Acceptable oil temperature 18.gti?

Hi

Got a 1983 1800 gti with the oil radiator coolnig arrangement

after a "vigorous" run temp is up at 124 deg on the mfa which seems pretty high, mk2 runs down at 98 or so using the water cooled arrangement. and im sure if see lower temps in the  past before but If im honest I havent thought about it much

Searching around on the net suggest this temp on a mk1 may not be unusual/ unacceptable? what should I expect?

wondered if the rad want working properly but
Bottom hose to the oil rad is hottish to the touch, cool on the top (presumably return hose?), does that suggest all is  working correctly on that front?

anything to worry about? :?

cheers

Chris

124 deg on the mfa

Used to get that on my old 8valve , suspect the Mfa is not giving you the correct reading ?

HMM could be

is it likely to be the sender or the MFA , latter seems to work ok although MPG is wildly out

I hope the figures you posted are in Celsius and not Fahrenheit. If so then they"re not so bad really, a bit high but OK for agressive driving. The 98 degrees you mentioned with the mk2 is fine for normal driving as you need to keep the oil hot enough to burn off deposits, but low enouth to not breakdown to fast. The 124 degrees is a bit high for dino oil but not too high for synthetic as long as it is not kept there too long. 240F is about the high point for most normal oils and you were only about 15 degrees above for a period.

check the sensor the green/black wire is connected to, it should have a white collar

Sorry no tbeen on for a bit thanks for advice Ill try those

If its too high presumably must be the oil cooler

bottom hose is hot top is not, so does that mean its working right?

quick checks to do..

pull the sender out, add an earth wire too it then put it in jar with boiling water from a kettle and a thermometer, this will give you an idea how accurate the maf is, (normaly within a couple of deg or so)

secondly is the oil cooler getting warm? i suspect now, it should open at just over 100deg, (110iirc) they are prone to sticking… easy fix is take the 3 bolts off the front carefully and take the stat out (watch the spring) and clean up the slider area, look for scoring, wipe all bits down and rebuild,

you shouldnt really be seeing above 120, 110is the highest I liked to see on track use, and 100 on road, also check what oil you are running and make sure the breathers clear etc to help with the oil control.

You can also use a thermostat from a Porsche, 944 or 924 I believe, as it has a lower opening temperature. It is a direct fit and seems to work well as I have had one in mine for many years now and the oil always stays under 115?C (no racing though).