Oldtee

I am fighting a oil temp problem and am beginning to think it is the oil I am using.

On the track at a DE the first day with the temps were about 70F after 8 or so laps the oil temp was fine. I have a 79SC and recently replaced the oil lines, the thermostat and put in a Carrera oil cooler because the car was running hot on the track. On the second day, the track temps went up to the early 80sF and after 5 or so laps the engin began to heat up again and I came in with the temps hovering just below the red line. Here is the question.

I run Mobil regular oil 10w-40w. Not Mobil 1. On the second day I added a quart of Shell 10-40 w. I did not have the problem until after I added the Shell but I am not sure the problem is related. Something I noticed on the oil filler gage has me asking this question. With the car at idle, and the operating temps the oil was reading about 1/3 above the red mark. When I came back from the track the engine was very hot AND the oil quanity gage read 2/3 full. I am begining to suspect that the oil was foaming, there fore reducing its cooling capacity or rather capability. (Note my driving was improved and was more agressive) Before I go to my next track event, in two weeks, the air temps will probably be in the 90sF I intend to do the following. Remove the head light, cut a hole in front of the oil cooler. Note I do not have a fan, nor do I think I need one. AND change the oil to another type, brand and weight. I am thinking about Rotella. Any comments from those who have been there. I already have lots of advice from those that have opinions but no experience.

Thanks

Wayne Williams

Don't live in the US so can't comment on Oil Brands etc, in my experience, 10w40 is too thin for older 911's and this could be a problem.

Also, never ever use the internal oil gauge, its flaky at the best of times, always use the dipstick after idling for 5-10 minutes for accurate levels.

You may already know this and I may be talking absolute crap!!! but its worth mentioning

Oldtee

Thanks, You are correct about the gage, and I did not recheck the dip stick for the higher reading, and I'm not sure it was tell me anything.

At the oil temps I am getting I am not sure there is very much difference between 10-40 and 20-50w, not enough to affect the oil temperature much.

Wayne Williams

Just a thought, did you feel the front cooler? - your thermostat could be jammed shut and its just a coincidence after filling with oil??

Oldtee

She was hot. When she gets that way she looses power and I can feel it in 3rd and 4th gear. Its an old car with an old engine 144,000 on a top about 20K ago. Except for the SSI exhaust she is bone stock, but in otherwise excellent maitained condition with new injectors, no leaks, co where it is suposed to be and goes well.

Wayne Williams

I know what you mean, my 82 SC tends to lose power when its hot, almost feels like the clutch is slipping.

If you are tracking the car then your idea about getting more airflow to the front cooler makes sense, however, I would be tempted to double check that Thermo first.

Good Luck!!

Oldtee

The thermostat is new and I have checked it with a IR theromoter so I know it works OK. I am having a hard time finding Kendall around here. Sams club, Costco nor NAPA carry it.

JackOlsen

The brand of oil is not going to make a difference like that at all.

Oil cooling is pretty straightforward (once you've established that your thermostat is working and your lines aren't kinked). You need to move lots of air through the cooler. For track use, especially, you need ducting to, through, and away from the cooler.

From the picture in your avatar, it's hard to see where the air inlets are. Is your external cooler in the front or the rear of the car?

Oldtee

Uhhhh. My avitar is a pic of my 928. It cools just fine.

Edward

Oldtee,
This is a bit long

If you have a carrera cooler and your t-stat is working, then the prob is your cooler is not getting enough airflow to exchange heat. There are a few alternatives:

- Notch a boxed "hole" about 1"x5" in the uppermost area of the valance, just where it meets the bumper, in order to allow more cooling air into the oilcooler area.
- Buy an air scoop from Pelican that replaces the right side marker light.
- Buy a Carrera valance which has foglight holes ...remove foglights and you have huge intake ducts.
- Put a hole in your own valance yourself ...one on either side if you want it to look symmetrical.

Any of the above methods will allow fresh cooling air in, BUT you MUST then shield the area around and beneath the oil cooler or the air will simply flow around the cooler instead of through it, minimizing the cooling potential of cooler itself. I bought sheet metal at Home Depot, cut, shaped, and screwed it in so that incoming air (from a large opening I put into my valance) can ONLY pass through the oil cooler. It doesn't have to be pretty, just "tight" so air has only one clean outlet.

