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I have had similar issues with my 87. I finaly got the manuel out and was suprised that normal operating tempatures are 124 to 255 degrees F. The warning indiactor does not come on till 255 is reached. I often have temp at 185 F at 60 mph go to 215-220F at 80. Oil temp is often in the 210F to 220F degree range but I was shocked to read that the out of normal temp range for oil is 300 degrees F! I was under the impression that oil looses its lubrisity over 200 degrees . This is often given as a reason to use synthetics which handel the heat better. I try to keep the radiator free of debris as it can and does suck up a lot of strange stuff but evidently our cars are designed to run hot.
Thanks for sharing your info... Personally, I don't want my car running above 220 and I'd be shutting her off if it hit 250. At 230 degrees, I was concerned enough to buy a new high performance radiator (I'm glad I did, money well spent) As far as oil temps are concerned, I think (not sure) The Z51 package had an oil cooler, the Z52 didn't. Again, I'm not sure - however, when I had my motor rebuilt, my mechanic removed the oil cooler and bypassed the fan - so that the fan was constantly running when the engine was running. He said, while the motor is being broken-in, he wanted it to stay as cool as possible and not to race around until the motor had at least 5,000 miles on the rebuild. With the oil cooler, my oil temps were similar to that of the coolant temps. Without the oil cooler, I remember the oil was running much hotter. I really haven't been watching the oil temps, because I'm always watching the coolant temps and OIL PRESSURE. I'm sure that if my engine is running cooler with the new radiator, then the oil should be somewhat cooler as well. By the way, I have about 220,000 miles on the car and I've always used Mobil 1 synthetic. Also, I would NEVER use oil additives! There was a link (I think it was on this site) about oil additives and they breakdown the oil and make it foam!
