I've often seen it said on here that if you don't have a temp gauge you can use how hot the dipstick is to determine if your engine is running at a good temp. I went on a pretty long trip this weekend and I figured I'd keep an eye on things by doing this. I found that my dipstick was pretty hot, not something you would want to make a habit of touching but not hot to the point that it would blister me or anything. This was after about 300 miles of expressway driving at about 70 MPH. Is my dipstick feeling pretty not but not blistering hot normal or is this something that I should have checked out? This is a '74 Super running a Vac/Mech dizzy, 34 pict, Mexican 1600, stock exhaust etc.
temp of dipstick
Jul 13, 2004
5 Replies
can use how hot the dipstick is to determine if
weekend and I figured I'd keep an eye on things
would want to make a habit of touching but not
about 300 miles of expressway driving at about 70
this something that I should have checked
stock exhaust etc.
Whelp, I keep hearing that said, also, and frankly I don't believe it. I've got an oil temp gauge in my '71 Super, and after a long highway run my oil temp is usually hovering around 200* - 210* F. My dipstick is usually uncomfortably hot at this point, even though my oil temperature indicates that the cooling is pretty much where it should be.
Larry
Ben,
Try one of the Gene Berg oil temp dipsticks:
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Its a pretty decent way to tell if your car is getting too hot. To answer your question, the dipstick would probably be a bit warm after a long drive, but not blistering hot, much like you describe. If you feel that its running a bit warm, check your timing (with strobe light preferably), make sure your fan belt is adjusted properly, and make sure all of your cooling tin is in place and is clean (since your engine is new, I'll assume that it is). Make sure your fan shroud has the flaps as well (what the thermostat originally opened and closed) as they direct air flow over the cylinder heads. Good luck,
Dane Tyler '69 Bug '63 Bug
use how hot the dipstick is to determine if
weekend and I figured I'd keep an eye on things
would want to make a habit of touching but not
300 miles of expressway driving at about 70this something that I should have checked
stock exhaust etc.
use how hot the dipstick is to determine if
weekend and I figured I'd keep an eye on things
would want to make a habit of touching but not
300 miles of expressway driving at about 70this something that I should have checked
stock exhaust etc.
Two thoughts:
- The dipstick's temperature should vary not only with the engine's temperature, but also with the amount of oil in the engine and with the time passed between killing the engine and touching the dipstick.
- The actual temperature for things like "tolerable", "uncomfortably hot" and "unbearably hot" varies widely from person to person. Me, I'm a sissy. ;-)
Airhowlingly yours, Erik.
On Wed, 14 Jul 2004 05:29:05 +0200, Erik Meltzer ran around screaming and yelling:
this is very true and exactly why i never suggest the dipstick "test" to a newbie....i myself can hold onto hot objects as the skin touching them burns...but thats just me...used to weld for a living...
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