Oh, I forgot, also ditch the horns if they are still there as they impede airflow ...I relocated them to the driver's side. With my 82, even in 95+ degree heat, and even on a short track where the engine lives near redline with nary a straightaway in sight, the oil temp never got past 9:00 or so. And on more "normal" tracks, it never even gets that high. Hope this gives you some ideas. Holler if you have questions.

Edward

ron mcatee

oldtee, there is a marketer of Kendall oils in Laurel, MD. Company is Loos & Dilworth Co, inc. 9010 Maier Rd, Ste 2, Laural, Maryland 20723. I don't know if this is close to you, but hopefully it is. I went to google.com and entered kendallmotoroil.com and went to kendall oils. Then a map of US came up and I selected Maryland. It appears to be the only distributor in Maryland. Hope this helps.

sww914

When I was a Porsche Tech., we had 3 racers using Kendall oil, a 944 & 2 911's.
All 3 of them blew up a lot of engines.
Our guys running regular Castrol or Mobil 1 or whatever didn't seem to have as many problems.
Maybe coincidence, but I was left feeling no confidence in Kendall, and it's about as expensive as Mobil 1.
Several auto manufacturers use Mobil 1 as factory fill, and require it for warranty, But I don't think that's true of Kendall.

Oldtee

Spider, thanks. Chesepeake Pet in Derwood has Kendall on their sign but only a few cases left. Seems if you don't sell enough they drop you. Anyway picked up 3 cases of Castrol 15-50W for my next DE. Also ordered the parking light scoop from Performance today. Plan to cut a hole in my headlight bucket and if the scoop and oil don't work I'll take the head light out.

Edward. The horn has been replaced with a $15.00 Pep Boys 'original' Porsche design stolen non-exact replacement.

Didn't mention in my original post that I was also running a bra and that cuts the air down a lot. There is a gap between the air dam and the bumper that is covered when the bra is installed. Just wasn't thinking. Thanks for all the comments. I now have a plan .. its time to implement.

Peter Zimmermann

Kendall. I've used Kendall oil almost exclusively since the early '70s. I've used it in every competition car that I've had, including but not limited to: 1958 Speedster w/S90 engine, 1965 911, 914/6 w/ 2.6 liter S, 1977 3.0 Turbo, SCCA E/P 914, 911SC PCA Club Racer, 1969 911E PCA Club Racer. I've run almost 10,000 miles on the big track at Willow Springs Raceway, and I've won road races at Phoenix, Carlsbad, Riverside, Willow and... etc. My shop prepared a 914/6 for the IMSA 6-hour endurance race at Riverside Raceway in 1985. We started 63rd, and finished 17th. We prepared an SCCA B/P 911 many years ago, and that car went on to win championships. We never had an oil-related failure over all those miles, events, and wide variety of cars. I still use Kendall GT1 20/50 in my personal street 911, and still swear by the product. I used Kendall exclusively at my shop for 25 years, in thousands of '89 and earlier 911s and 356s. We never had a client suffer an oil-related failure. We discovered that a product called Kendall Blue Grease, a lithium based bearing grease, was tested, along with a half dozen other greases, by a leading race team in about 1990. They discovered that its rolling resistance was significantly less than the other greases tested, and used it in their wheel bearings from then on. At that time we had already been using Blue Grease for more than a decade - every front wheel bearing on every one of my cars was packed with it. We never had a bearing failure, nor did we see significant deterioration of the grease. We used Kendall 3-Star trans oil in all 915 and earlier gearboxes. Our customers blew up their synchros just as often as anybody else, but trans bearing failures, especially from '72, were almost unheard of. My only complaint regarding Kendall products is it is just too darned hard to find!
Pete

bgiere

Very few (if any) engine failures will occur that can soley be blamed on a specific oil. Oil technology has changed dramatically over the past 5 years and most name brand oils will do a fine job as long as they meet Porsche specs and are of the correct weight and HTHS for you car. FYI, Kendall was sold and is now a brand owned by Conoco Phillips...the old Kendall GT1 oil is not the same formulation but is still pretty decent oil i am told. I remember it used to be green!