Proper Oil Temp?
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 159
Likes: 1
From: Denver CO
Proper Oil Temp?
I just became the proud new owner of a 1991 Corvette. See my sig for a small pic. Everything seems to be very tight on the car. It has 93K miles on it now. I have one concern though. The oil temperature gauge rarely goes above 120F or so? It really just moves to a spot barely above the 100 mark that is the bottom of the scale. Is there a problem with the sender? Or is this normal?
Oil temps should be above 200F in my opinion. You need to be able to boil moisture out of the oil for good engine life.
thanks,
Ken
Oil temps should be above 200F in my opinion. You need to be able to boil moisture out of the oil for good engine life.
thanks,
Ken
Race Director
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 19,653
Likes: 428
From: Melbourne Florida
Cruise-In IV Veteran
Re: Proper Oil Temp? (Ken Lanham)
Congrats on your new vette... :thumbs: ..sounds like you're looking at the analog guage..they are notoriously innacurate...check the digital guage...mine reads 120 or so on analog but when I switch to digital it reads around 220...I only look at the digital readout... good luck and have fun :steering:
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 2,238
Likes: 4
From: Milan
Re: Proper Oil Temp? (golfboy1)
Congrats on your new vette... :thumbs: ..sounds like you're looking at the analog guage..they are notoriously innacurate...check the digital guage...mine reads 120 or so on analog but when I switch to digital it reads around 220...I only look at the digital readout... good luck and have fun :steering:
I think have the same problem of the owner of the post but its little different.
Before the recent rebuild I think the oil temp gauge was reading good.
After the rebuild (I made 2,000 miles) I noted that the water gauge go up to the fan coming 'on' ( near to 220/230 F° in heavy traffic situation) . The oil temp gauge never comes over the mid of the travel of the gauge. (the gauge starts at 100 , finish at 280 so the middle is 190F°). It's important to say that the max outside reached weather temp from the time of the rebuild is from32 to max 50 °F.
Do you think I have defective oil sensor?
If yes, wehre's the oil temp sensor??
Thanks -Beppe-
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 159
Likes: 1
From: Denver CO
Re: Proper Oil Temp? (conv90)
My gauge doesn't even get near the halfway point like conv90's. So, im thinking the sender must be defective. Also, where do I get the digital display of the temp? I haven't seen that yet. Analog only as far as I know.
-Ken
-Ken
Elite Torch Red Member
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 57,805
Likes: 23
From: Exit 89 GSP,Lakewood,NJ The Land Of Mojo
Cental/South NJ Events Coordinator
CI 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Vet
CI-II Burnout & Drag Champ
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
Re: Proper Oil Temp? (Ken Lanham)
First off, the analog gauges are not linear, at least for the LT1's the first mark is 100 degrees, the second mark is 215, the 3rd is 250, the 4th is 285 and the last one is 320.
On the dash you should see some buttons or switches that let you toggle between different readings of oil temp, oil pressure, etc.
So the analog guages may look inaccurate, but they aren't. I think that maybe if you change the sensors, you are going to see the same readings.(at least on the LT1).
On the dash you should see some buttons or switches that let you toggle between different readings of oil temp, oil pressure, etc.
So the analog guages may look inaccurate, but they aren't. I think that maybe if you change the sensors, you are going to see the same readings.(at least on the LT1).
Corvette Stories
The Best of Corvette for Corvette Enthusiasts
Top 10 Most Explosive Corvettes Ever Made: Power-to-Weight Ratio Ranked!
Joe Kucinski
150 hp to 1,250 hp: Every Corvette Generation Compared by the Specs That Matter
Joe Kucinski
8 Coolest Corvette Pace Cars (and Replicas) of All Time
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvette Engines RANKED by Peak Torque (70+ Years of Muscle!)
Joe Kucinski
Corvette ZR1X Will Be Pacing the Indy 500, And Could Probably Race, Too!
Verdad Gallardo
Top 10 Corvettes Coming to Mecum Indy 2026!
