oil temp on S3

G'day all.

i've got the 2.6 litre rover motor in my landy, which is also fitted with
the oil cooler that sits in front of the radiator. now i've noticed that the
during winter (now, in Aus) oil temperature never gets above about 50-60
degrees C. i am under the impression that oil has to get to about 80 degrees
to evaporate all the absorbed petrol etc. is this right?? during winter,
should i disconnect the oil-cooler to allow the oil to get to what i believe
is the right temperature. when i did my last oil change it smelt kinda like
petrol as well.

Thanks.

Sam.

Samuel wrote:
> G'day all.
>
> i've got the 2.6 litre rover motor in my landy, which is also fitted with
> the oil cooler that sits in front of the radiator. now i've noticed that the
> during winter (now, in Aus) oil temperature never gets above about 50-60
> degrees C. i am under the impression that oil has to get to about 80 degrees
> to evaporate all the absorbed petrol etc. is this right?? during winter,
> should i disconnect the oil-cooler to allow the oil to get to what i believe
> is the right temperature. when i did my last oil change it smelt kinda like
> petrol as well.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Sam.

It's not that simple!

If this is the factory-designed installation the engine oil pressure
relief valve at the oil pump has it's relief setting increased and
another relief valve is mounted on the front-mounted oil cooler to deal
with normal day-to-day pressure control. The only oil that gets cooled
is that relieved past the cooler-mounted valve.

If you disconnect the oil cooler you take the functional relief valve
out of the system and are left only with the increased relief valve
which is there for cold oil protection. Your normal oil pressure could
then be very high.

Don't worry about the oil temperature. You may actually gain from
blanking part/all of the air flow to the radiator (and oil cooler,
obviously) depending on your driving pattern to ensure that the coolant
is getting up to a 'normal' temperature - that's far more important.