temp of dipstick

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:

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 70

this 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 70

this something that I should have checked

stock exhaust etc.

Two thoughts:

1. 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.
2. 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...