Brett Foote
Top 10 C9 Corvette MUST-HAVES to Fix These C8 Generation Flaws!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Revolutionary 'Corvette Firsts' Most People Don't Know
Joe Kucinski
5 Reasons to Upgrade to an LS6-Powered Corvette; 5 Reasons to Stay LT2
Michael S. Palmer
Elite Torch Red Member
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 57,805
Likes: 23
From: Exit 89 GSP,Lakewood,NJ The Land Of Mojo
Cental/South NJ Events Coordinator
CI 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Vet
CI-II Burnout & Drag Champ
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
Re: Proper Oil Temp? (jimbomill)
But he has a '91, didn;t the LT1 come out in '92?
Melting Slicks
Joined: Jun 2000
Posts: 3,215
Likes: 6
From: Tampa Florida
Re: Proper Oil Temp? (Ken Lanham)
I quite confident that you don't have any problem.
I owned a 91 6 speed and the oil temp guage hardly ever moved. I believe each year was a little different on senders and 91 seemed to be very unsensitive.
As long as it moves some, I wouldn't worry about it. My current 96 moves alot and when compared to the digitial, still is not equal. Also 91 only had analog...only later C4's had digital as well.
:)
I owned a 91 6 speed and the oil temp guage hardly ever moved. I believe each year was a little different on senders and 91 seemed to be very unsensitive.
As long as it moves some, I wouldn't worry about it. My current 96 moves alot and when compared to the digitial, still is not equal. Also 91 only had analog...only later C4's had digital as well.
:)
Intermediate
Joined: Nov 2002
Posts: 37
Likes: 0
From: Macomb MI
Re: Proper Oil Temp? (Ken Lanham)
Check the digital gauge. I find the analogue gages are not accurate. It should read up to 200 (+-) depending on the temperature of the motor and outside temp. In summer obviously it will be hotter and in winter it should stay cooler taking longer to reach 200 degrees.. :chevy
Elite Torch Red Member
Joined: Sep 1999
Posts: 57,805
Likes: 23
From: Exit 89 GSP,Lakewood,NJ The Land Of Mojo
Cental/South NJ Events Coordinator
CI 1-2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-11-12 Vet
CI-II Burnout & Drag Champ
St. Jude Donor '03-'04-'05-'06-'07
Read my first reply above, the analog gauges are accurate as long as you know how to read the markings. I have the temps for each marking listed above.
Thread Starter
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 159
Likes: 1
From: Denver CO
Re: (Mr Mojo)
Thanks for the info guys. I do not have digital readings to backup my analog gauge. Also, there isn't any markings between the 100 and 320 on my gauge. No hash marks even. But if the scale is linear, and it should be, 200 should be somewheres in the middle of the range. My needle barely moves above 100. This may be something that is unique to a 91 corvette.
Sensors should have a pretty standard range of resistances that can be looked up in a reference manual. I'll have to probe the sensor and see what the resistance is at various temps. I just dont have a shop manual yet to tell me what I should be seeing. Anyone have the info?
-Ken
ps
I guess I should get my avatar changed to the black sheep one. Gotta get some good polish and see how shiny this black beauty gets with some rubbing! I can't wait.
Sensors should have a pretty standard range of resistances that can be looked up in a reference manual. I'll have to probe the sensor and see what the resistance is at various temps. I just dont have a shop manual yet to tell me what I should be seeing. Anyone have the info?
-Ken
ps
I guess I should get my avatar changed to the black sheep one. Gotta get some good polish and see how shiny this black beauty gets with some rubbing! I can't wait.
Racer
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 379
Likes: 12
From: Huntsvegas AL
****Zombie Thread Alert****
Wondering if you ever got resolution to this; my 91 does the exact same thing. Ive already replaced the sender, with no change. When I replaced it, I did check the circuit by shorting the sender leads, and got full swing on the dash gauge.
Maybe the oil temperature circuit is like the tach circuit, is there a resistor out-of-tolerance thats causing consistent low-temp indication?
Wondering if you ever got resolution to this; my 91 does the exact same thing. Ive already replaced the sender, with no change. When I replaced it, I did check the circuit by shorting the sender leads, and got full swing on the dash gauge.
Maybe the oil temperature circuit is like the tach circuit, is there a resistor out-of-tolerance thats causing consistent low-temp indication?
