooled and
lubricated. Perhaps this would explain your lower oil temp reading  if
the oil was not extracting the heat it should from the cam! Remember
that the hydraulic lifters ride continuously around the entire
circumferance,under pressure, on BOTH sides of the cam. It would seem
essential for them to be coated at all times.
I also observed that the oil would have to be about 1/4" above the twist
in the dipstick to get in the way of the crank.
Be cool.
Ken Lewis

On Sat, 3 May 1997 16:55:50 -0500 mcleans@earthlink.net (Ed McLean)
writes:
>In reference to my posting on "Overheating? Try these ideas. (long)" 
>on
>I believe the engine runs cooler with lower oil level because of the
>reduced amount of oil subjected to the "windmilling" effect of oil on 
>the
>
>Ed McLean
>
>
>